Re: aspiring CNC machinist wants to dip his toe in

Message: 12
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 14:30:51 -0000
From: "aspiringmachinist" <aspiringmachinist@...>
Subject: aspiring CNC machinist wants to dip his toe in

Hi,

I am familiar with CAD, fairly familiar with CAM and CNC and G Code
although I don't get real hands-on, but I am no machinist and not
very familiar with terms like precision, accuracy, repeatibility
although I have a fair idea. I have do very very limited with a
CNC'ed Sherline desktop mill (not mine).

I have been approached for help by a manual machinist who knows
nothing about CNC about a potential job which will be too expensive
to do with a real professional CNC mill, too time consuming (many)
to do manually. The first job/jobs consist of just drilling a series
of holes on a non-metallic material. I feel it is a good opportunity
to try my hand at some "real world" work, I do not know how or where
to get information about the kind of
precision/accuracy/repeatibility so that I figure out whether I can
meet whatever requirements that may be imposed. I hope to get some
feedback from this group regarding the feasibility of taking up a
job like this.

There is also a possibility that the required x-travel on one of the
jobs? will be 12 inches. Will this be achievable with a 2000? Would
there be any other machines CNC'ed or CNC'able that would be a good
start for me to try something like this?

All responses will be highly appreaciated.

Pete

[Sorry, Pete, the X-travel on a Sherline 2000 is the same as on the rest of
their mill models - 8.68" (229 mm) See http://www.sherline.com/specs.htm. If
you want something a little larger, but still in the "micro" category, check
out Taig's CNC (or CNC-ready) mills - they make a model 2027 that has 12"
travel in X: http://www.taigtools.com/cmill.html . I think you'd find them
more than accurate enough for the sort of job you're talking about here.
What non-metallic material is it? Each has its particularities...]

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com