Shop Development

[apples000]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

That's somewhat antiquated and borderline bad advise. I understand the point you were attempting to make, but it comes across in an unfavorable way.

Many (if not most) schools require a classical progression of skills, from manual machining, up to CNC, and many older experienced machinists argue that any education that differs from this path is wrong and will never make a successful machinist.

However, we're beginning to see a shift in which manual machines are becoming increasingly irrelevant as most industrial processes are now automated, and to see something like a manual mill used in a production environment today is a rare sight, an a profit-losing one at that. I've even visited small job shops and R&D labs with plenty of CNCs, but not a single manual machine. Since we started on CNC, the only thing we use the manual mill for by choice is for awkward objects that just won't fit decently into the CNC.

For what we do in FRC, it is totally possible to teach students starting on CNC. Everything we do is aluminum, easy to fixture, and uses pretty basic milling operations with end mills that range from .125" to .5" diameter and the occasional fly cutter for face milling.

However, I don't agree with what you're saying about manual mills only being used in profit-losing situations. There are still plenty of machine shops effectively using manual mills to make parts.

[asid61]

Originally Posted by apples000

For what we do in FRC, it is totally possible to teach students starting on CNC. Everything we do is aluminum, easy to fixture, and uses pretty basic milling operations with end mills that range from .125" to .5" diameter and the occasional fly cutter for face milling.

However, I don't agree with what you're saying about manual mills only being used in profit-losing situations. There are still plenty of machine shops effectively using manual mills to make parts.

If you don't already, I would highly recommend switching to insert face mills over end mills and flycutters when you can. You get absolutely stunning finishes while running the things at 2000 or 3000rpm. I run a 2" face mill at 2000rpm on a manual mill and it has greatly sped up how fast I do my work, because I don't have to take a finishing cut and I can chug through metal really fast.

Regardless of whether you get a manual mill or CNC, buy an insert face mill along with the regular stuff.

[apples000]

Originally Posted by asid61

If you don't already, I would highly recommend switching to insert face mills over end mills and flycutters when you can. You get absolutely stunning finishes while running the things at 2000 or 3000rpm. I run a 2" face mill at 2000rpm on a manual mill and it has greatly sped up how fast I do my work, because I don't have to take a finishing cut and I can chug through metal really fast.

Regardless of whether you get a manual mill or CNC, buy an insert face mill along with the regular stuff.

Fly cutters will get you a better surface finish if you go quickly and have your head very square. See 4:25 in this video for a pretty cool demonstration of a good fly cutter:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Xa0PMHM1U

I use face mills when using big rigid machines, but I've actually found that a sharp flycutter in aluminum can do a good job too.