I think most machinist want a cnc but for good reason and myth they are scared

There are a lot of used cnc machinery out there now. The cost is not all that much different, if you ad up all the accessories needed for manual operation. That is buying a used machine that is good, not something that you buy for a grand and then spend a year, rebuilding and collecting tooling.
I have seen a change in perspective over the last 10 years toward cnc for the hobbyist.
Look at all the people wanting to convert their mini lathe's and mills.
The newer generation, is more computer oriented.
I have talked to many newer machinist and hobbyist, they are interested in the Cnc arena. It is just the changing times.
I am a hobbyist, too, that is how I started. I couldn't afford to pay others to make everything that I wanted to be made.

One of the big things with one end mill, say a 1/4 ball end, there are more shapes that can be machined in one set-up than you
may ever imagine. +A lot of people go for a hobby in the cnc field to starting a business. +
Just wait for the 3D printing to com full bore.
 
alloy said:
I was going to stay out of this thread and watch and see how it plays out. But I have to respond to this. I have 6 VMC's I set up and run. Our programmer made one very small change in a program so long I have to DNC it. The run time on this programs is well over an hour. I reloaded the program and about 45 mins into it the tool holder hit the part because he typed in just one wrong number.
Click to expand...

LOL what did I just get through saying, you can't do that. You rolled the dice and lost. Hopefully you didn't blame him for your mistake. Would you use tax prep software that wasn't tested mail your return off to the IRS and just hope it was correct? :) I'm a software engineer, as a director I lead an entire team of software developers across multiple concurrent projects. I don't care how good they are and I have some exceptionally gifted programmers, they all make mistakes hence the reason for testing.

I don't know what type of CAM software you are using but the better software will let you simulate your hour long program in just a few minutes catching some of these crashes before they happen. Unfortunately the better cad/cam software can cost in excess of $40k.

Now no amount of caution will fix genuine stupid, take me for example I once ran a CNC program with the spindle turning backwards, stood there cussing/blaming my new end mill while smoke was bellowing out of the machined slot. DOH!
 
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I am no machinist and too short minded to make most of the things I make without CNC.
I own an older manual mill that is sitting under plastic and hasn't been on in years.
I use my cnc mill for everything.
It would have cost far more to purchase a good DRO, power feeds and other required equipment than to cnc my mill.
I use the monitor as a DRO and set feeds and speeds with a button
the majority of what i do on my mill is not with a written program but by a pendent moving to the needed location.
I can type in where I want to be, hit enter and the machine puts me there always remembering where part "0" location is.
just because it is a cnc machine does lot mean it looses manual functions, I just don't turn cranks, I push buttons or type in a line of code to perform a function where I wish to have it performed.
If I need a hole or pocket in in a part, I draw a circle that size (or any shape). In d2nc I tell it how deep, what size cutter and the material.
I center above the location setting Z zero and hit enter.
If I have a lot of holes to drill in different locations I use the drawing, tell d2nc all circles are drill points and every time i hit enter I move to the next location automatically. just change bits and drill holes.
with my back every time I don't have to pack up a rotary table the longer I will be able to continue my hobby.
with just a few free or low cost software I can make things I could never make with my manual mill.
my total investment in software to do what I do is less than $500 including Mach3, D2NC and Emachineshop was free.
The more I use my machines, the more respect I have for tool and die makers and what they have accomplished over the years.
I also have a cnc lathe and for most things I'm on the manual lathe it's much faster for one offs but can be run with the pendent just the same.
Steve
 
Steve I am one that is a little shy of CNC. I have had no luck getting libreCad to draw anything the way I want it to look, I did a little better playing with sketchup. I am contemplating upgrading my mill latter this year or early next so if I do not get CNC down To do it now it will have to be addon later. or when I retire and get a bigger shop.(bigger machines too if I feel the need) CNC plasma cutter is on the need more space first. Funny Part is I used to run and some times program parts on a CNC angle line (made by Angle Mster out of Little Rock, AK) but tha was very simple X, Y, Z, for punches and drills. Might help it I saw the programming process being performed.
Mark
 
markknx said:
Steve I am one that is a little shy of CNC. I have had no luck getting libreCad to draw anything the way I want it to look, I did a little better playing with sketchup. I am contemplating upgrading my mill latter this year or early next so if I do not get CNC down To do it now it will have to be addon later. or when I retire and get a bigger shop.(bigger machines too if I feel the need) CNC plasma cutter is on the need more space first. Funny Part is I used to run and some times program parts on a CNC angle line (made by Angle Mster out of Little Rock, AK) but tha was very simple X, Y, Z, for punches and drills. Might help it I saw the programming process being performed.
Mark
Click to expand...

I have a section showing some of how I'm doing it, I haven't added any in a while and I need to show how I use the machines without full blown cad drawings. but if your interested it is here http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/cnc-from-sketch-to-part-the-way-i-do-it.19633/
Steve
 
I took a calculated risk because that's what I'm told to do. I didn't lose at all. Took 10 minutes to recover from it.

If I stood at the one machine for the entire 115 minute part run to prove out he changes I'd lose 575 minutes of run time on the other 5 machines. At $120 per hour shop time, the $45 end mill I lost was cheap.

With your being a software engineer you probably haven't experienced a shop environment like we have. We are slammed so we do what we have to in order to get the best possible parts out on time and safely.


There is no one to blame. I simply found the bad line, made the correction, and told our programmer what change to make to correct the mistake.
 
Thank you steve. I just whatched the first video. You make it look so easy so I am sure I can at least figure it out if I try. Is there a way to have CNC and crank the handles?
 
alloy said:
With your being a software engineer you probably haven't experienced a shop environment like we have. We are slammed so we do what we have to in order to get the best possible parts out on time and safely.
Click to expand...

Brother I did my 2 years sweating in a CNC tin building when I was younger man, we ran three shifts. I graduated to the Mori turning the big stainless stuff after a few months. Man that place was filthy 90% of what we machined was cast iron. Nasty as the place was...it was good times. The engineering dept pulled me out of there after 2 years and I have been polishing an office chair with my butt since.
 
Markknx, There are a lot of mills that allow you to turn off the servo motors and let you to manually operate the machine. Lathes and mills both,in the toolroom categories. This allows you to learn as you go.
 
markknx said:
Is there a way to have CNC and crank the handles?
Click to expand...


I can switch my mill back and forth between manual and CNC with the flick of a lever and a switch. So yes it's very doable.
.
 
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