Member postings for Alan Wood 4

Hi Andrew

Very useful reply thank you.

I am retired but when in business decided that as a company we needed CNC milling. We had bought a small company that had a sheet metal shop and I landed them with a Bridgeport VMC and told them to get to grips with it. I had got the DO to start with Alibre which was quite reasonably priced in its early days. We used SprutCam and got a lot of support from the UK rep down in the West Country. The guys were soon producing some superb milled enclosures for our military products and we later added a Hardinge machine.

That was my only involvement at arms length with CAD and CAM but having retired I have set up a shop in the garage. I have tried a few packages but have found Fusion to be nice to use and there is so much support out there from John Saunders and Lars Christensen. The fact that as a hobbyist you get a fully spec'd package for free is quite a different strategy.

I have used Fusion for 3D printing and decided to go to NYC CNC for their training course on CAD and CAM. As a new user on the CAM side I struggled initially to get to grips but by the end of the week we had drawn and made items on the Tormach machines and I had used one of the 440s for this. The 3D Adaptive mode is so advanced on SprutCam as I remember it. We did some work on 4th axis and 3D milling but this took me into overload.

Based on this experience I think the 440 will do most of my work which is clock and live steam. The table movement is not a lot smaller than my Myford VMB and I have managed so far within these constraints. I would definitely struggle on workshop space with the 770.

Just seen Muzzer's contribution arrive and I would echo his comments. Kevin, last week's course presenter, is closely aligned with HSM.

Kind regards

Alan

Thank you Andrew, much appreciated. The VAT is an ouch issue but can't do much about that.

I think I am going for the 440 due to space restrictions. I used one last week and was impressed by the power it had so no issues there. The power drawbar is really nice but don't think I can run to the ATC at this stage. The bed movement is not as much as my manual Myford VMB but for clocks and locos I think it is adequate. The VMB will have to go and I think my BCA will join it as the 440 should cover their functionality.

Are you using Fusion ?

Alan

Just spent the week at Saunders Machine Works doing Fusion training and CAM on the Tormach machines. Also attended the Open House on Saturday. Lovely experience. John Saunders is an even bigger personality in real life than he is on YouTube. An amazing guy and fabulous set up.

Seriously considering a Tormach and wonder what others experienced in shipping and using ?

(BTW - The 440 now has power tool bar and ATC available).

Alan

Thanks all for your thoughts.

I will store in the drawer marked 'Might be useful one Day' (which is slightly overflowing).

Alan

Both the same

Interesting suggestion

This would be a pretty deep counterbore even for cap heads.

There is a blind hole at each end which could be for a pilot drill.

Etched on them is Microtools T133945

Thanks all. Will experiment.

I hadn't really thought of PVA, nice idea.

Alan

I have just bought a single filament machine (Sindoh 3DWOX) and I am delighted with it. I use Fusion 360 to create the designs.

Being a single filament machine I would like to paint sections of the finished parts. Has anyone any experience of the best painting technique to ensure the paint stays put ? I guess it needs something that etches into the plastic?

I quite like MSC's Nitrile gloves. Very comfortable to wear, tight fitting, tactile and have a good grip. MSC code MPA-55308-L for size 8. Usual disclaimers.

Would be interested in any result on this as my S7 constantly needs both oil pots topping up suggesting I need to do something with the bushes.

Thanks guys, very helpful.

Alan

I need to acquire a small hydraulic platform trolley to move my 5" loco around in and out of the car etc. Weight probably around 50kg.

The only one I can find to buy new is the Sealey 150kg. Has anyone experience of same or can recommend an alternative or has one lurking gathering dust ?

Thanks Neil

Does anyone have links to a 5" rolling road design ?

Having used Alibre from its early days I found the move to Fusion very straightforward and in many ways it is much simpler to perform many functions. I struggled with assemblies and animations in Alibre but have found Fusion much easier. We had to use SprutCam as the machine driver with Alibre whereas it is all built in with Fusion. So many positives not least the free to hobbyists. I just need to get a CNC machine to match .... aiming to try to wangle a visit to Tormach.

Lars is very good but I prefer John at NYC CNC as he is doing real jobs and in the early days he was learning on camera which was nice as he had a similar learning curve to what we all have.

Are the lights on a dimmer controller ? I had to replace my dimmers to low load versions as the load presented by the LED bulbs was so much less than normal bulbs that the controller would not stabilise and did some weird things.

Thanks Julian, you seem to be the guru on these matters.

The club I attend has 7/5/3 gauges and the advice is to stick to 5" being not too bulky and not too small and fiddly. I have also been advised on 0-6-0 being more stable to run. This still leaves quite a selection. The next advice was to have as little as possible inside the frames hence my search for more details on each design.

The other problem I perceive from reading the forum is that every published design seems to be beset with errors and omissions that then need chasing down to get an accurate picture of what is to be really built. Even the published books seem to suffer the same problem.

Add to this that everyone you ask has a different opinion with or without hands on knowledge.

Clocks are so much easier ...

Thanks again for your comments

Alan

Thanks for these comments.

I will have a look round at Ally Pally and see if Reeves still have this.

Alan

I have been debating starting a live steam 5" but find the possible array of options quite difficult to get to grips with in order to make a more refined choice.

Is anyone aware of a spreadsheet that lists things like name/wheel format/valve gear/cylinders/inside or outside/water feeds/designer/plans source/books/articles/casting source etc etc ?