[daniellyall]

Hoss has one that does not use pneumatic s he did it when he first got his g0704.

Ian said he was thinking of using a mist system, that needs air.

Ian you can get machines that can do a better job than what a surface grinder could ever do yes they are in the $1 mill range.

your machine should be able to do 50% depth of cut and 6% width if not more using HSM what you have in fusion.

learn it you will love it.

it has cut in half the machining times on my router, it still works good if you do a 150% depth of cut 75% width by mistake. a 100% depth by 75% width works very well with a 1/2 blunt cutter. if I did the same thing with vectric it would go up in flames.

Ian don't argue about cnc cutting you know manual not cnc

[louieatienza]

Hiiiiyyyyyy.........I think after a few posts nobody is really listening to the important bits that mean anything.............I do read.....I do take in the details.....I do listen to others, even the dull and ignorant, they too have something to say......LOL.

Now Louie is a clever fellow......full of his own importance no doubt, but clever too, and one of his posts suggested that the magnets could be made to work opposite to each other so that they have a doubling effect to repel each other instead of attracting a steel plate......why didn't I think of that.

That design concept may work as it seems to have credibility.........a bench test will tell all.

The problem is a physics one.....magnets lose their strength when moved away from the target........one reason why I think the attraction to a steel plate will work better.......the closer the magnet gets to the steel plate the stronger it gets.....a very steep extremely sharp exponential curve.

BTW......I did try putting two Neodymium magnets face to face and was able to get them to touch......applying one of them to a thick steel plate and it was extremely difficult to get the last mm or so to a controlled move.
Ian.

Not only are you clueless, but humorless as well.

[louieatienza]

Hi.....a lot depends on the finishing depth of cut as this is unlikely to slow the spindle down.......the circle part depends heavily on the newness of the ball screws as any backlash when cutting a circle will show up immediately.

I suppose that a double ball nut on each axis and ground ball screws would make music, but who goes to that degree of expense unless you really have to.

Making the cube is still dependent on the quality of the vice and the squareness of the jaws etc.....in all planes.

Nobody in their right minds would think you can produce work to a high accuracy by milling alone.....that's why I use a surface grinder to get the last bit of precision required.........you can mill, but it's better to finish grind., unless of course the parts are just a test exercise to see how good Defeng made the machines......the tolerance of the job is dependent on the tolerance of the machine components.
Ian.

You'd probably work harden the SS so fast that tool would just bounce off it.

The preload in a precision ground ballscrew is taken up few different ways. This can be done because of the inherent precision of the screw to begin with, The ball races on the ballnut of a rolled screw needs clearance, due to the tolerances inherent to its manufacture. Otherwise the differences in torque to drive it could vary greatly as the nut travels on the screw. On a precision ground ballscrew, the double nut increases the load capacity primarily. The specs for lead error and axial play are covered by the accuracy grade.

Even if you had a vice of questionable tolerances, you could easily make a pair of jaws and mill it's surfaces so that the tool moves coplanar with said surfaces in the X and Z. You'd just have to worry about squaring up in the Y.

A surface grinder? Genius. I bet nobody ever thought of using one before to get a part to tolerance. Einstein would be proud. But I'm pretty sure, the better you get the part at the machine, the less grinding you have to do.

[handlewanker]

Well if you did a bit of tool making you'd know that most tools are cut oversize, hardened and then ground.......you must know that surely?

On the subject of stainless steel.....I cut mainly stainless back in 1975-80 when I made parts for the UK and French aviation industry.....all Concords carry parts that I personally made as did most of the Nato fighter planes of that era.

AAAAAAAAnd at the same time I made parts for Rolls Royce jet engines.....most of which powered most of the Worlds passenger and military aircraft......you know you've arrived if Rolls Royce accepts your workmanship.

Whether or not the SVM-0 can perform like a true thoroughbred is not debatable as the operator is the weak link in that equation, so no statistics are valid without test procedures of impeccable quality.......and that means taking the mill apart and micro measuring all the components for truth of fit and alignment....... and material integrity.

Personally I just like the way it moves so smoothly and trust the manufacturer to be as good as his word with the build quality.

I suppose if you were desperately unsure of the SVM-0 build quality you could pay $100 and hour or more to have the mill vetted by an expert who does that sort of thing........personally I trust Defeng to be able to design and make good machines......didn't you?

BTW.....You won't get very far with a vice with new jaws......milled???...LOL....try hardened and ground..... if the moving jaw lifts when it's tightened......just another link in the chain.

I wonder if Hanemo is thinking of acquiring an SVM-0 and wants someone to prove it can do precision work?
Ian.

[louieatienza]

Well if you did a bit of tool making you'd know that most tools are cut oversize, hardened and then ground.......you must know that surely?

On the subject of stainless steel.....I cut mainly stainless back in 1975-80 when I made parts for the UK and French aviation industry.....all Concords carry parts that I personally made as did most of the Nato fighter planes of that era.

AAAAAAAAnd at the same time I made parts for Rolls Royce jet engines.....most of which powered most of the Worlds passenger and military aircraft......you know you've arrived if Rolls Royce accepts your workmanship.

Whether or not the SVM-0 can perform like a true thoroughbred is not debatable as the operator is the weak link in that equation, so no statistics are valid without test procedures of impeccable quality.......and that means taking the mill apart and micro measuring all the components for truth of fit and alignment....... and material integrity.

Personally I just like the way it moves so smoothly and trust the manufacturer to be as good as his word with the build quality.

I suppose if you were desperately unsure of the SVM-0 build quality you could pay $100 and hour or more to have the mill vetted by an expert who does that sort of thing........personally I trust Defeng to be able to design and make good machines......didn't you?

BTW.....You won't get very far with a vice with new jaws......milled???...LOL....try hardened and ground..... if the moving jaw lifts when it's tightened......just another link in the chain.

I wonder if Hanemo is thinking of acquiring an SVM-0 and wants someone to prove it can do precision work?
Ian.

First of all, carbide end mill blanks are made in a sintering process using tungsten carbide powder and cobalt under pressure. Then ground to shape.

I don't think anyone here doubts you capabilities, but you have many preconceived notions of how CNC works without practical CNC experience.

Moving smoothly jogging around and making air cuts is no guarantee of same smoothness under cutting conditions. Let's not even start with CV/exact stop settings in Mach3. Or the inconsistent spindle loads and spikes dud to some conventional toolpaths strategies.

I made no argument against the quality of Defeng's work. Proud to own one of his machinea. That said hanermo exercise I'd a good test for both machine and operator.

People use milled jaws on vices to hold parts all day, For some operations it's the best solution. People make precise parts with imprecise machines, the final part tolerance is determined by the operator.

[handlewanker]

By milled jaws I take it you mean jaws milled to a profile to suit the job.....same as soft jaws on a lathe chuck.....that's a different kettle of fish.

It's true I'm moving the axes around under G code guidance and a wooden dowel to represent a tool.... without a cutting tool mounted....that way I can see the action of a pseudo cutter and not carve chunks out of the machine if I make a mistake, but that will change when I'm ready.

It's not the lack of confidence, it's the lack of knowledge, but as the learning curve gets shorter the G code starts making sense.......at least I can write G code and move the axes to predicted spots without wondering where it's going to go......try playing golf with a brand new sett of clubs without ever having hit a ball before.

As it takes about 10 days to get shipment from China, the magnets won't be here before another week.

To measure the total pull of those magnets I'll construct a simple beam scale using 2 metres of 25 X 50mm steel tubing with a 10:1 ratio.....then load it with weights to measure the pull at the vital 5mm spacing when I apply 24 volts and 2 amps.....that will be the first move, the next measurement will be the final 2mm gap as that is where the maximum pull is needed.

My mill table will be the strong point for testing as the mill weighs 2 tons, so that won't tip over....LOL.
Ian.

[daniellyall]

Lou Ian has fusion what has a compensate for going around corners what gets ride of the CV problem with mach, if he use's it, other wise yer he will have problems with corners.

Ian if you have your work Zero above the height of your vices as in if your play was 20 mm deep and you set your work zero 25 mm above the vices you will never hit it.

you should know where the vices is in relation to your machine zero (home)

moving the machine around using written G code only is good for playing, knowing how to adjust G code and what all the G and M codes do is all you need to know. you have a powerful cad/cam program use it if you need help just ask I can work with you on it live. just take the leap it's not hard.

Ian it does not matter what you did in the past things are very different now, you can destroy a cnc machine in a second, that includes parts of the machine going flying across the room or the part you are machining, catching a part to your body hurts.

and if you fire your machine up with your magnet idea don't take it past 500 rpm at time, just be careful.

[louieatienza]

By milled jaws I take it you mean jaws milled to a profile to suit the job.....same as soft jaws on a lathe chuck.....that's a different kettle of fish.

It's true I'm moving the axes around under G code guidance and a wooden dowel to represent a tool.... without a cutting tool mounted....that way I can see the action of a pseudo cutter and not carve chunks out of the machine if I make a mistake, but that will change when I'm ready.

It's not the lack of confidence, it's the lack of knowledge, but as the learning curve gets shorter the G code starts making sense.......at least I can write G code and move the axes to predicted spots without wondering where it's going to go......try playing golf with a brand new sett of clubs without ever having hit a ball before.

As it takes about 10 days to get shipment from China, the magnets won't be here before another week.

To measure the total pull of those magnets I'll construct a simple beam scale using 2 metres of 25 X 50mm steel tubing with a 10:1 ratio.....then load it with weights to measure the pull at the vital 5mm spacing when I apply 24 volts and 2 amps.....that will be the first move, the next measurement will be the final 2mm gap as that is where the maximum pull is needed.

My mill table will be the strong point for testing as the mill weighs 2 tons, so that won't tip over....LOL.
Ian.

I think a more accurate test would be to get some valve springs and put them under the electromagnet mounting plate, with the requisite 2mm gap between electromagnet and whatever sink plate you use, and see if they will indeed compress the springs 2mm. This would be a more realistic test. You'd likely need springs anyway for the electromagnet assembly to clear the drawbar; a design would be very similar to the pneumatic drawbars posted earlier (about 100 pages ago or so). Thinking about it now (realistically) it's probably better to mount the electromagnets on the floated plate facing up, with a larger steel or iron block on top, supported by springs on guide rods, which would allow the "floating plate" design, saving those spindle bearings from thrust loads...

[G59]

Thinking about it now (realistically) it's probably better to mount the electromagnets on the floated plate facing up, with a larger steel or iron block on top, supported by springs on guide rods, which would allow the "floating plate" design, saving those spindle bearings from thrust loads...

How much is this all going to weigh?

Ian, being that you have Fusion 360 it's a big Plus.

Are you designing it in CAD or paper? Post a model of it. I would love to see it.

With Fusion 360, you can design, manufacture and set material properties, constraints and simulate, to eliminate any guess work.

Here is a pic of a spindle design from my company to show you the power of the software you have at your finger tips.

[tmarks11]

...I cut mainly stainless back in 1975-80 when I made parts for the UK and French aviation industry.....all Concords carry parts that I personally made as did most of the Nato fighter planes of that era.

Concordes don't carry any parts anymore. The last Concorde went out of service 13 years ago.

[louieatienza]

Lou Ian has fusion what has a compensate for going around corners what gets ride of the CV problem with mach, if he use's it, other wise yer he will have problems with corners.

Ian if you have your work Zero above the height of your vices as in if your play was 20 mm deep and you set your work zero 25 mm above the vices you will never hit it.

you should know where the vices is in relation to your machine zero (home)

moving the machine around using written G code only is good for playing, knowing how to adjust G code and what all the G and M codes do is all you need to know. you have a powerful cad/cam program use it if you need help just ask I can work with you on it live. just take the leap it's not hard.

Ian it does not matter what you did in the past things are very different now, you can destroy a cnc machine in a second, that includes parts of the machine going flying across the room or the part you are machining, catching a part to your body hurts.

and if you fire your machine up with your magnet idea don't take it past 500 rpm at time, just be careful.

He's got to get a tool in and out of the machine first... Pretty easy to find or draw a CAD model of a vice to help with the visualization. I don't go that far; I just draw a U-channel to represent the jaws, IF I need to. Good in CAM though to check for crashes. Fusion 360 is good but just the same it's probably better to start with aluminum or even wax block and slow, conventional style offset path to understand machine movement first.

Even with the precision sweeps of high-speed machining, you should set the LookAhead in Mach to a higher number than default which is a ridiculously low 10 or 20.

I wouldn't worry about flying parts, the magnets should catch them!

Honestly, I've seen a few videos of toolpaths with Fusion HSM and it does not look like most folks understand it or the parameters. Took a little time for me as well. Mainly in the "outside" machining or "open pocketing." I can see on a VMC where it would be faster to retract to the Z plane and rapid across (because the machine is capable of 1000+ipm rapids) but in the videos of some hobby level machines I don't see a benefit. On a one-off job it may not matter, but for multiple parts on slower machines it may be better to set boundaries for each side to prevent max travel over a part, then rest machine to finish the part. On many videos, when "nibbling" into a corner or between islands, it looks like the machine running at a constant speed, when in reality at the end of a sweep when the tool micro-lifts it should be rapiding to the next position. Does anyone know if there is a setting for that? I do also have Fusion 360 downloaded but haven't played with it too much. I find OneCNC's wizard approach a lot faster than Fusion, which looks like a prettier VisualMill. But hey, it's free....

Actually for many "open pocket" jobs, with more realistic hobby speeds, it's probably better to just define a boundary around the entire part plus a little more than the cutter width all around, and use a "closed pocket" strategy, which should all but guarantee the tool stays down.

[handlewanker]

Lou Ian has fusion what has a compensate for going around corners what gets ride of the CV problem with mach, if he use's it, other wise yer he will have problems with corners.

Ian if you have your work Zero above the height of your vices as in if your play was 20 mm deep and you set your work zero 25 mm above the vices you will never hit it.

you should know where the vices is in relation to your machine zero (home)

moving the machine around using written G code only is good for playing, knowing how to adjust G code and what all the G and M codes do is all you need to know. you have a powerful cad/cam program use it if you need help just ask I can work with you on it live. just take the leap it's not hard.

Ian it does not matter what you did in the past things are very different now, you can destroy a cnc machine in a second, that includes parts of the machine going flying across the room or the part you are machining, catching a part to your body hurts.

and if you fire your machine up with your magnet idea don't take it past 500 rpm at time, just be careful.

Hi Dan.......a couple of things need clearing up.......the magnets only release the tool by depressing the draw bar end when required......speeding up to 7,000 rpm will not be affected by a magnetic draw bar depressor any more than a pneumatic one.

The whole point in having the mill is to play with it under G code control that I create and learn the process......making parts is of little interest to me as I'd have to dream up parts just to make them, that means Fusion 360 has no real use for me either as I mostly work with free hand sketches.

Having learned to use Cadkey many years ago, I decided to learn Fusion 360 when Cadkey failed to give me what I wanted, but Fusion is also a steep learning curve and though I can do some things with it, getting to the serious stuff is too time consuming for little end results.

I set my Z zero with a Z zero setting block at 50mm from the table.

The base of my vice is 43 mm thick so that tells me where I'm at with any tool I set.

For example......if the tool point is set to Z0, then it's 7 mm above the base of the vice.....all work practically is set on parallels of various heights too, so a simple calculation sets the working height to start machining etc.......I've learned to work that way as I'm comfortable knowing where the tool end point is at any one time.

It also pays to do a dry run with a dummy tool.....I use a 6mm diam wood dowel with a point..... to see where the tool is going without the need to hover over the emergency stop button.

BTW........when the Z zero is set at the 50mm height all G code Z's will be plus values unless you have a job that is close to the table.

Possibly one day I might make something that requires thousands of lines of G code......Mach 3 will have to be a bought in item then as the free program only lets me have 500 lines.... but I won't be writing that much code by hand......maybe using Fusion or a probe....who knows.

I might do as suggested and do an initial cut on a piece of plastic to see if the results are as anticipated.......I think machinable wax was mentioned too and that can be recovered and reused.

I don't have an agenda to follow....it's a case of " just messing about with boats" ...there's nothing, but absolutely nothing, quite like it.

Nobody likes to own a Ferrari with a wonky wheel, so the power draw bar fix I'm doing has to correct that problem.
Ian.

[handlewanker]

Concordes don't carry any parts anymore. The last Concorde went out of service 13 years ago.

Correction....the Concords that are still in existence ALL have the parts I mentioned as they are reusable parts not consumables.
Ian.

[CoolHand]

If you set your Z zero at the top surface of the work piece, then you can at a glance tell whether your tool is clear for a rapid move or whether it is in a cut.

If the Z level is positive, it's clear to rapid, if the Z level is negative, you're in a cut and must insert a rapid Z move to the positive BEFORE you make a rapid in the X/Y plane.

If you're writing code by hand, this will save you much time and irritation with having to remember what Z level is clear of everything, as if it's positive, it's clear, end of story.

It also makes it easier to keep track of your cuts if you're doing more than one in a step down fashion (IE the DOC is less than the total depth of the pocket, so you have to make more than one pass). You can then read your depth in the pocket at any time directly, instead of having to do math every time.

You'll also find that doing things in incremental mode will let you program simple shapes much more quickly by hand. For a pocket you'd just rapid to the center of one of the corner radii and set a temporary zero there, then you can plot out the shape directly instead of having to do a bunch of math, and when you're done with that shape, you jump back to absolute mode and move to the next pocket start point, switch back to incremental and go again.

That's for programming by hand.

However, you're gonna find pretty quickly that you can't program complex shapes by hand without having a super detailed and dimensioned print in hand (with the locations of all the tangent points for all the curves called out, etc), or breaking down and learning to use some kind of CAM software.

I don't use Fusion360, but I can't imagine that it doesn't support drawing in just two dimensions. Start there. Make 2D prints of more complex geometry and use the CAM functions to create the G-code from those. Most CNC work that gets done is what people call 2 1/2 D (or 2.5D) instead of truly 3D surfacing, and as such can be programmed from simple 2D geometry.

You very likely don't have to learn the whiz-bang parametric 3D modeling part of Fusion to use the CAM plugin for 2.5D machining.

Unless you're happy just cutting random circles and rectangles in the air forever, you'll want to learn this eventually. And it ain't that hard to do, even for an old buzzard. ;-)

[daniellyall]

Hi Dan.......a couple of things need clearing up.......the magnets only release the tool by depressing the draw bar end when required......speeding up to 7,000 rpm will not be affected by a magnetic draw bar depressor any more than a pneumatic one.

when it's pulled up if it does not close completely 500 rpm it will just fallout 7000 rpm good by Ian see you in CNC paradise.

The whole point in having the mill is to play with it under G code control that I create and learn the process......making parts is of little interest to me as I'd have to dream up parts just to make them, that means Fusion 360 has no real use for me either as I mostly work with free hand sketches.

you draw in DM mode then anything goes with fusion you draw it extruded it done.

you have a router use that for playing you need to learn fusion why buy something you can make, fusion take hours to learn yes so does everything, your machine can be a Ferrari if you let it and learn it's cutting limits.

Having learned to use Cadkey many years ago, I decided to learn Fusion 360 when Cadkey failed to give me what I wanted, but Fusion is also a steep learning curve and though I can do some things with it, getting to the serious stuff is too time consuming for little end results.

that's why I said I will help you take it up, if you ask defang for the spindle and head model you can then use it in fusion to design you magnet thing so you don't have to keep making bits that don't fit you may have to do a NDA.

I set my Z zero with a Z zero setting block at 50mm from the table.

every one does this different height maybe but off set from

It also pays to do a dry run with a dummy tool.....I use a 6mm diam wood dowel with a point..... to see where the tool is going without the need to hover over the emergency stop button.

that's what simulation is for and cutting a test, if you know your machine dry runs are not needed

BTW........when the Z zero is set at the 50mm height all G code Z's will be plus values unless you have a job that is close to the table.

in Work Zero not Home Zero

Possibly one day I might make something that requires thousands of lines of G code......Mach 3 will have to be a bought in item then as the free program only lets me have 500 lines.... but I won't be writing that much code by hand......maybe using Fusion or a probe....who knows.

a probe is only 6 lines of code then sent to note pad, then you have to write it

I might do as suggested and do an initial cut on a piece of plastic to see if the results are as anticipated.......I think machinable wax was mentioned too and that can be recovered and reused. good idea

I don't have an agenda to follow....it's a case of " just messing about with boats" ...there's nothing, but absolutely nothing, quite like it.

you can make pocket money from your machine Ian you just need to learn fusion or cut files for other's.

I have a agenda to stop you killing your self or your machine as everyone else who posts here

Nobody likes to own a Ferrari with a wonky wheel, so the power draw bar fix I'm doing has to correct that problem.
Ian.

keep safe PM me if you wont help with fusion I will let it go now

Lou the comp stuff in fusion takes a bit to learn and rember, but when you learn it it's trucken good

[G59]

making parts is of little interest to me as I'd have to dream up parts just to make them, that means Fusion 360 has no real use for me either as I mostly work with free hand sketches.

Basically, what you're telling us is you bought a machine because you needed something to do and the zone is nothing more than just a pass time, all the while peeing off as many as you can and laughing at all of us.

You are such a waste of time.

I'm done with the zone's number one idiot.

[gadgets]

Basically, what you're telling us is you bought a machine because you needed something to do and the zone is nothing more than just a pass time, all the while peeing off as many as you can and laughing at all of us.

You are such a waste of time.

I'm done with the zone's number one idiot.

Yep! Appears to be an Internet troll. Defination:

In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.

Please do not feed the troll.

[handlewanker]

Not quite as you see it............CNC is a very satisfying pastime for me.........when I feel like cutting metal etc, I'll probably be good and ready to do it with confidence........a bit like flying..... even a model plane......if you go up solo without the full knowledge of what happens next........that's a quick trip to the happy hunting ground.

I'd have to be doing something really complicated with lots of moves to warrant drawing it in Fusion or any other CAD........till then I'm just getting my feet wet before the cross Channel swim.

I don't mean to offend anyone with my criteria or my lack of pecuniary desire.....what suits others is not my cup of tea........if I start to make money with the mill I'll have to declare it in addition to my investment returns and that means I start paying tax.

I was under the impression that the forum was for sharing ideas, not to be forced to adopt the ideals that appeal to others because they think I should..........I welcome criticism for design concepts and will defend the concept if it's not warranted or misconstrued.

What I design, invent or propose is purely from my point of view and if it clashes with some preconceived idea or pet theory, then live with it......you don't have to do it too.

I'm not a great fan of setting the Z zero to the top of a job as that setting varies every time you do another one.......with the setting block the Z zero is ALWAYS 50 mm above the table for every tool you set...........as an addition to that method, and as my vice base is 43 mm above the table, I'm going to make a 7 mm thick steel packer to bring the vice base up to the same 50 mm height.........that cuts out one bit of maths.

My opinion is....if you have a 20mm parallel on the vice base and the job starts off at 20mm thick, the top of the job is 40mm above the Z zero.........Z40 is the top of the job, or so I have calculated.......and that holds good for all tools once set.

As I haven't cut metal yet, all the aforementioned has been tried with the pointed wooden dowel to make sure I can set a tool and know where it will end up.........cutter compensation for pocketing and external shapes will eventually also be part of the code setting.

I'm probably in the unique position of going on a long journey where the passing scenery is more exciting than arriving at your destination.........for those that are involved with CNC every day as an occupation, I don't expect you get a buzz any more from watching the wheels go round.

BTW......for the SMV-0 my parking....home.....whatever the position is called, is from the XY zero on the left hand corner of the vice... .......20mm in the Y + direction.....50mm in the X _- direction and 100mm in Z + direction.......in a program the Z move is always made first to make sure the cutter is out of the job before the X and Y moves......this ensure the tool is off the job and back out of the way when the job is removed.........is this the same as "going to home" at the end of a job?
Ian.

[CoolHand]

Setting the tool length offsets and setting the overall program Z offset or zero are two different things.

I too set all my tools off a known height probe position, but I still set my program zero on the top of the material (or sometimes on top of the fixture plate the material is bolted to, if it's a second op). If you ever do any actual machine work, you'll quickly find that absolute rules don't last very long (or you'll find yourself constantly frustrated by trying to stay within them for arbitrary reasons).

That said, set your offsets and your zeros and whatever else however you see fit, it's no skin off my ass.

I think these guys here are just starting to chafe at having every single thing they suggest thrown back at them.

If you didn't come here to ask experienced CNC guys questions and then heed their answers, why are you here at all? You're certainly not teaching any of us anything, at least not right now.

They're just getting a little worn slick by the new guy constantly telling them that the conventions that they use are wrong or useless, when they obviously are not. You just lack the requisite experience with the medium to see this.

It would be like the kid who sweeps the floor at Rolls Royce telling you that you're milling those Concord parts all wrong, because he's been watching you work for a couple of weeks and is very interested in machine work.

He's so new that he doesn't even know what he doesn't know yet, but he's already got a very deeply held opinion about what is right and wrong.

That'd probably piss you off too, right?

Have fun with your little mill, and irritating the locals. ;-)

[louieatienza]

You can set zero at the bottom, whether it's your vise, fixture plate, or spoil board. I think that's more prevalent in the wood router world where vacuum clamping through the spoil board is used. Whatever makes it easier to do the job is the right way. Obviously it's so much easier, even with the cheapest of CAM, to set your Z rapids plane, material top and bottom, regardless of the coordinates of part zero.

Ian it's great to share ideas. What's not cool is having no CNC experience, then telling those who do that they are wrong and you are right. Then you become dismissive of those who actually do know better. That's not contributing or sharing. I've had egg on my mafe more than a few times here, but I wipe it off and move on. No sense in being st burn and closed to new ideas. Some of them may actually just work for you.

For simple stuff like holes and pockets Mach3 has some "wizards" that will produce code, given the parameters you enter.

A probe would be a perfect project to make and you can use it to set material, find the center of a bore, scan a surface, and even reversed as a tool height setter.