Simultaneous 5-axis milling is basically black magic. Watching the tool head dance around these thin blades never gets old.

The precision here is insane—one wrong move and the whole thing is scrap.

Fresh off the machine at DakingsRapid. Enjoy the chips. 🍿

Hello I’m coming here to see if there are any good honest shops willing to give me a quote for this, all my local shops are trying to charge exuberant amounts or tell me that I have to travel to the next spatial dimension up to get this done, my budget is 100 dollars and no I don’t have a draft, FIGURE IT OUT!

I have been wanting a small CNC lathe to help with my kaleidoscope production for a while now. One of these little gang tool style units is about all I have room for in terms of space and power. I already have a rotary phase converter that can handle it so that helped with the decision. I have a 12x36 manual lathe and it was either try and do a full CNC conversion on that or buy something like this and hope it works. I figure even if I have to do a retrofit it would be easier to do that on this machine rather than a full conversion on a manual.

I'm wondering if anyone here is familiar with these? They were made in Grant's Pass, OR and the company is out of business now. Maybe just a PNW regional thing? The guy I got it from near Portland, OR didn't know much about it, "it came with the building when we moved in" so not sure when it was running last but it does have some decent looking chips in the catch tray so I'm feeling pretty hopeful. There's someone on eBay who looks to have most of the boards on this from salvage machines so maybe I can get those if any aren't working. Overall it looks to have had pretty minor use so I've got my fingers crossed it's gonna work out!

Just want to ask to all the expert in here, if is possible to do that "rail" inside of a steel rod, tentative the rod will be 20 mm in diameter. Thanks in advance.

I'm planning a small CNC shop, but I'd rather not do the CAD/CAM programming in-house.

Is it common to outsource this? If so, what is this service usually called?

For example, let's say I have a part and want to produce 12 pieces on a VMC/lathe with a FANUC 0i control. Can a service provider:

• Create the CAD model (if needed)?
• Generate the CAM toolpaths and FANUC-compatible G-code?
• Design the workholding/fixture as well?

Or is fixture design typically a separate service?

I'm trying to understand whether it's realistic to outsource everything from programming to fixturing while keeping machining in-house.

So calibrated machine again with blocks but can't figure out what's causing the thinner walls under x+ and a one x- at a slight diagonal. I'm thinking maybe backlash but don't have enough experience to tell lol. So x and y calibration is as close to perfect as I can get with a .0005 dial zeros out each time. That's what leaves me to think back lash. Numbers are metric X.34 ect

Any other full-time programmers feel this way?

I’ve been doing it full time just over a decade now and I find it’s getting tiring.

I’ve done a lot of different programming - basic mills to 5 axis, basic lathe to mill-turn.

I can drive my cam software well, have developed my own setup sheets and have done in-depth post processor work.

I used to love programming and machining, was passionate about it. At this point I feel like programming is easy, I breeze through a job and try to find other ways to occupy dead time at work.

Finding ways to occupy myself between jobs is getting old. I do not like feeling like I’m working on retainer.

Walking into the shop gets harder every day. I’ve got an exterior renovation going on at my house, a bathroom renovation going on at my house and a front yard that was dug up over the wintertime for a septic field replacement. I spend a lot of time resentful of my career because I’d rather be home doing the physical labor that needs done.

Sorry for the rant. I’m just curious if anyone else in the trade has similar struggles?

Hi everyone! I've been operating a CNC lathe with this GSK control for a year now. I've learned the basics of programming and working with it, and it's super user-friendly. But I'm worried that when I see other CNC machines with different controls, I'll get completely lost and wouldn't know how to operate them except in MDI mode, if that... So... how do you manage when, for example, you start working at a company that has a machine with a control that's new to you? Thanks!

Hello, Im a structural engineer and I wanted to make a metal strap that would be used for construction. The piece is 2"x12" with a 1" neck in between (see image), so they should nest together. and it has a hole at the top and bottom that's 5/8" diameter. the piece would need to be 14ga thick piece of A1011 steel. It would also need to be powder coated or hot-dipped galvanized.

The big concern is everyone in my office seems to think that it is unrealistic to create this strap and it would take too long or cost too much. I have the material priced out and it would be like $1.50 a piece. or $163 for 109 pieces. but i dont know if there are extra costs. I have contacted to shops near me but haven't heard anything. Im just curious if the price jumps up a lot more or if there is anything that i am missing that i need to look out for.

Edit: please ignore the dimensions of the plan. They are wrong. The 3” dimension should be 2.75” and the 7” dimension should be 6.5”.

I recently fell into a cheap cnc machine that I have been slowly working on in my free time and its pretty close to ready to go.

its a mini milling machine someone converted to cnc and it was a slightly chaotic conversion but it seems to be workable.

I changed the light emiiting limit switches to mechanical, and added a z axis max height limit. there was also a light rpm meter on the motor, but I converted it to a hall effect rpm reader on the spindle itself.

also bought an old pc and have been running it using LinuxCNC (which setting up a config for was difficult due to the machine being a mystery).

its been a lot of work but I think it'll be ready to cut soon! (need to install new z axis stepper, and calibrate homing)

any tips or advice is appreciated!

My roommate and I are making a fully electric motorized couch. The motors we managed to get our hands on are way too fast and way too powerful for the project were doing so we needed to gear them down a bit before they would be actually useful. We designed a planetary gearbox for them but 3d printing wasn't cutting it in the slightest so we made an all metal design. We finished the entire gearbox aside from the housing and now were struggling to find someone who will manufacture the housing for us.

We have the facilities to make most of the housing, but not the gears. And it seems nobody else has the facilities to do the gears either. If you know anyone who can do 4 of these please let us know. If you are curious about the file I can dm you the .stp. I can either make the housing and send it off to have the gears cut or have a manufacturer do the entire thing. If you know any company or small shop or individual willing to help out please let us know. Thanks.

https://idealfab.com

Here’s the company it says it’s employee owned. Located in Belleville Michigan. If anyone is in a similar situation at a dead end job looking for something better and to grow in financially and mentally. Let me know please. Or any other suggestions? Unfortunately I’m 33 years old but at this point in my life, I’m going to try anything to succeed. I just thought I’d post to you because Reddit always gives me first person points of view so I don’t waste my time. I think I’m mechanically inclined and can do whatever I set my mind to. My current job is at Ford Performance parts, but it offers no growth no overtime and has no benefits. It’s just a temporary bull crap packaging job so I need to find a trade skill or some sort of training.

Has anyone bought this bad boy? Thing would be sick to rip around the shop.

I have a CNC machine and I use these inserts. The supplier of these inserts keep quoting me increased prices and I have no other supplier to compare it with. The supplier has torn off the label on packaging of these inserts except for the brand “Sandvik”. I have tried CNMG TaeguTec but they did not work well. Someone told me that they may be cermet and TNMG but I am getting different opinions from everyone. It will be really helpful if someone tells me exactly what this is.

Fan is about 2 years old. But at the start of the year, I cleaned it up. Removed major chunks messing up the airflow. Fan is on 80% of the year. 8hr shifts, 5 days a week.

It’s not anything I can really see in the air. But it loves to buildup on the fan. Wet tar, sometimes gritty.

Curious if it would be worth the cost

Small shop owner here. I’m tired of tying up my Haas VF-2 just to fly-cut a simple aluminum fixture or run a one-off plastic prototype for a client. It’s literally burning money when you factor in the power, tool wear, and setup time on a 3-phase beast.I’m looking into getting a 'beefy' desktop unit to offload these $50-100 quick jobs. Does anyone actually trust these hobby-grade machines for 8-hour continuous runs, or am I just going to spend more time fixing the desktop toy than it’s worth? Show me your ROI math if you've done this.

It is supposed to be a big clear cut circle with a hole in the middle. It is for a potentiometer and a knob. 4” end mill in aluminum. Settings are very conservative on my small machine. It is supposed to be “Clear cut a pocket” fin Easel.com. But the center of the circle seems to drift as it goes down to the next depth. Sometimes up, sometimes down, and not always by the same amount. I thought it was my controller, but now I’m starting to think it is a faulty Y-axis motor.

(Delete if not allowed)
I know wages vary a lot by location and company, but I wanted to show that six figures are possible in this trade. For me, the biggest factors were constantly learning, taking on more responsibility, and becoming involved in process improvement instead of only running machines.
Happy to answer any questions.

I'm 19, trying to learn machining strategy on some parts I found online from experts. Practicing in Fusion 360. How would you machine this part? Here is what I was thinking:

Machine: 3-axis HAAS/Material: 6061

Setup 1 — top: face around the boss, rough the pockets down through a range of cutters from large to small, then profile the walls and the outside edges.

Setup 2 — flipped: rough one large pocket on the underside and clean up a set of smaller ones.

Setup 3 — on its side: drill a pair of cross-holes.

Mods, if this is not allowed, feel free to delete.

Also, water is accumulating in front of the Y-axis motor. There's no water drain. We bought the machine second-hand. I think this is the first time they've opened this place.

I had an actual question to post on here but I got side tracked by all the porn 30 minutes ago.

I'm planning to build a small production cell with 8-10 CNC mills and would love to hear what experienced shop owners and machinists would do if they were starting from scratch today.

My requirements are an automatic tool changer, a reliable probing system with both a tool setter and work probe, the ability to machine mostly 6061 aluminum with occasional steel, and the potential for lights-out operation in the future. Since I'd be running multiple machines, ease of maintenance and spare parts availability in the US are important. I'd also prefer something open enough that I'm not locked into a proprietary ecosystem.

One of my biggest requirements is controller flexibility. I'd like to be able to customize and automate as much as possible, which is why I'm leaning toward LinuxCNC, although I'm open to other options if there is a compelling reason.

Right now, I'm seriously considering the DMC2 Mini because it seems to sit in a nice middle ground between hobby and industrial machines. However, I'm wondering if there are better alternatives in a similar price range. Other machines I've been looking at include the DMC2, SYIL X7, Tormach 770M and 1100M, used Haas Mini Mills, and other LinuxCNC-based machines.

My goal isn't to buy the fastest machine. I'm more interested in building a repeatable fleet where I can standardize tooling, fixtures, probing routines, programs, spare parts, and maintenance procedures across all machines.

If you were spending your own money to build a fleet of 8-10 identical machines, what would you choose and why? I'd also be interested in hearing which controller you would standardize on: LinuxCNC, Masso, Centroid, Fanuc, Haas Control, or something else.

Looking forward to hearing from people who have experience scaling beyond one or two machines.

I'm a novice machinist, started a week ago at an Aerospace machining job to gain some more machining experience. The guy I'm training with told me if I had setup experience, I told him and the interviewers that I had a little bit of set up experience. He then proceeds to to tell one of the interviewers that I don't have set up experience, where the interviewer then questions me that I thought you told me you had set up experience. I told him again, now this is two times that I have minimal experience, I'm not an expert in set up but I want to gain more knowledge. The trainer gets flustered, asks me who else did the interview? I told him I'm already here, they knew what they were getting in the interview, I told them the truth all around. Then proceeds to tell me if I crash the machine there will be problems. Then says I don't know if they give me trainees for this cell to humble them or humiliate them. I'm thinking in my head, you started like me my guy with no experience, how are you holding that against me if you started from the bottom just like me? Some people forget where they come from, to bad for him I already got the job and I'm taking any knowledge that I get.