Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] running a CAM test on the mill

wanliker@... wrote:

> A friend was here today and we were discussing running tests on a
> newly
> converted mill. Neither of us really liked putting a mill into the
> spindle
> for the initial testing. Between the two of us we came up with the
> idea of
> using a long eraser, and even better yet was his suggestion of a long,
> small
> diameter spring to do the testing and nothing to get broken.
> What do others use????

I built a 1/2" diameter rod with a metal-shell ball-point pen refill in
it.
It has a spring to load the pen point outward. It has a sort of collet
that screws on the front and holds the pen centered with a very
small clearance. I use it frequently, especially when checking out
a program with cutter radius compensation. I run the program first
with the tool diameter set to zero, so the offset has no effect.
This draws the actual outline of the part. I then re-run it, with the
tool diameter set to what I will be using. A new line is drawn,
either inside or outside the first line. So, I can be sure the offset
is really doing what I want.

I tape a sheet of paper to a piece of plexiglas that can be clamped in
the vise. This makes a good drawing platen.

For simple tasks, I just set the Z axis so that the program will move
the tool in the air above the part. And, of course, I always start out
with the feedrate override set to slow.

Jon