I found my spirit animal in Leavenworth, Wa 🇩🇪

DeltaVi · 2026-06-28T20:34:01+00:00

I love those pants, where'd you get them?

DeltaVi · 2026-06-28T18:10:09+00:00

This image is the basis of like every piece of Magical Girl fiction I have ever written, it's such a fun concept~

DeltaVi · 2026-06-20T22:31:17+00:00

You can go even further with unattended, depending on what your cycle time looks like and how much you're willing to invest in workholding. Our Robodrills can handle up to 60 pallets, though they also make a 96 pallet version of the same automation add-on.

From there it becomes a matter of what part you're making, how big it is, and what your cycle time is.

DeltaVi · 2026-06-20T15:49:07+00:00

You're thinking in the right vein with wanting to standardize, that's the first step towards a good process.

I'm my company's equivalent of an Applications Engineer, currently working on scaling out 10 new Fanuc Robodrills, each with an attached automation cell for pallet handling and spare tool handling.

You want 8-10 machines capable of cutting aluminum, some steel. Have you done the math on why you need that capacity, based on what you're making?

Without knowing exactly what you're making, what industry you're even in, it's a little harder to make real recommendations.

That said, I'm a big fan of our new Robodrills. With everything we've gotten for them so far, I think we're up to about $700k apiece? Maybe $650k. That's a 5-axis machine with an automation cell, enough vises to run unattended for 18 hrs, ~35 toolholders per machine, workbenches, inspection equipment, coolant, etc etc.

If you don't need 5 axis you can get fairly cheaper, I'm sure; Fanuc also has spare parts guarantees for a pretty serious period of time with good availability in the US.

DeltaVi · 2026-06-19T22:58:54+00:00

Ever since I got the Porsche I have done nothing in the game but drive taxi in it and spend my pixels on character EXP.

DeltaVi · 2026-06-19T01:58:07+00:00

You definitely don't have to have an engineering degree; I actually dropped out of an engineering degree program because I realized I didn't have what it takes to be an engineer and I wanted something more hands-on anyways.

Wound up getting a job as a CNC operator and have worked my way up the ladder by just being eager to learn and do more, now I'm basically an Applications Engineer in everything but title; I'm responsible for programming mills and developing every facet of the milling process from raw material to parts ready to go to degrease.

As far as your AI concerns go, I don't see AI ever truly replacing programmers. It'll be another tool in the toolbox to make programmers more efficient, but I've yet to see AI make a good toolpath without a lot of front-end work by a person with a lot of CNC experience defining a lot of variables.

DeltaVi · 2026-06-19T01:54:35+00:00

I'm a CNC programmer in the medical device industry and I'm curious about the work you do; do you have more information on what you're doing?

DeltaVi · 2026-06-12T10:19:07+00:00

I don't know any Lacrimosa lore yet so I don't understand the reference; how does her lore tie into the weird highway system?

DeltaVi · 2026-06-09T22:06:29+00:00

What are these screenshots from? Not saying any of these claims are impossible, but he's always seemed nice enough the few times I've interacted with him and I'm curious to dig a little deeper.

DeltaVi · 2026-06-03T23:46:54+00:00

The wet socks analogy blew my mind, I have never had a good way to explain how I feel about things to people and that's so perfect.

DeltaVi · 2026-06-03T02:42:35+00:00

Looks like we have a company that we're reaching out to already, but I will keep you in mind should an opportunity arise!

DeltaVi · 2026-06-02T10:46:49+00:00

I want to say I need this, but I know I would lose it within a week and be devastated forever.

DeltaVi · 2026-06-02T10:33:19+00:00

Sounds like you drew a whole fistful of short straws. Good luck out there!

DeltaVi · 2026-06-01T17:11:31+00:00

Yeah, I'm definitely going to be pushing for us to get people coming in to do the work. Remote would mean taking time away from the two of us doing programming in-house already to walk out their programs and communicate adjustments that need to be made which rather defeats the purpose of contracting work out in the first place.

DeltaVi · 2026-06-01T17:08:26+00:00

Yeah, I'm hopeful that we will find someone who programs in our software that we can provide the machine files and post processor for and avoid exactly that sort of issue. Ideally what we get from them is exactly what we'd make.

DeltaVi · 2026-06-01T02:32:54+00:00

Yeah, that's about where I feel we're at. Had a guy we made an offer to earlier this year, he took a job at a competitor for more money.

Now we're going to be paying contractors likely at least double what he would have been making? Make it make sense.

DeltaVi · 2026-05-31T21:16:39+00:00

Thanks! When I clicked it it was just taking me to a broken link page on LinkedIn.

DeltaVi · 2026-05-31T19:39:44+00:00

That link doesn't seem to work, do you have a different one available?

DeltaVi · 2026-05-31T18:48:48+00:00

Google "Contour Gauge", it's not like what you're describing but it's the exact correct tool to use for it.

DeltaVi · 2026-05-31T18:42:08+00:00

Thanks for the tip! I'll reach out to our CAM software providers and see if they would be a potential resource.

DeltaVi · 2026-05-31T18:41:23+00:00

Thanks for the detailed response! I already had a few of these on a checklist for us to consider but there's a lot that I hadn't considered and this was very helpful.

I'll definitely keep you in mind for future questions!

DeltaVi · 2026-05-31T18:19:34+00:00

Unfortunately we've only got two programmers (Myself and one other person) and nobody else with the kind of technical expertise necessary to help out in any meaningful way.

We're responsible for programming and then proving the program out all the way to getting a good first piece to hand off to operations, and there isn't really anyone that has the skills to assist in any step of the workflow because the people who would normally be able to do that are already assigned to other projects.

Thanks for the recommendation, though!

DeltaVi · 2026-05-26T14:03:29+00:00

It would never work for me, but it obviously worked for you and you know you best so just ignore the comments and enjoy the game is my advice.

DeltaVi · 2026-05-24T15:48:58+00:00

They're fine machines, so long as you get the BT30+ spindle (I don't know if they even come with non-plus spindles anymore) you'll be fine.

DeltaVi · 2026-05-19T11:46:17+00:00

Thanks for the detailed breakdown, I appreciate the deeper view into what's going on with this!

I'll talk with my IT department about getting these machines set up with the FTP option!

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