Neptune Aquatics

Working With Acrylic

Anything like these?

0254540B-11.jpg


6377199-11.jpg
 
They might work, look like counter sink to me, I have a couple but for wood, the ones a little guide bit stick out and are of no good.
BTW my brother installed a new Diablo blade specific for plastics and laminates on the table saw and the cut was smooooooooth like a bb's butt, it was expensive but going for the long waiting making of a sump and possibly a frag tank !!
I also bought a brand new laminate trimmer (Craftsman router) at a sidewalk sale for $40. I like this trimmer since it's compact and easy to handle, tried it today on a DIY overflow box and am happy with it.
Where would I get those countersinks (the second ones)?

Thx
 
I think with a drill press where you can make sure the bit goes exactly perpendicular to the surface might make things work much better than with a hand held drill.
 
xcaret said:
They might work, look like counter sink to me, I have a couple but for wood, the ones a little guide bit stick out and are of no good.
Click to expand...

Those work great. Especially the ones in the first pic.

You can get that type of stuff from MSC:

http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm

If the parts were made on a CNC machine, it's likely that the holes were chamfered with an indexable chamfering bit.

If you want to go with something like the ones in the second pic, and use a drill press or freehand, you could try the 6 flute non-chattering type cutter.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Why don't these work?

counter-sink.jpg
Click to expand...

I've tried them and result is ugly, maybe due to not being sharp enough, we use them for wood, another thing is countersink specific have varying angles.
Still don't have a drill press, looking for one at garage sales; you'd be surprised what we (that means my brother) have bought at those sales and the price...
 
I do a lot of machining at work and sometimes I work with acrylic. I've found metal endmills to drill exceptionally well through acrylic. They are anything but zero rake.
 
Those above countersinks chatter at any speed and leave a rough surface. The ones on bubble plates are CNC milled or CNC routed (sp?). Like Norm said, easy peasy with the right machine :)
 
Gomer said:
I do a lot of machining at work and sometimes I work with acrylic. I've found metal endmills to drill exceptionally well through acrylic. They are anything but zero rake.
Click to expand...

You can get away with less than optimal rake when using milling equipment and tooling. The extra rigidity helps.
 
CNC no. Manual mill...hmmm...the bottom end small limited capability machines probably start at around 1k.

EDIT, you can get the JET 350200 JHM-610 for around $600.
 
http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/29/how-to-build-your-own-cnc-machine-part-1/


http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Three-Axis-CNC-Machine-Cheaply-and-/
 
Damnit why did work have to start up already, I'd love to build one of those! Never occurred to me that it's basically a drill press with a movable platform.

Now if I can just get rid of this lathe I have I'd have room for the CNC! :D
 
CNC mills have come down by a lot!

taigtools

I've got one and I have to admit I don't use it that much so its a waste of money. If I were to do it again, I may just get a manual mill.

Of course if milling isn't your thing I believe you can print your parts now affordably.
dimensionprinting

I am going to visit the reseller in San Carlos in a couple weeks to see a demo. They have a desktop unit! Just have to figure out how much the refills are gonna hurt me.

As far as replacing a CNC mill/manual mill with a drill press.. A drill press is still nice to have. You don't have to deal with the screw thread (Z axis) and so you can move the Z axis up and down a lot faster with drill press. The feed rate will just make you cry if you had to drill a lot of holes with a mill.
 
Mike, you don't need to build the whole thing.

I used to have a mill/drill like the one that Tony posted. You can start with one of those and put some steppers or servos on it. Probably are kits available now. (Btw, the Z-axis on a mill/drill can be engaged and disengaged from the slower crank feed so that it's not a pain if you want to use it like a drill press.)

But even that is old school. It's all about rapid prototyping and desktop 3D printing now.

Here's a project for you:

http://fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

If you want to do RP in metals, you'll have to get Tony to put together a kick ass CO2 laser for you so you can sinter metal powders :D
 
andyman said:
CNC mills have come down by a lot!

taigtools

I've got one and I have to admit I don't use it that much so its a waste of money. If I were to do it again, I may just get a manual mill.

Of course if milling isn't your thing I believe you can print your parts now affordably.
dimensionprinting

I am going to visit the reseller in San Carlos in a couple weeks to see a demo. They have a desktop unit! Just have to figure out how much the refills are gonna hurt me.

As far as replacing a CNC mill/manual mill with a drill press.. A drill press is still nice to have. You don't have to deal with the screw thread (Z axis) and so you can move the Z axis up and down a lot faster with drill press. The feed rate will just make you cry if you had to drill a lot of holes with a mill.
Click to expand...

Most 3d printers take a butt load of time to produce a final product. I've used a few different types and finish really is dependent on the type you have. A decent printer will set you back more then a low end CNC though.
 
FWIW many mountain/road bicycles part manufacturers use them (3D printed parts) in their final product. I know FOX uses them in their MB forks.
 
Mr. Ugly said:
Mike, you don't need to build the whole thing.

I used to have a mill/drill like the one that Tony posted. You can start with one of those and put some steppers or servos on it. Probably are kits available now. (Btw, the Z-axis on a mill/drill can be engaged and disengaged from the slower crank feed so that it's not a pain if you want to use it like a drill press.)
Click to expand...
Yeah but seems like an awfully expensive drill press, just because it can move in the x/y direction.
 
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