anybody got a cnc machine

[Jonwhite]

hello
wondere if anybody can help me please

i need a square hole cut out of a plastic lid not bothered about the corners, just need the hole cut out
this is a protortype and i do intend if it works getting some more made.

67mm by 25.2mm

obviously beer tokens provided. please do get in touch if you can

jonisingt35r@gmail.com

thank you

 

[BrokenBiker]

I'm going to ask the obvious question first...why not drill a hole, cut rough with a jigsaw or junior hacksaw and then file carefully to exact size?

If it a prototype it will get the job done a lot quicker than subbing out and you can see if the project Is a starter or not

 

[Jonwhite]

need it to look nice as the hole is for an lcd so id like the edges to look neet

 

[BrokenBiker]

need it to look nice as the hole is for an lcd so id like the edges to look neet

As long as you take your time and use a fine cut file towards the last mm or so it should look just as good as it would from a cnc machine.

Just make sure it is marked out properly and take your time

 

[awemawson]

What is the plastic and how thick is it? Have you a sacrificial bit of the same plastic to get the settings adjusted right? My 60 watt Chinese laser engraver / cutter will do it nicely in some plastics and not others

 

[Screwdriver]

I could probably stamp a "perfect" square out of it on the flypress. Depends on the exact measurements or it would have to be sort of nibbled. (I haven't checked to see if I have that size of tooling)

Dunno if you ever watched Blue Peter but a craft knife and a steel ruler will give you a perfect cut also if you take your time.

 

[Robotstar5]

I've made some fine, accurate cuts in plastic models with a razor saw

 

[Jonwhite]

material is about 3mm plastic hard
its a lid of a plastic box about 300mm by 400mm 5mm thick

 

[WorkshopChris]

material is about 3mm plastic hard
its a lid of a plastic box about 300mm by 400mm 5mm thick

The time it will take to set machine up to hold the lid and set the reference to accurately locate hole i would be looking at doing it with a router.

Is the lid flat enough to hold on a vacuum table? or will it need to be clamped?

This depends what sort of machine you are going to be looking for.

 

[Jonwhite]

yes the surface is completly flat

 

[ukracer]

yes the surface is completly flat

Don't suppose you have a dremmel?

 

[Jonwhite]

im really looking for someone who has the capabilities to do this as i think i will need more cut out
and this is a sample and it needs to look good

 

[brianblock]

What shape is the lid?

 

[scott0031]

Jon, It's not a big long winded or mammoth task as some are saying on a CNC. Although Manual will do for most things and most definitely has its place and can be faster and is the right tool on certain things but in the same breath CNC is also often the right tool even for one offs and prototypes because it can do things a manual machine simply can not do or requires a lot of setting up to produce the same result. Maybe the guys here commenting don't actually run a machine shop or know a lot about how fast cad cam is to use or being conversant with your controller. All jobs require setting up be it on a manual or CNC machine so that point someone made is totally mute as are some other points raised.

I wont say anymore as i think i have made my point.

If you have offers to get it then then all good, but if you still intend to look then feel free to give me a shout.

 

[Maxakarudy]

Rather than set up to register the panel, it's better to start with an oversize blank and cut a complete new panel, just a dxf file req'd

 

[Maxakarudy]

Name one thing.



If a manual operator can't clamp down and cut out a rectangle in a flat piece of stock faster than you can programme, set up for and complete the same job they have no claim to the title 'machinist'.

Generally these days a cad file is drawn first, even for the machinist to copy, so no extra work to do.
Send file to router, choose offsets, send to controller, press go.
Took less time than it took to right this.

But tbh there is not much in it

 

[WorkshopChris]

Generally these days a cad file is drawn first, even for the machinist to copy, so no extra work to do.
Send file to router, choose offsets, send to controller, press go.
Took less time than it took to right this.

No always so simple though is it.
What about the time taken to produce the cad file?
From the 1st post from the OP i was thinking of a square 67mm and 25.2mm deep with no preference for corner radius milled out of a lump of plastic.(working with info supplied)
Then its a lid so if it needs clamps this info also has to be noted to make sure the tool does not clash with any table fixtures.
It all takes time.

 

[MattH]

It's 10 minutes work.

Normally I'd offer to do it but I have nearly 700 orders that need to go out before Christmas.

If it can wait until the new year then Pm me and we can sort something out.

 

[WorkshopChris]

Maybe the guys here commenting don't actually run a machine shop or know a lot about how fast cad cam is to use or being conversant with your controller. All jobs require setting up be it on a manual or CNC machine so that point someone made is totally mute as are some other points raised.

Cant speak for the others but i ran cnc router in a production environment for 8 years so do have some experience.
For a one off in something so simple this could be done in the fraction of the time by hand with a small palm router and a simple jig.
Yes if curves and pitched centred holes or similar then the time spend setting up is off set by the time taken to run the job.

 

[Hood]

No need to programme as such, for something simple like this just punch lines into MDI.
Setup on manual or CNC would be the same, setting start point would be the same.
CNC advantage would be no slow down at end of each side so CNC would edge it although difference in time would not be a lot for something like this.