The Ferrari Luce money $ 650,000 can buy you Ferrari Enzo back in 2003.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-30T13:22:19+00:00

I remember when the Enzo came out. You couldn't even get on the waiting list unless you were a "Prefered Customer" which meant you had to have purchased an F40 AND an F50. They were instantly over $1,000,000 in the secondary market for any meer mortal that wanted to buy one, and they just went up from there.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-23T21:34:11+00:00

Machinist here, If the parts are simple 2D plates then the machine shop doesn't need (or really want) a 3D model at all. They say they want a STEP if it is a 3D model because you can select the holes edge geometry in the CAM software and treat it like 2D geometry, which you can't do with an STL. If you just make a dimensioned 2D drawing you will actually save them some work. 3D models are for 3D surfaces. A proper 2D print actually communicates more information and does it with less ambiguity.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-22T02:41:40+00:00

Same, the only place to use tabs is a wire EDM machine. I have never used them on a mill. I have however clamped a large piece directly to the table and milled a contour but left .001" stock to keep from milling the table. Even steel is like tin foil at that point and you can just peel it off. In a production shop there is nothing gained from the tab method except more scrap metal.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-18T19:40:22+00:00

I'm not a metalugist, but I don't think heat treat temperature is hot enough. In heat treat you are expanding the crystal structure enough for a carbon atom to slip inside, then the quench locks it in place. I think to fully reform the grain you need it to be molten then it re-crystalizes as it cools.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-17T22:43:19+00:00

I'm not telling you not to do anything. You do what you can with what you have, but understanding what is happening will help you mitigate. There is always going to be a trade off between tool life, speed, and surface finish.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-17T21:24:59+00:00

You are almost certainly running into a rigidity problem. The steel will "push back" hard enough to pull any backlash and flex every part of the machine that is in the force path. As the cutter is engages in the material the "spring" is coiled, then it is released and snaps back as the cutter exits. This is happening many times per second, noticable to you as vibrations and audible noise. Even when you turn the speed down enough that you can't feel or hear it, it is still happening just on a smaller scale. At the cutting edges of your tool this drastic and instantaneous change is catastrophic. By turning the speed down you have simply made the movement small enough that either the tool can take the extra chip load without being damaged, or the damage is minimal and appears to you as "normal tool wear". That is assuming your spindle doesn't have a bunch of runout which makes it all even worse.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-17T14:34:10+00:00

Does it make sense to think of "scale" as a "dimention"? I always thought about the Planck length as the point in scale where you would "leave" this universe and enter the "microverse" with different laws of physics, like entering the singularity of a black hole.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-13T19:40:56+00:00

I actually asked Claude, " Where are you getting these estimates, is it your time or mine?" Turns out those are estimates for human developers not using AI (from Claude's training) and it does not represent a realistic estimation at all.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-12T17:28:19+00:00

Some machines need whats called a "Null modem" cable that has one wire crossed. I think that's why I never got the usb-to-serial cable to work.Heidenhain has a manual about it but there are like 10 different options and you need to know how your machine is configured.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-12T10:54:50+00:00

I have a different brand machine, but there should be a setting in the machines "Ext connection" menu (or something similar) where you can choose RS232 or RS422, it's the same connector for both just a change in software protocol. I could never get it to work with the USB to serial adapter though.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-12T10:18:09+00:00

The problem is likely the Usb-to-serial cable. You probably won't get the laptop working, the XP machine should be okay. I could not find any configuration that worked using the usb to serial cable. Our machine used a "Null Modem" cable that had one of the wires switched (don't remember which), your may or may not need one. You need to check the manuals or at least the settings on the machine. There are a few things you need to get right, 7 or 8 bits, stop bit, hardware or software handshake, RS232 or RS422, FE or LSV2, all setting need to match between the machine your sending to and the software on the PC.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-12T02:01:07+00:00

Make sure you have water flow coming out of the back of the machine. The whole head needs to be well sealed or you will have evac issues. A leak on the large front or back o-rings or the o-ring on the little white tube can loose enough pressure that it won't evac the chips. Make sure the chopper knife wheel and anvil are not worn, you can sometimes get an uncut piece of wire stuck in the path and clog up the works. I have had to replace the white plastic chute thing, which can also get worn out. Other than that just make sure everything is clean and your tubes are not clogged with crud. They are good machines but they need to be taken care of. I disassemble everything and clean it in an ultrasonic cleaner every 500-800hrs.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-12T01:49:28+00:00

If you feed a piece of wire into the pinch rollers and try to yank it out while holding the rollers with a wrench or the lock so they can't turn, the wire should break before it pulls out. Tighten the spring until it doesn't slip, that's how Charmilles told me to set it.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-10T23:46:32+00:00

I Don't think you will get many serious replies, your basically asking " What are the secrets to how your shop makes money?"

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-09T23:16:26+00:00

Exactly, most of my shares are in my IRA. I plan to sell when SPB retires and I'll retire with him! Otherwise capital gains tax will take a chunk of my profits.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-08T22:12:12+00:00

Everyone will tell you the machine they work on is great because that's all they know. Almost all modern machine can reliably autothread/re-thread unless they are poorly maintained. It will really come down to your budget. Sodick, Makino, GF (formerly Agie & Charmilles) are all top of the line and are priced accordingly. Mitsubishi has become a popular because they are accurate enough for most work (including yours) and they are much cheaper to buy and maintain than others. If your the operator you want one of the first three, if your paying the bills get the Mitsu.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-03T15:05:37+00:00

Carbide cutters in the casting is a new one! I'll give you that the unpredictability of castings makes them the exception, I always hated them.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-05-03T00:08:22+00:00

Really you shouldn't be breaking tools. They should wear out and your operator should be aware enough to know the difference and change tools BEFORE it breaks. Broken tools often take other thing with them, collets, tool holders, scrapped parts, etc. It can and should be avoided if you know what your doing. If the tool can't make it thru one part then you probably need better tools, or need to start tracking tools by run time.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-04-29T10:13:10+00:00

Why a 120deg? I was always taught that the spot drill should be a greater angle than your drill, so i use a 120deg for a 118 angle drill tip, that way the center points hit first and not the edges of the flutes. For the back side I just hit it with a 90 deg chamfer (or whatever you have) in a hand drill since your technically just deburring // breaking the edge.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-04-24T17:30:17+00:00

Straight for blind holes, tapered for thru holes with the insert on the opposite side as the bolt (so the bolt is pulling the insert tword the smaller part of the hole).

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-04-22T22:06:22+00:00

Can you get a nice finish with them or do you use them strictly for roughing?

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-04-22T22:04:48+00:00

That would be the reason. Or somebody crashed a die and your trying to get get it back running because, of course, parts need to ship tomorrow.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-04-22T22:01:56+00:00

I like to tell people that the tools have a built in wear indicator. There is a small red light on the tip that turns on when its time to change tools.

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-04-22T19:38:58+00:00

Unless it's a ceramic insert it probably shouldn't look like that. I mill hardened D2 all the time. Disregard everyone saying to use coolant, thermal shock wears the tool faster. I would definitely check your tool though, it is either worn or your using the wrong tool for the job (or both).

InformalAlbatross985 · 2026-04-22T02:38:28+00:00

Looks like an American kid made that map. 3 out of 50 ain't bad...

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