[lok]

Machining is not my field so I appologize in advance if I sound like a moron but I REALLY need some help. I've serched all over these forums but can't seem to find any info...

I have a CNC microproto mill that I am using to do only 1 thing... drill very small holes (~.01 to .02"). We are working around existing holes of the same size during a custom reman process. So we need to manually line up our machine for each hole we drill. We use the cnc to program the z axis only. I'd like to mount some sort of camera/video system to the t-slides on our Z-axis. But I can't seem to find anything that will do the job. I've looked into borescopes but the are expenisve and I don't want to make a $2000 mistake. Has anybody made a system like this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[pastera]

You could mount a camera parallel to the spindle axis and as close as possible to the tool plane. Look at the Sony 555, it's expensive but very small and rugged. Get a decent lens that can focus at the close distance you will need.

Take a look at Edmund Optics: #54-363 close focus zoom

Get a good monitor and overlay generator (will add reticules to the video).
Drill the smallest hole you can and zero your DRO. Center the drilled hole on the monitor and the DRO will read your offset.

Don't try to draw lines on the monitor to find center, the image will move around from many factors (temperature, local magnetic fields, etc). A reticule generator will overlay crosshairs that are synchronized to the video timing and will be very accurate.

Edmund optics: NT39-237


Aaron

[Pres]

Perhaps one of the following would be useable.
Color:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91851
B/Wwaterproof)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91309

At under $100, it won't 'break the bank' to find out.

[ViperTX]

Welcome lok!

Well if you have a CNC setup, why don't you just use it to do your x-y setup?

[lok]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I'll definatley be giving Edmund Opics a call. I don't mind spending some money as long as I have a really good set-up in the end.

I would think this would be a common feature of these micro mills... is it not?

[aminear]

I am using a $19 web cam, it can focus on the material within 1/8" & it gives me incredible resolution. It is necessary to mount it into the chuck. Not sure if this would work for your needs. I can accurately position within a mil or two.

[lok]

I tried that and it worked, but not with enough detail or resolution for what I need. The holes I am drilling are spaced less than 1mm apart. For our application, placement precision needs to be about +/- 0.075mm

[pastera]

I have used a similar setup (not on a machine) to measure to the tenths for inspections, so it can be very accurate but you need a stable crosshair generator.

As far as a normal feature, you're adding a lot of complexity to a system if you add feature recognition and automatic positioning - done all the time on pick-n-place machines for electronics but not without cost.

Aaron

[ViperTX]

+- 0.003 inches.....I still don't understand why you're not using the CNC capability of the mill?

[lok]

+- 0.003 inches.....I still don't understand why you're not using the CNC capability of the mill?

I guess I just don't know how I would do this. I mean I understand I can program the CNC to do the drilling, but I will still need a system like this to zero out each nozzle, correct? We are drilling 500-1000 of these each month so I need a system that can quickly set-up each one.

[pastera]

My assumption was that this is a second operation and you need to align to existing features. Is this correct?
If I am correct, that is why the CNC cannot be used to locate the holes.

At 500-1000 units a month - I would setup a fixturing bench and align the nozzles on a fixture to be moved to the CNC.
This would keep your camera setup away from dirt and vibration and would allow you to put several parts on one fixture plate.

Aaron


Aaron

[Switcher]

Originally Posted by ViperTX
+- 0.003 inches.....I still don't understand why you're not using the CNC capability of the mill?

I'm with "ViperTX" on this one.

Didn't you buy the "microproto mill" to automate a job?

If the only axis your working with now is the "Z-axis" you could have bought a $100.00 drill press!

What are you drilling, you mentioned, nozzle?

How big is each part, more inportant, can you get more than 1 on the table at a time? If the parts are small (say you have room for 50 at a time on the table) you could make a simple jig, zero the first part out run a program in "X, Y, & Z"

Post some photos, maybe a sketch of the part, that would help a lot.

Also, you don't have to know how to program the cnc (is good to know) their are plenty of folks here ( http://www.cnczone.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=74 ) that could write you a new program and build a fixture to help you zero out the machine (how do you zero out the part now?).

If your doing 500-1000 parts a month, I say write a new program (X,Y,Z), & build a new fixture. And forget the camera, unless you really need it.

Heck you could even build 2 fixtures that way you could load one, while the other is being drilled.








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[lok]

My assumption was that this is a second operation and you need to align to existing features. Is this correct?
If I am correct, that is why the CNC cannot be used to locate the holes.

At 500-1000 units a month - I would setup a fixturing bench and align the nozzles on a fixture to be moved to the CNC.
This would keep your camera setup away from dirt and vibration and would allow you to put several parts on one fixture plate.

Aaron

You are correct we are drilling new holes around existing holes... to further complicate things, the existing holes are drilled into a sheet off of the part and then the sheet is micro welded on... We get the part as a completed unit, therefore, for our purposes, each part needs to be individually aligned.

The locations of the holes we drill do not have to be exact (it just has to "look right" to the naked eye). That is why we are looking into a system where we can manually align them.

The fixture idea is a good one but I don't think it would work for us because it would need to be a very complex fixture with 4-axis adjustment for each part.

[Switcher]

lok,

Have look at this link (My Reply).

(1) http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showth...4490post214490

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Also:
(2) http://www.instructables.com/id/EGI0...7XRS/?ALLSTEPS

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Try this search, for DIY camera stuff.

(3) http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...makezine%2ecom





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