Juke update:
Parts will be getting ordered in the next 2 weeks from Nissan. Been delaying a bit, parts I plan on ordering: bearings, engine overhaul kit, oil pump, water pumps, head bolts, intake/exhaust valves, etc. I also have to get a bunch of tools from Summit Racing such as: piston ring installer, gap ring grinder, rod vise, etc. etc. You guys get the idea by now, pretty straightforward process.
CNC Software update:
Purchased the Autodesk Fusion 360 CAD/CAM software for $492/year subscription. The 3D-CAD is a joke, no intention on using it. The CAM software is HSMWorks Ultimate......it's commercial level good. The tool paths available are capable of making 5-axis parts such as complex mold dies that require a lot of part rotations to keep the cutting tool following the surfaces correctly. It's the real deal. With the Fusion 360 subscription I get HSMworks Ultimate for free embedded in Fusion360 & the SW plug-in version as well. The SW plug-in version I'm having trouble with getting the license activated so I have to get with Autodesk to figure it out. They are almost identical functionally down to the same drop-down menus, not a huge deal but having it in Solidworks is better obviously as it parametrically updates with my design changes. Huge game changer though, software is awesome.
CNC Mill update:
I spent the weekend installing the new proximity sensors from Amazon which were about $8 ea. The machine needs them to stop the x,y,z, travels, using them as a "hard limit" stop. It then defaults to a software "soft limit" with acceleration/deceleration built-in. I spent most of the weekend tuning the "homing" sequences which isn't trivial. Got it down but it requires a homing sequence on every power up since I'm running steppers. No big deal, I'll write some g-code to auto-home the mill on boot-up to eliminate this tedious procedure. Overall, very nice to have the mill moving around and bumping the limit stops.
The Mach3 machine software is so flexible it has settings for everything. The problem is that if you mess up (1) setting....nothing works. The software settings are probably 95% of my problem, got the basics running though. I can save the settinsg in a .config file which helps. About 50% of what I needed wasn't specifically in the Mach3 owners manual but I found it on youtube. The 4th axis setup will be interesting, hopefully I can get it to work but for now I've got my hands full.
I ran a canned G-code program for drilling a bolt-hole pattern that came with the machine to test the setup. The nice thing about Mach3 machine software is you can edit the code on the machine. In this case it was doing something in the z-axis that my machine "soft limits" didn't allow. I simply went in to the g-code editor, tweaked the z-axis values to account for my machine preferring negative values, then it ran perfectly. This stuff usually is fixed in the post processor which sets all this stuff in advance. The CAM software typically does a virtual milling simulation like a cartoon on the CAD/CAM. Kind of handy to show if the toolholder is plowing thru the work piece or vice, had that happen a few times....ouch. Then that is posted out to the Mach3 machine software which does a compile & simulated run checking for crashes and such. Then, I run the actual sequence on the CNC in the air without material or vise/work holders as a final check. Eventually when the tooling/work holders/tool setters arrive I'll be able to cut some material. I'll probably start with machining wax to begin as it doesn't require coolant and is reasonably cheap. Think of it as a rapid prototype for validating CNC part programs. Once the flood cooling system is installed and I can build a reasonable enclosure I can let the chips fly on aluminum.
There is lots of setup to check for spindle runout, table accuracy (i.e. tramming), etc. That I still have to do. During the stepper motor tuning, I did check the positioning accuracy of the CNC steppers & mill using a dial indicator clamped to the table and measuring against the spindle for reference. This was for the "motor-tuning" to dial in the correct travels on the x,y, & z axis. They were bang-on from the factory but depend on the ball screw pitch and step values input into the software correctly. I did have about .001" backlash during motor reversals, but it's something I can program into the Mach3 software which will help compensate. I still have to adjust the motor "acceleration" but for now I'm running the factory presets as a start.
The CNC machine comes with a one-shot oil injection system for lubrication due to the high speeds involved, but Novakon didn't install it on the x-axis for some reason. The table was grumbling during rapids on the x-axis so I figured it was running dry, which it was. So I'm going to have to retrofit oil injectors for (4) locations to lubricate the x-axis ways. Little things like that, but with everything lubed up temporarily it was moving beautiful and sounded good. Maximum feed/rapid speed is 72 ipm, basically the CNC's topspeed. Haas Super-Mini-Mill 2 might run 400 ipm feedrates and near 1000 ipm travels (i.e. no cutting) so it gives some reference against a commercial setup. It's slow but for prototyping or small part runs it's not as bad as it sounds. Once I get the money I might get a power draw setup to release the toolholder automatically, which is one step away from a cheap "gang-tool" type auto loader. The TTS style tooling I'm buying is already setup for automated tool change. The reason for the aluminum tooling plate is to hold all the "gang-tools" on the table so the CNC can peck down and grab a tool when needed. Cheap solution to an expensive upgrade.
Couple final things I need to order on the CNC mill are: 5" CNC milling vise, 26.0"x12.0"x0.7" aluminum tooling plate, 4th-axis indexing head, 3-jaw chuck, 5C-collet vise, TTS quick change ER-20 collet holders, end-mills, drill set, tool-touch off tool, tramming indicator, coolant system, etc.
I'll load up some pictures or video if I can, then we can start concentrating on car stuff again.
