More great help wanted please from the wise!

[suesi34e]

Dear all,

Can I ask you guys to cast your mind back to where you started out with CNC? I am getting 3 axis mill soon that takes BT 30 holders controlled using Mach 3, I have not used a mill before but lots of heavy machinery.

I am on the lookout for the following, good types, good value and where to buy:

Good advice, recommended books, videos and a good place to start
Common errors to look for
Tool holders, collets & cutters
Machine vice & 54pc clamp set
MPG wheel or similar
CAM software

Even basic help could turn out to be very worthwhile.

Happy New Year and thanks in advance for any help. So many of youguys have already helped a lot.

Sues

[m_c]

The exact holders/cutters you'll use will depend on what work you're doing, however to start with you can't really go wrong with some ER collet holders, and some endmills. ER is more versatile than sidelock holders for endmills, although if you happen to find a good deal on sidelock holders in sizes you think you'll use, then I wouldn't ignore them.
I'm generally wary of going for any of the other collet systems, as collets aren't as readily available.

Depending on what you're doing/power available, a face mill with suitable arbor might also be handy. However I'd start with endmills.

Vise again depends on what you'll be doing. Although small parts can be mounted in a large vise, it's usually easier to have a small vise. Large parts are often better secured straight to the table, or for repetitive parts, a custom fixture/jig may be quicker. Clamp set, start with a generic kit that fits your table. Again depending on what you'll be doing, you may want to look into other clamping methods, like low profile clamps (mitee-bite), or cantilever/finger clamps.

MPG, depends how it'll be hooked in Mach. Lots of people swear by the JogIt pendant, others a xbox controller, or you can go for one of the more industrial solutions.

CAM software, have a search. CamBam is probably a good start, as you get 40 uses before you have to use a license, however there are plenty other options depending on budget.

[irving2008]

Sues

Firstly, though it looks pretty, please use text colouring sparingly as most mobile forum reader apps such as Tapatalk don't cope well with colour.

Secondly, getting to your question, there's a great set of tutorial videos for newbies from here (http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/ehs-videos). Videos 4 - 7 are setup & use of a manual mill but are useful in terms of basic skills

Irving...



Dear all,

Can I ask you guys to cast your mind back to where you started out with CNC? I am getting 3 axis mill soon that takes BT 30 holders controlled using Mach 3, I have not used a mill before but lots of heavy machinery.

I am on the lookout for the following, good types, good value and where to buy:

Good advice, recommended books, videos and a good place to start
Common errors to look for
Tool holders, collets & cutters
Machine vice & 54pc clamp set
MPG wheel or similar
CAM software

Even basic help could turn out to be very worthwhile.

Happy New Year and thanks in advance for any help. So many of youguys have already helped a lot.

Sues[/COLOR]

[suesi34e]

Hi there m_c

Thank you for such a detailed response. It has been interesting what you have said from the collets, vice to CamBam something I did not know about!

Thinking of trying to make a vice.

Many thanks for the help

Sues

[suesi34e]

Hi irving2008, I thought my text was black but on reflection it seems that it is not quite black, sorry for that.
Thank you for the info and suggestion of videos, I shall watch them later.
Many thanks
Sues

[irving2008]

...
Thinking of trying to make a vice.
I'd not bother, a good vice with decent jaws isn't something easy to make

[m_c]

Just so happened to see a link to this 10 Things Beginning CNC Milling Machine Users Need to Succeed - CNCCookbook CNC Blog CNCCookbook CNC Blog (http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2012/02/22/10-things-beginning-cnc-milling-machine-users-need-to-succeed/)

There are quite a few good articles on the cnccookbook blog, with lots of plugging for their G-Wizard feeds/speeds calculator (I personally prefer HSMadvisor/FSAdvisor as I find it easier to use and get the figures I need).

[suesi34e]

Many thanks for you time and a good link.

You have helped here quite a bit!

All the best

Sues