Shopbot users - what have you learned?

[Forhire]

Originally Posted by asid61

I googled 16 gauge (from the video) and it said 0.0625", which sounds even more crazy. That's miles ahead of all of the other routers that people list here.

How do you place your screws so that the shopbot doesn't hit them?

It does that 0.0625 aluminum sheet so easily. The video doesn't really do it justice.

This part was done in two operations. The first we drilled all the holes while the material was clamped to the table. This included all the holes you see plus all the helical start locations in the pockets. This aided the pocket starts. We then screwed down the part through all the holes and removed the clamps. We then ran the second operation. The part takes about 30 minutes.

A hardened screw will eat and endmill in a hurry unless you just graze it. Softer wood screws can be machined right through but they require a pilot hole as they tend to tear out of the mdf.

Not hitting screws requires diligence on the part of the designers and those setting up the machines. Last year we had real issues with some parts. This season we had a student in the shop sit down with the designer prior to making the part to ensure it was machinable. This included everything from sufficient hold down locations to proper fillets and realistic tolerances. We also had the designers come in and help on a few parts. This greatly improved the workflow and resulted in parts that fit the first time.

At present we are using Solidworks and HSM Works for the cam. This was the first year we had students setting up the cam paths aside from the stuff they did using the conversational (Intercon) on the Centroid. The key is to setup a set of procedures and use them consistently.

In the fall we are planning on making a foot to hold down sheet material. Shopbot offers a simplistic version but we'd prefer to build our own. Projects teach skills. Is anyone using a foot on their router?