Herbie: The New York City Taig  CNC Milling Machine

New Home!

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:11:29 -0400

Herbie has a new home! I moved apartments last weekend and will be using the extra bedroom, which is ~10’ x 11’, as Herbie’s workspace! Needless to say, it’s a huge improvement over my previous space - both in terms of size and ability to work comfortably without worrying about making a mess. Here’s a quick video tour and some new photographs.

I had to ditch my previous air compressor because it was too loud for an apartment but my next project is going to be a new “silent” air compressor with either a Fogbuster or Trico MD1200 unit for cooling and chip removal. Stay Tuned!

Another Donald Judd Replica

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:50:00 -0400

I continue to enjoy making replica’s (albeit smaller replicas, at least for now) of the artist Donald Judd. Check out a previous example here.

The original version of this one, which can be seen here, is actually 69” x 16.5” x 5”. Needless to say, this one is quite small, but I am really happy with how it turned out. This whole project, including milling the wood & aluminum and painting only took about 90 minutes. Not bad! Enjoy.

New Enco Order has arrived!

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 20:36:41 -0400

Lots of new mill accessories! Herbie is approaching his 1st birthday and it was time to “tool up” again.

My first ENCO order, which I actually placed before I received the mill, was your cookie-cutting mill basics (endmills, calipers, cutting oil, transfer punches, squares, 1-2-3 blocks, dial test indicator, dead-blow hammer, basic vice, height-gauge, etc).

My second ENCO order was placed soon after receiving the mill, and it included a better vice, more 1-2-3 blocks, more end mills, cheap parallels, etc.

Well, it’s been quite a while since I placed an order and I have been eagerly awaiting some of these items. Some I need for current projects, others I know I will need in the comings months, and some were just for fun ;)

I’ve included a large photo below and a bullet list follows. Some of the items I’ve added extra details on. Hit me up with any questions. nyccnc AT gmail DOT com

Order (approx. left to right in photo):
9” x 12” Grade B 1 Granite surface plate (will use as a super-precise level surface for finish sanding)
Test Indicator
Test Indicator holders made by SPI (Will use this to more-accurately tram my Z column)
Circle center finder
Right angle block
Set of angle blocks (like parallels but have angles from 1-5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 degrees)
Set of V blocks
3/8” 2-flute high-helix HSS end mill (great for aluminum)
1/4” 2-flute high-helix HSS end mill (great for aluminum)
1/4 x 20 bottom tap
fine-point engraving tool
Two countersinks
Test Indicator with 5x5” granite base
Set of 1/16 - 1/4 HSS Precision Drill bit set
5 x 7” Adjustable tilting table with t-slots (will be using this to mill an angled-edge on a long piece of thin-aluminum)
Precision set of 6” parallels (FYI: these are so much nicer than the cheap set of parallels I previously owned. I cannot believe how much nicer they feel!)
The white boxes in the back are 1000 sheets of sandpaper ranging from 220 to 1200 grit! I’m doing a lot of surface finishing on aluminum!

Sol LeWitt Large Open Cube

Sun, 8 Jun 2008 18:47:37 -0400

This is my twist on a Sol LeWitt “Partial Open Cube”. See some real examples here: 1 2 3. I made this out of 3/4” 6061 Aluminum. I milled all four sides of each piece in order to make them perfectly square (the stock material has slightly rounded corners). I then milled pegs & holes for the pieces to join together (which I did very precisely!). After the milling work was done, I progressively wet-sanded, starting with 200, then 400, 800, 1200 and finally 2000. Afterwards, I polished with “MAAS” aluminum polish and then coated with Renaissance Wax in order to protect the finish from fingerprints, oxidation, etc.
 The project took quite a bit longer than I predicated. Precision “facemilling” each side of the 8 pieces was time-consuming. However, each one is true to +/- 0.002! Likewise, the sanding & polishing took a lot of time; four sides * eight pieces is 32 sides!

However, I’m really happy with the outcome and am proud of how good it looks. More pictures below; comments at the bottom!

Custom Watch Wrench!

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 23:56:44 -0400

Here in NYC, it can cost $20 - $25 to get a watch battery repaired. Ridiculous, right? Well, I finally realized that my watch has a screw-back (versus a friction-fit / pry-off back) and so I just needed a custom wrench to unscrew the back.

I sat down, measured the part, modeled it in BobCAD and milled this in LESS than 25 minutes - start to finish! That includes some pretty “tight” tolerances on the radius of the posts and distance between the posts. Worked like a charm. Enjoy a few more pictures below.

I’ve been working on a big project - details to come in a post later this week. Enjoy!

Mirror Finish on Aluminum!!!

Sat, 3 May 2008 22:53:42 -0400

I have finally achieved a MIRROR quality finish on Aluminum! It really is easier than I thought; I just needed the right tools. Check out the video for the full tutorial walk-through.

Here’s the process:
Fly Cut. You do not necessarily have to fly cut the part, but it helps ensure that the face is even / square / true.
Start wetsanding. I used 400 then 600 then 1200 then 2000 grit. Here are the links for the sandpaper I used:
400 & 600: Norton Sandpaper
1200: 3M Imperial™ Wetordry
2000: 3M Imperial™ Wetordry
Apply polishing creme with a clean rag, then buff with a clean rag. I used MAAS Polishing Creme.

Incredible finish on 6061 Aluminum

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:32:15 -0400

Using my TAIG CNC Mill, a 4-flute HSS endmill, 7445 and 7447+ 3M Scotchbrite. The "feeds & speeds" on the milling were 5000 RPM, 7 IPM, and a 0.030" DOC. After the milling, I used 7447+ and then 7445 3M Scotchbrite handpads to polish the finish! The end result is silky smooth!

Video with more enclosure details!

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 22:55:03 -0400

I’ve updated an old post with a new video with more enclosure details! Check it out here!

SM-023 Mini-Series Episode 6

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:16:12 -0400

Episode 6 is up! Click the link below.

Link to Episode 6

Enjoy!

Chips!!!!!

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 23:09:36 -0400

Whoever said a TAIG Mini-CNC Mill couldn’t make chips!!!

This is a photo from a project I’m just starting - more details to come! Full size picture below

SM-023 Mini-Series Episode 5

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:08:37 -0400

Episode 5 is up! Click the link below or the “SM-023” link on the top of any page on www.nyccnc.com!

Link to Episode 5

Enjoy!

Donald Judd - Menziken Wall Box Replica

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:31:27 -0400

I am an enthusiastic fan of Donald Judd and his work - in particular his “specific objects.” Judd, who passed away in 1994, was one of America’s preeminent 20th century Artists. More about him here. Since his original works sell well into the hundreds of thousands, I thought it would be a fun project to make a replica of one of his “Menziken” Wall Boxes with Herbie. This is a miniature version (8” wide) I built to serve as a proof-of-concept; I look forward to building full-size version (~36” wide). Enjoy the photo’s and video below!

Loc-Line headstock adapter

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:06:58 -0500

As you saw in my last post (link here), I have installed an air compressor & Loc-Line system to blow chips out of my toolpath. I needed a more stable way to hold the loc-line part near the spindle (for a few days I was just holding it up with rubber bands). I made a part (pictures below) which slides into a groove/dovetail on my TAIG headstock with a SHCS (socket head cap screw) to pinch it into place. I then milling out and threaded the part for the 1/4” NPT parts which connect my airhose to my loc line. I’m really happy with the results! I originally used brown delrin as a test material, thinking I would remake the part in aluminum, but I’m going to keep this one for now. Enjoy!

Chip Removal Solution: Air Compressor

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:26:22 -0500

As loyal NYCCNC readers know, Herbie lives in an NYC apartment and is subject to unusual size and noise constraints (at least for running a CNC mill!). I lamented buying an air compressor but finally decided to give it a shot. I needed a way of removing chips from the toolpath - especially for pocketing operations - without opening the enclosure door. Flood cooling (and the fog-buster) were out because of the risks and smells with coolant. Some of my upcoming episodes for the SM-023 mini-series require deep(er) pockets, so I went over to Home Depot to pick up a small air compressor.

The trick was that I did not want the compressor to run full time especially since I only bought a 1.3HP A/C with a 1.5 gallon tank, I wanted to retain the ability to blast air as needed. I also needed to keep that control (i.e. a trigger to blast air as I wished) outside of the enclosure. So what I came up was this: keep the traditional blow gun with trigger but run 1/4” air hose from the blow gun to the inside of the enclosure where it meets loc-line for aiming.

The A/C cost $99, the loc-line cost $20 and the adapters from HD cost another $15 for a total of ~$135. I’ve just finished the set up and am quite happy with it so far. I can just give the blow-gun trigger a quick squeeze as frequently as needed to remove chips.

Stay tuned for more updates (the rubber bands around the loc-line are temporary). I’ll have video of it in-action in my next SM-023 episode.

Feeds & Speeds: Success with Aluminum

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:52:11 -0500

I’ve been re-working a part after I made a mistake in Episode 4 of my mini-series (link here) and found a great “Feeds & Speeds” rate for cutting aluminum!
 Here’s the scoop:
Material: 6061 aluminum
Cutting tool: 1/4” HSS 2-flute end mill
Feed: 10ipm
Speed: 7100 RPM
DOC: 0.0133”
Cutting width: 50%
Other: I used the “Lace Zig Zag” with a 90 degree feature in BobCAD CAM V22. This means that the toolpath back was from back to front (i.e. moving along the Y axis)

The finish is not perfect, but it’s definitely the closest I’ve found to a smooth surface. The cuts I was making early were the same except 8ipm; what a difference 2ipm makes! This speaks volumes to how “tweaky” it can be to find the right settings. I’ll be certain to keep everyone posted as I mill a larger area and/or find an even better setting.

Herbie: The New York City Taig CNC Milling Machine