DIY Front Panel

[totoxraymond]

So, i finally had time to take CNC mill out for a spin today.

First i thought that my small diy machine would require a lot more maintenance after 1&1/2 year without running, but it turns out it was still perfectly square and flat!

I only have poor internet via my phone right now so i won't make a detailed report but here is my first result for a front panel:



This is 3 mm anodized aluminum.
I used a 3.2 mm drill bit, a 1.5mm /1 tooth mill bit and a 25° v bit

Unfortunately the engraving bit was a bit dull, so the result isn't as sharp as i hoped for. I made the mistake of not properly probe the surface when i ran a proto in some waste material.

Also, i had problems with one drill hole, it didn't go through. I think my version of grbl doesn't handle G81 very well. I need to investigate on that path. (I'd like to upgrade the electronic/ motor anyway).

Well, in the end i think it's not bad for a ~500€ CNC!

Thomas

 

[totoxraymond]

For reference, i made this panel to replace the old one i milled with a dremel free handed (i didn't even have a drill press at the time).

 

[jonasnoble]

For reference, i made this panel to replace the old one i milled with a dremel free handed (i didn't even have a drill press at the time).

View attachment 114572

That looks fantastic. I'm going to try to experiment some more this weekend.

 

[totoxraymond]

I made #02 this morning, this time, engraving with a sharp bit. Result is what i expected. Smaller fonts are easier to read.



I engraved @ 150 mm/min feed (X/Y)
And 100 mm/min plunge

Final depth was set @0.15 mm with a 0.10mm pass followed by a 0.05mm finishing pass.

I'm really pleased with this result, so I think i'll stick to that.

Thomas

 

[jonasnoble]

Nice work!

I made #02 this morning, this time, engraving with a sharp bit. Result is what i expected. Smaller fonts are easier to read.

View attachment 114605

I engraved @ 150 mm/min feed (X/Y)
And 100 mm/min plunge

Final depth was set @0.15 mm with a 0.10mm pass followed by a 0.05mm finishing pass.

I'm really pleased with this result, so I think i'll stick to that.

Thomas

Nice work! This is turning out to be a little more difficult than I thought it would be. I've had good and bad results on my scrap aluminum pieces, and I'm nowhere near ready to start doing the actual cuts yet.

What size spindle are you using? I need to upgrade but haven't decided what direction I'm going yet. (Makita versus water-cooled versus laser engraver). I'm pretty sure my stock 75watt spindle won't do feed and plunge rates like you're doing.

 

[totoxraymond]

Hem...

My spindle is a cheap Dremel knock-off mounted in a 3d printed bracket.

I might upgrade in a distant future, i first need to upgrade electronic / motors.



Thomas

 

[jonasnoble]

All I'm having nothing but trouble with the freeware I have been trying. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and pay for something that makes it easy. I want to be building audio equipment, not destroying front panels all day.

I've looked at Carbide Create and Carveco, they both look to have a short learning curve (unlike Fusion 360 which looks dangerous and cost prohibitive.) I'll welcome any other suggestions though. Some of the softwares are so complicated, I cannot get to gcode from the artwork.

 

[ruffrecords]

CAD/CAM is always going to be a big issue and an area where you will have to make significant investment in time and possibly money too. It is similar ro PCB design. You need to learn a CAD system to be able to create the PCB but at least you can subcontract the CAM part to a cheap PCB fab. With home CNC you have to do the CAM yourself it is definitely very hard to do.

Cheers

Ian

 

[totoxraymond]

I'm not sure any paid software would help you in your situation. You will still need to provide with feedrate, depth pass, spindle speed...

 

[jonasnoble]

I'm not sure any paid software would help you in your situation. You will still need to provide with feedrate, depth pass, spindle speed...

Fair enough, I didn't really say what's going on. I'm doing okay with feeds and speeds. Gotten some decent results. My trouble is something in one of the free softwares is causing problems. My machine is going idle mid cut, and I have to manually intervene and babysit hours long jobs. The other thing, sometimes when I try to abort a job to reset, it drives my bit straight into the material destroying everything. I'm pretty sure these things are software related, but I cannot complain to anyone because they're free.

So I started researching other CAD programs and everything I've tried is so complicated that I haven't gotten anywhere. The ones I mentioned above look easy comparatively, I just haven't gotten used to the idea of paying yet.

 

[MidnightArrakis]

All I'm having nothing but trouble with the freeware I have been trying. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and pay for something that makes it easy. I want to be building audio equipment, not destroying front panels all day.

I've looked at Carbide Create and Carveco, they both look to have a short learning curve (unlike Fusion 360 which looks dangerous and cost prohibitive.) I'll welcome any other suggestions though. Some of the softwares are so complicated, I cannot get to gcode from the artwork.

[Some of the softwares are so complicated] -- >> WELCOME!!! << to today's "technological world"!!! YAY!!!

Designing something is "one thing"!!! >> FABRICATING << it is something entirely different!!! The fabrication world is an entirely different beast!!!

Since this is America and you are "free" to do what you want, you -- may -- choose the same path as I have and that is to concern and focus your efforts on the "designing" of stuff and leave the "fabrication" of stuff to the others who are already good at doing that. There are enough challenges with just knowing how to design stuff correctly without also burdening yourself with how to get the stuff you design made correctly and properly. Let someone else take care of that aspect of things.

Then, of course.....there's the cost. Instead of watching your money end up in trash bins because of a failed fabrication attempt, you can spend "All Day And All Of The Night" (The Kinks) designing things "wrong" on your CAD-system and it won't cost you any more money than the cost of the electricity you've burned!!!

I have focused purely on the "design" of stuff and then I simply e-mail my CAD-design files to fabricators and let them worry about getting my stuff made correctly. If -- THEY -- screw something up, it's -- THEIR -- cost.....not MINE!!!

My CAD-design software costs:

CADENCE/OrCAD "PCB Editor" PCB-Design software: $3,500.00
CADSync (a program that translates SolidWorks files to CADENCE PCB): $2,500.00
SolidWorks Premium (3D Mechanical Design CAD-modeling): $7,600.00

So, yeah.....you can go the "FREE" route with "FreeCAD" and "KiCAD" and/or any of the other -- FREE -- CAD-design programs that are out there on the market, or.....you can "bite-the-bullet" and pay really good money for -- PROFESSIONAL -- CAD-design programs, take the time to learn them and end up with totally professional results that aerospace/avionics companies, defense contractors, medical electronics firms, R&D laboratories and others will pay you for so you can design stuff for them!!! What a deal, huh???

Just my "Bidenomics" Inflation Reduced 2-cents worth!!!

/

 

[jonasnoble]

Lol

Fair enough, I can tell you've been doing this much longer than me, so your way is probably best.

But this is a diy forum. Design is the easy part, I want to execute. I certainly don't want to pay $7600 so somebody else can execute. Why pay somebody else to have all the fun?

Anyways, I appreciate your input.

 

[Gold]

or.....you can "bite-the-bullet" and pay really good money for -- PROFESSIONAL -- CAD-design programs, take the time to learn them and end up with totally professional results that aerospace/avionics companies, defense contractors, medical electronics firms, R&D laboratories and others will pay you for so you can design stuff for them!!! What a deal, huh???

I don’t recall the OP seeking a new profession. Your advice is to spend close to $15K in software before he gets panel one. For a DIY project for personal use. The word insane comes to mind.

 

[grid_stopper]

fusion is not so bad if you stick to using the functions that are relevant to you and ignore the rest. It is also free for individuals, and also strips out some of the functionality of the paid version. so far, i havent noticed anything that is a problem for my work flow in that regard. I would also say it stands heads and tails above all of the other free programs i have tried.
I would also say that Fusion becomes especially appealing because you can use FrontDesign(made for designing rack panels, free and very intuitive) to export as a dxf/stp/svg file, and then import in to fusion to create your tool paths. for me, this has been the easiest route but i am far from a skilled machinist so caveat emptor and all that

 

[jonasnoble]

fusion is not so bad if you stick to using the functions that are relevant to you and ignore the rest. It is also free for individuals, and also strips out some of the functionality of the paid version. so far, i havent noticed anything that is a problem for my work flow in that regard. I would also say it stands heads and tails above all of the other free programs i have tried.
I would also say that Fusion becomes especially appealing because you can use FrontDesign(made for designing rack panels, free and very intuitive) to export as a dxf/stp/svg file, and then import in to fusion to create your tool paths. for me, this has been the easiest route but i am far from a skilled machinist so caveat emptor and all that

I'll look into it. My understanding is the free part disappeared.

 

[totoxraymond]

My problem with fusion was to save files on my drive and not on autodesk clouds.

 

[MidnightArrakis]

I don’t recall the OP seeking a new profession. Your advice is to spend close to $15K in software before he gets panel one. For a DIY project for personal use. The word insane comes to mind.

[I don’t recall the OP seeking a new profession] -- As is usual with the members of this forum, my reply to the OP was misinterpreted!!! I wasn't advocating that the OP go out and get a new job by any stretch of the imagination!!! I was only commenting that they should perhaps focus their efforts on the -- design -- of their projects and let others take care of the fabrication of their DIY personal projects. That's what I do and have been doing since around 1978!!!

[Your advice is to spend close to $15K in software before he gets panel one For a DIY project for personal use] -- Again.....you have taken my personal expenditures and have projected them onto the OP!!! I only listed the software programs that I use because I am involved with both the mechanical and PCB-design of electronic equipment, either for myself DIY personally or for those who wish to use my expertise. Since the OP seems to be content and experienced with the mechanical design of "stuff", then you can eliminate the cost of the PCB-design software.

However, should the OP continue their desire to use -- FREE -- software, then they will also need to recognize all of the possible limitations that such software brings.....versus what a "paid" program will offer. Of course, the other "hidden" alternative is to somehow obtain "cracked" software of high-end programs, but that type of use is not encouraged here on this forum. But.....they -- are -- available, if you know where to look.

[The word insane comes to mind] -- THANK YOU!!! It's people like yourself that are getting me to the point of no longer replying to any thread postings!!! Or.....maybe it's just because you are from Brooklyn!!! When I was in the Army, our company had quite-a-few guys from Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens and they were all rather nasty people in general. Most all of us other G.I.'s avoided being anywhere near those "New Yawkers"!!!

/

 

[gyraf]

[Some of the softwares are so complicated] -- >> WELCOME!!! << to today's "technological world"!!! YAY!!!

Designing something is "one thing"!!! >> FABRICATING << it is something entirely different!!! The fabrication world is an entirely different beast!!!

Since this is America and you are "free" to do what you want, you -- may -- choose the same path as I have and that is to (..)

Midnight - if you can't add anything but discouragement, perhaps it's better to stay silent? Or at least not to clutter threads with unneeded long-winded patronizing..

/Jakob E.

 

[Gold]

This section is called the Machine Shop. A machine shop is where objects are fabricated. I enjoy fabrication. I hate using computers.

 

[kldvox]

i like the diy world.
i undestand that if you are designing and making/building as a business investment is required,
but spending shed loads of money on a hoby project is not for me.

i bought "cnc lathe g-code & m-code ilustraive handbook by p. talverdi" seondhand and do the code in text files.
yes it can take a while to get the code written but im a hobyist. im also retired and dont have the cash for big software packages