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Member postings for David Colwill

Here is a list of all the postings David Colwill has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

Thread: Electronic mouse trap
09/01/2017 10:41:05

I built one as a child. It was quite complicated but often worked. IIRC you simply turned the crank that kicked the boot that rolled the ball.......

Regards.

David.

Thread: Fusion 360
08/01/2017 20:00:51

It is my personal belief that Autodesk are doing a very clever thing by allowing free use of their software for students, start-ups and hobbyists. How many of these people can afford Solidedge, Solidworks or any of the other big names to learn on. The answer is not many. I can't help but think that in a few years there will be a huge number of the above moving up into the paying customer status, which is all good for Autodesk and all good for us. I can't see why they would want to change that any time soon.

David.

Edited By David Colwill on 08/01/2017 20:02:05

Thread: Milling Machine Vice
02/01/2017 11:10:42

I too have one and am very pleased with it. Be aware though that any vice will distort when the clamping force is applied. Steffan Gotteswinter did an excellent video on the subject which, as with all his videos is well worth watching. See here **LINK**

Regards.

David.

Thread: The Workshop Progress Thread (2017)
01/01/2017 15:54:14

Murray,

It looks like there is a useful 2 storey building at the end of your new workshop that could be incorporated into the new build to give that all important extra space that you are bound to need sometime. Apart from that it looks excellent.

David.

Thread: Capstan tailstock plans/diagram?
01/01/2017 15:07:49

Thanks for the heads up on Downriver Andrew.

I do like capstan slides!

David.

Thread: What Did You Do Today (2017)
01/01/2017 15:06:12

Started the new year tidy up!

Happy 2017 to all.

David.

Thread: Free Shipping .... of a turret mill !?!
27/12/2016 10:18:50

When I looked there was an offer to get a $5.00 coupon which could be used to offset the shipping smile p

Thread: How Do You Measure Your Holes?
17/12/2016 16:30:08
Posted by Ajohnw on 17/12/2016 15:30:26:

What people really need is one of these. Lots of decimal places and easy to use.

**LINK**

John

-

I'd best order a couple then, I'm bound to lose one. smile p

Thread: 3D design to CNC mill design flow
16/12/2016 11:38:52

Andrew

I'll have to check NC Plot out.

Roger,

For height setting I use a version of this **LINK**

For edge finding I use this type **LINK**

A better if not more expensive way is this **LINK**

The whole thing gets much easier the more you play with it.

David.

15/12/2016 08:46:08
Posted by Roger Head on 15/12/2016 01:31:38:

Having decided on Fusion 360, I will proceed to learn how to create component designs, and then (using the inbuilt CAM capability), create output files. At that point, is there any benefit in having, say, MACH3 without any mill attached? Will it usefully perform any sanity checks on the input file?

Related to that, is there any software that accepts the CAM file and re-creates a virtual component (on the screen)?

Roger

Hi Roger,

It wouldn't hurt to have Mach3 running unconnected. Whilst I'm not sure how much useful information you would get from it, I do think you would see glaring errors if you learnt to look for them. Mach has a toolpath screen that will give you an indication of how the tool is moving and also a table of maximum and minimum movements of X,Y & Z (very useful). The free version of Mach will be fine for this.

I'm not aware of any stand alone software that would display the part from G code and am not sure that I would trust one if there was such a thing. G code like any other language has dialects and it is often the little nuances that cause the problems.

One temporary solution, given your experience with steppers and servos would be to make a lash up machine which could be extremely crude given that it would be just to show how everything moves and check that nothing unexpected is happening.

Once you have reached a stage where the CAM program and Mach 3 are talking the same language the whole thing becomes very reliable and if anything stupid happens it will 99 times out of 100 be something you did.

David.

14/12/2016 12:00:13
Posted by Muzzer on 14/12/2016 10:58:27:

It does 4th axis as "wrapped path" currently and I think the true ("simultaneous" 4 and 5-axis capability is due very shortly. The good news is that for the hobby and small business user, the "ultimate" version with all the CAM extras is free, so by the time you bottom out how it all works, the true "simultaneous" 4 and 5 axis CAM should be ready for you.

Murray

Thanks Murray

I hadn't realised that the free version was "ultimate"

Although I have had fusion I haven't really used it much. I've spent the last week tweaking my little mill (Triac ATC) and am getting the hang of the cam side of Fusion. I have run several programs now without any problems.The last job on the list is setting up the 4th axis and getting Fusion to work it..

There are a huge number of drawing / CAM options out there but I haven't seen anything else with this kind of functionality that is basically free.

One thing I have started doing which has been a great help is to create a text document that explains step by step how to do various operations eg setting tool offsets in the ATC, setting the tool table in fusion and basic workflow on running a program. I find that sometimes I don't get much time in the workshop and when coming back to these things after some time I can spend a lot of time trying to remember what I did. I have written off more than 1 expensive cutter by making a stupid mistake usually caused by forgetting to do something.

David

14/12/2016 09:58:36

I thought the 4th and 5th axis was implemented in the last update. I haven't tried it though. It maybe that you need fusion ultimate to access the full features but I'm pretty sure that there is some functionality for the non paying users.

David

Thread: Holding drill bits
14/12/2016 07:54:57
Posted by not done it yet on 14/12/2016 07:50:00:

This is simple once one thinks about it. Why would manufacturers provide every drill bit with a plain shank? Is it just for somewhere to mark its size? Is it so it can be stored in a nice box with holes for each drill size? Is it so they can make it easier? Or is there (an)other reason(s)?

I doubt HSS is any tougher at one end or the other, just much thicker section at the plain end? So more likely to shatter at the flutes?

Not true. The shanks are left soft. Very useful on taper shank drills with knackered tapers as you can turn them down to a parallel shank.

David

Thread: 3D design to CNC mill design flow
14/12/2016 00:56:37

A good starting point would be Fusion 360. This contains the drawing package and Cam module in one. It has post processors for most of the hobby control systems (mach 3 and EMC being the two main ones). There are plenty of youtube videos on how it all works. NYCCNC is a good channel to see what it can do.

The good thing about it is it is free if you turn over less than $100,000 per year.

David

Thread: How Do You Measure Your Holes?
13/12/2016 21:57:46

For anything over 13mm I use Bowers 3 point bore micrometers. They are hellishly expensive new but I managed to pick up 3 for a reasonable price £80-£100 I think. I then collected odd ones off ebay and now can go from 13mm to 37mm in metric and from 1 1/2 inches to 4 inches in imperial. Well worth keeping your eyes open for them. Smaller holes I use various dowel pins, drill shanks and caliper guesswork.

David

Thread: Top
12/12/2016 11:04:21
Posted by steve de24 on 12/12/2016 00:42:09:

If you are going to make a top then this one is far more interesting :-

**LINK**

Steve

Ha,

I came across the Grand Illusions site about a week ago. Why isn't Tim on mainstream TV? He is far and away the best presenter I have seen in a long time.

David

Thread: Lathe Accuracy
11/12/2016 10:57:59
Posted by Neil Wyatt on 10/12/2016 18:10:07:
Posted by John Stevenson on 30/01/2015 17:52:45:

The accuracy isn't in the machine.

It's in the bloke on the handles.

Going back to the beginning of the thread, i have to agree with John on this!

This explains why nothing I make ever fits!

On a more serious note I think most beginners don't know how accurate their lathes are and therefore get caught out. The more experienced / methodical know when they are working close to the limits of their machine and take steps or workarounds to deal with the situation.

There is much to be said for doing basic accuracy checks every 6 months or so just so that you know what's what.

The fact that a machine isn't ultra precision needn't be anything to worry about (not in my world anyway).

Checking the accuracy of your machines. Sounds like a good idea for an article.

David

Thread: chester vs Myford
29/11/2016 07:34:48

One thing not mentioned is that with a belt drive lathe as you slow down you gain torque, with a variable speed lathe you lose it. The back gear in an ML10 will have vastly more torque than the variable speed ones and can still be fitted with a three phase motor and VFD. I do wish the far Eastern machines would fit proper back gear.

David.

Thread: How to make a micrometer
25/11/2016 12:00:32

If you want to make a micrometer this is better (as always).

**LINK**

and part 2

**LINK**

David.

Thread: Scary stuff you can buy on the net
12/11/2016 08:23:28
Posted by Michael Poole on 11/11/2016 21:46:18:

I can vouch that Bakers Fluid is an acquired taste but I would put whisky in the same class. Read the Amazon reviews of Barrentine meths for a good laugh.

Mike

I had come across this before but thanks for the reminder. Very funny.

David

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