Things I'd mention
Carbide is not really a good choice for small tools on the boxford,
although it's generally a superior material, it does demand higher
cutting speeds than the boxford is capable of to get the best results,
HSS or 8% Cobalt tools may work better here. Shop-APT provides 8% cobalt
tools down to 1mm diameter although they are little more expensive than
the usual eBay/Amazon suppliers
Slotting like that is one of the hardest operations to do, you might get
better results by modelling the slot as wider than the tool (if that's
practical for your job?) then using a 2D pocket clearance toolpath with
multiple depths specified. That'll result in it only trying to cut very
shallow slots with a little space around them to allow for better chip
clearance.
On point-1, yes I'm seeing the same, I'm reluctant to invest too much
time in fault-finding there though as we might wind up re-building the
spindle soon.
Point-2, OK I'll order a spare, they're not expensive
Point-3, Yes that's an issue I've had too. It's worth noting that even
small drops in the air-blast pressure will result in substantially
reduced load on the compressor so if you're able to reduce that even a
little it's likely to resolve the issue. Can also help to turn the
downstairs air-con on high while you're working and make sure the
compressor is in range of it. We're considering a compressor upgrade at
some point that should remove this issue entirely.
Steve
On 06/07/2021 14:20, Andy C wrote:
> I am having a lot of fun and learning a lot on the Boxford. If you're
> interested in metalwork/engineering, I highly recommend it. Watch out
> though, the learning curve is a little steep, my record so far is 4
> broken tools in one session.
>
> If you're interested, you can see some photos and a couple of videos of
> my projects here <
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3HsSzYLaDcThvJJRA>,
> including this time-lapse
> <
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMv88JHPpHQBpFAmCuEqAbj8uWa6QZ8UhWvx2owxDzY9ixMxzAdyva47ZhdPLDLaA/photo/AF1QipNY1PGR5fbNBtkvhrrg5xb-9CqqrxlJLa4PrH4C?key=X2dSOGFybUxIaXVZczVJTEZMd0xiYmFZNzJseGpn>
> of my disastrous session.
>
> I've also started trying to keep a log of my tool usage and
> success/failure here
> <
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oleGbisOdjidyUlOG0hp37Jn8Jut1l1At75jPGPmVLQ/edit?usp=sharing>.
> Maybe that will be useful to others. I'd welcome collaboration if anyone
> wants to contribute.
>
> Some other notes/learnings:
>
> 1. I seem to have to use the rubber mallet more and more to extract the
> chuck from the machine. Particularly after a few operations.
> 2. The 4 - 3 collet is *really *tight with 4mm tools. It was a struggle
> today - grips were needed. I imagine we're using 3.175mm tools quite
> a bit, could this have 'shrunk' the collet?
> 3. I've had the compressor overheat in two sessions now. That causes a
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