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[ATM] Re Milling About
Anthony
You will first have to define your goal with a milling machine. For
example, size of project, materials you want to mill, and most
important, your budget. Other considerations would be the precision you
require and your knowledge of the processes.
As a machinsit I have used a wide variety of machinery, ranging in price
from 1k to 500k, manual and computer controlled.
I recently helped a friend set up a smaill knee mill. Its travel is 14 x
6 x 14 and 3" quill travel
http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?&NETID=1005300701061105350&NTITEM=CT054
This style has a few advantages ovet the standard benchtop machine in
that you can swivel the head and the table can be raised. With the bench
machine the quill travel is longer but you must raise and lower the
head, which is can rotate around the columm and you have to find your
zero point on the work afterwards.
http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?&NETID=1005300701061105350&NTITEM=B1977
In your budget you will have to set aside almost as much for the tooling
and accessories as for the mill itself. More is you want the luxury of a
digital readout (DRO)
http://www.star-techno.com/INFO.HTM
Tooling could include, collets, endmill holders, vise, rotary table,
boring head(s), boring bar set(s), clamping set(s), indexing head,
parallel sets etc.
Then you are going to need measuring tools such as micrometers and
calipers, dial indicators and a mag base, edge finders as so on.
Then after using your mill for a while you will find that you have a
need for a lathe, and it starts all over again :-)
The sources here are from Canadian suppliers, but there are several
similar in the US with almost identical machines, except for the DRO :-)
The only inexpensive dro in the US I could find is the build it your
self one from Shumatech http://www.shumatech.com/
Hope this helps, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
James Crombie
http://www.jamescrombie.com
Anthony Stillman wrote:
> I need advice and directions, help actually. And I’m
> treading a fine line with this post.
>
> I’m looking for the people who are to milling as ATMs
> are to ATMing. I’ve googled and surfed for the
> requisite hours and found a few enthusiast’s sites,
> some incredibly large astoundingly precise and
> unbelievable expensive machines, and almost not at all
> any of what I was hoping for, or expected. I know y
> o u p e o p l e are out there, and there must be
> machines that are neither toys nor need a factory
> floor to stand their weight, but I can hardly see you
> or them through the netting. I’d appreciate links. And if they are to
> enthusiast’s sites, I think the
> list would too.
>
>
> Anthony
>
> amicus curiae
> Friend of the court.
>
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>
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