Member postings for MW

I'm not surprised you struggled with stainless, to use an acme die on that is likely to put too much stress on the tool and isn't helped by the fact the material is work hardening, so you can't really use it to "neat-cut" an entire thread like you could with soft materials.

Your only option with stainless would be to single point the thread using a lathe, that way you can work up incrementally to the size needed without putting the tools under too much strain.

The only things I've used to cut acme tap/dies with material's are aluminium and mild steel, maybe at only 3/8" you could get away with it but I wouldn't expect the die to last forever. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 07/01/2018 15:08:39

Hi,

I recently bought Vincent Gingery's book on making a small injection moulding machine, I can't post it here for copyright reasons.

But it's basically a small metal frame with a machined mild steel cylinder and a cartridge heater and thermostat attached to it and all activated by a piston and lever handle. It also sports an adjustable base to raise and lower the height of a mould, closer or further away from the nozzle head.

Here is a picture of a modified one.

Not really the point i'm trying to make but I hope it gives you a little bit of context to the equipment.

I was thinking of making a similar machine, but instead out of a small arbour press and using that as the basis for my design.

In Vincent's book he frequently talks about all the different kinds of plastics you can use in the machine, but is quite light on the specifics of that. All of his examples were cast into two-part aluminium molds using HDPE.

HDPE is an easy one because it can be melted down, and reheated with no lasting consequences for doing so. Whereas other plastics are a one-shot affair, they can be heated up once, set and then they must remain like that. They simply burn or become brittle if you try to do it twice.

Now my question is whether you can do with Nylon what you can do with HDPE, can you say, heat up recycled nylon 66. swarf and get it to set again? Or do I need to buy virgin pellets for the trick to work? Is there any thing you need to be mindful of with this plastic?

Michael W

the way I understand it is it has something to do with the way the processor pages memory and therefore can be tricked into running malicious software, if so desired?

Michael W

And the equal and opposite effect of some of the most spontaneous and simple ideas can end up working very well.

Michael W

What does that make a stud then?

My Clarke Cl430m lathe manual calls the topslide a "bevel cutting" feature.

Michael W

Might want to check out either Cromwell or cutwel tools for that kind of thing. I'd imagine most M.E suppliers wouldn't stock thread mills.

Michael W

Welcome! The inverter/motor setup works very well on both my machines too.

Theres a thread somewhere about doing photos, check the search function on under forums

Michael W

Posted by Gordon W on 30/12/2017 16:00:24:

Definitely a short supply of that in the world.

Michael W

What type of aluminium are we talking about here? Pure Alu is way too soft.

It normally has to be an alloy or temper to get it hard enough.

Michael W

It sounds like quite a careless thing to leave off considering it's intended to fit on a mill? I know you're never going to get a one size for all but it would be a nice place to start. 

The only other way you're left with is a decent sized machining job or take it in a vise if you've got one big enough. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 29/12/2017 20:00:41

The main benefit of the spiral form flutes meant that you could elongate the overall length of the channel as opposed to having a shorter channel, this allows for more swarf to be carried away from the cutting bit more efficiently. The spiral motion combined with this makes the chips move up the length of the drill not dissimilar to an auger.

(Perhaps at the very slight expense of less rigidity, but this has more to do with how many flutes you have)

This traditional way was also applied to drills as well unsurprisingly.

The only benefit I can see it having today is making it easier to regrind any damage, and also a good idea for making your own custom cutters. But not really a commercial practice anymore, an interesting piece of tool history though.

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 28/12/2017 15:11:53

This was how they used to be made many years ago. The spiral flutes were a later innovation.

Michael W

By the looks of the colour, the current state of it looks like molyslip grease has been applied at some point.

Michael W

M.E.W would have to become a top shelf magazine.

Traditionally it would've been done with a series of steel cutting broaches with the edges gradually tapering towards a fully square profile.

A bit of foreshadowing; you've hung your hat up?

Michael W

Omg,

This is no longer any ordinary WM-16 It's the Uber-16 , With it's state of the art multi-point lighting system. One of the biggest complaints is a lack of light on the workpiece so the manufacturer in china have pulled out all the stops with this. 

And the icing on the cake with the bottle of moly-fairy neat-cut.

Joking aside, it's a very nice cover. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 23/12/2017 11:46:27

I thoroughly believe people have got the wrong end of the stick here and are treating it like a binary choice.

I believe, no matter what the set backs or challenges are at the moment, that it is in the interest of the consumer, the companies and the government to provide as much choice as possible about how to pay their bill and manage their consumption.

People can still have a fixed tarrif if they want or a smart meter, the increase in flexibility and choices benefits the whole system when the customer is able to choose. I think the energy companies would be daft to not want that for the future. (Not to mention that they've already been told enough times they're being too uncompetitive)

Michael W

Cutters with polished flutes and high helix tend to work best for alu.