Originally Posted by
copper3416
I wish to machine wax for the lost wax process and could use a hand with feed and speed for this stuff. What size end mills are typical.Hss or carbide. Thank you for helping out the new guy in town.This forum is my home away from home in my home and a big thanks to Paul for creating it.If anyone has created any type of machine to cut this and is geared towards making jewlery with the use of a fourth axis you have my attention. The blue wax I speak of is the same machinable wax used to check that cnc programs are working corectly. :banana:
A lot of CNC jewelers get cutters from Bits and Bits http://www.bitsbits.net/ Rather than end mills, the "Profilers" with a 15 degree included angle seem to be the most popular with a tip of .005 or .003 But, the 10 and 12 degree cutters work well for very small detail and leave less of a taper on the wax You just have to be careful not to break them. The tapered tools are preferable for jewelry because a very small tip can be used, but the tool itself has a long flute length, so it can go relatively deep without having to make mulitple passes. However, I will sometimes run a straight micro drill around the outside of the piece after the wax is milled by the profiler, to square off the taper on the outer wall of the wax (the taper is left from the angled side of the tool). You can get recycled micro drills originially intended to make holes in circuit boards, very cheaply. My mill is a Modelmaster CNC 1000 . I use ArtCAM to make toolpaths. For profiler cutters, the default step-over generated by ArtCAM is 42% of the tip diameter, a feed rate of 400 mm/ min and a plunge rate of 200mm/ mm. I crank up the feed from there, depending on the depth of the cut, angle of the tool, etc...it's never necessary to run it so fast that the wax melts. On a rotary toolpath (4th axis), it's advisable to keep it slower as there's more stress on the tool.
I'm a jeweler, so don't expect proper machinist terminlogy. I'll put it this way...if the chips are flying off cleanly, in small pieces (without being stringy from melting and sticking together), and the cutter isn't making a horribly bad noise that sounds like it's working too hard from running at a speed which is too slow, you're probably at a GOOD speed. :-)
I use a small pressure washer (comercially sold to remove stains) to clean off the wax when it's done rather that use a lubricant or air to take away the chips. Some wax dust is bound to become impacted in the tight recesses, but the pressure washer does a great job. I don't know of the blue wax you mentioned, I use Matt blue or green jewelers wax. It's available from jewelry supply companies online. The blue wax is softer and more flexible, so long thin prongs are less apt to break while your milling, but it also melts easier, so it depends on your needs, your machine, and of course, your own personal preference.
www.jdkjewelry.com
JESSE
CAD/CAM Technology
Handcrafted Originality