pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

Sheesh guys, how many robots are you building?

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

Where do I sign up for my free samples?

I think I'll take one of each.

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

Were these cut on an Omax?

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

This has to be the third or fourth post I've seen you ask this... Just curious, why?

Our waterjetting is done on an Omax (to save you time when we eventually post pics :rolleyes: )

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

You guys are lucky. We're cutting ours on a CNC router, and it's taking quite a while. We're looking at about 4-5 hours for a diamond pattern baseplate.

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

Odd.

We have a pretty intricate design and it only took 35 minutes on our router. And that was me being super lazy. Could prolly get it faster.

We did a similar BP to what we've done the past few years.

Sincerely,

-RC

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

We gave the freshman brand new files this year.

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

What is your material and thickness, cutter type, spindle speed feedrate, and stepover?

We are running 1/8" thick 6061-T6 plate with a 1/4" 3-flute ZrN coated variable helix endmill, 16,0000 RPM, 30 IPM, 35% stepover, dry cutting, and it's cutting nicely. We tried pushing it faster and did not have favorable results. Also, our router is only a 2.5 HP machine. Also, we're turning all the pockets to chips. No solid pieces left behind.

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

Seems to be an Omax Intern.

These parts look super sweet, cannot wait to see them all powdered/ano'd.

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There's your problem. I would contour, not pocket.

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Ditto,

What Cory said, we don't pocket. Its a waste of a time, we also use a mister.

-RC

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

Omax is one of our sponsors.. We like to see other teams using the product.
In our new school, which will open next year...we will have our own OMAX waterjet..

Navid was an intern for OMAX but now works for them.

good luck

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

We're pocketing because we didn't want the loose pieces getting grabbed and flung.

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Right,

We've dealt with that by using double sided tape (especiallly if your running dry, we run wet so its hard) and by just making sure we have enough clearance between the holder and the material so when the piece does get flung it doesn't get caught.

For us the tradeoff of 5 hours vs 35 minutes is pretty huge. So we just have a kid sit there and make sure everything is g2g.

A vacuum table should hold it down well, but most routers don't have one.

-RC

Re: pic: 1538 Waterjet Samples
 

Omax is interested in helping machine shops or schools which use their machines to make robot parts. They are looking into supplying teams and their sponsors with abrasive, maintenance help, etc. Please PM me with the information if you are interested.

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Can any of you imagine what a nightmare that would be to do on a mill? I thought milling lightening holes into our chassis pieces was nightmarish...

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And this is why CNC was created :)
If I only have a manual mill I usually use a 3/4inch drill bit to do my lighting.

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Tabs.

Tab the parts in, we do it for everything.

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Hmm, tabs, not a bad idea. Or leaving a couple thou at the bottom and cut it out with a knife after, and deburr. We're new to this CNC routeri business. and still experimenting. For tabs, I don't think our CAM software has auto-tabs. We'd have to draw them in which would take a while. Either method requires some manual cleanup after.

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I used a 3/8 inch 2-flute end mill. I started our with a 4-flute and learned that 4-flutes and aluminum don't mix :( it melted my piece. And the absence of WD-40 caused the aluminum to stick inside of the bit :eek:.
Also, it was manual.