New Toy to Learn and Play With

[theperfessor]

Well fellas, this has absolutely NOTHING to do with cast bullets or guns, but I just thought some of you might enjoy seeing what we just moved into my lab. We have to get the vendor's tech in here to finalize the installation and then I need to learn how to program it.

It's a Motoman SS2000 welding robot with a 450A Miller power supply. It comes with a programmable indexing table. There are some panels that need to be set up around it to make a fully enclosed work cell. (Just as an idea of size, the cabinets behind the robot are almost 8' tall.)

We also moved in another CNC lathe, a Haas TL1. We have two more CNC lathes and two more CNC mills still in storage that we had to buy before a federal grant ran out. We've finalized the drawings for a new manufacturing facility, expect to put them out for bid and plan to be in new facility in Fall 2012. Then all our equipment can be installed and used.

We've also ordered an abrasive waterjet with a 6' x 13' table and a CNC wood router with a 4' x 8' table, plus a dual screw extruder and an injection molding machine, all of which will go in our new building.

I'm going to have a lot to learn in the next couple of years...

[Doc Highwall]

Maybe you can weld some gun parts like suppressors or metal gun stocks that would make it gun related.

[theperfessor]

Oh, I'll figure out something interesting to do with it, most likely firearm related. We originally bought it to use for student projects working with a local nonprofit that employs handicapped people. They wanted to broaden their product line and put more folks to work. A lot of handicapped folks can load parts but lack the physical ability to weld.

[scrapcan]

very cool. Hope to watch the progress on your new endeavors. Very good for the employment aspect you mention also.

[Bret4207]

None of my business, but who paid for all that? The college I assume? Public or private?

[theperfessor]

It was purchased from federal funds via an earmark that our congress critter got for us. Yeah, I know, earmarks are a "bad thing" etc. But in this case I know what the money is being used for. It's not a bridge to nowhere, it's being used to buy American made equipment (where possible, anyway) to train future American workers on the high tech skills needed to get jobs.

[theperfessor]

By the way, I work for a State, not a private University, the University of Southern Indiana.

[Bloodman14]

Tax dollars at work, and money well spent!

[shdwlkr]

Looks like a lot of fun to learn how to use the new toys and glad to see some of my tax money being spent to help Americans.

[PatMarlin]

Nothing else to say but awesome Perfessor! What a positive competent use of tax dollars.

Those Hass have got a great reputation. Fanuc I believe?

[theperfessor]

Pat, I appreciate the ink, I'll check it out. Don't know if Haas makes their own controllers or if they configure some third party controller to their specs. I know it has Fanuc and Yasnac emulation. I write all my code in NotePad. After all, G & M code is just plain low ASCII text. The Haas machines don't require line numbers except where you need to refer to a specific hunk of code such as a subroutine. It will also let you use variables in the program that you can use to calculate numerical values for coordinates and such. And the mills have a built in (and reprogrammable) font library that can be used for engraving text and sequential serial numbers. That's what I use for the site benefit lead hammers I sell every year.

I really like Haas stuff for a lot of reasons.

[PatMarlin]

I was thinking more along the lines for your students. He has some real handy tools there. From a teaching and learning standpoint, maybe something you can use. The prices are very reasonable.

[arjacobson]

cnc wood router??? I'm thinking guitar bodies!!!!

[theperfessor]

Or gunstocks.....

[theperfessor]

Pat, I looked over the website and a demo. I may email them to see if they have a site license or educational package available.

[Bret4207]

It was purchased from federal funds via an earmark that our congress critter got for us. Yeah, I know, earmarks are a "bad thing" etc. But in this case I know what the money is being used for. It's not a bridge to nowhere, it's being used to buy American made equipment (where possible, anyway) to train future American workers on the high tech skills needed to get jobs.

I know what you mean Keith. I agree this is one case of tax dollars going to someone who will use them properly and for a good reason. And here is the obligatory BUT- everyone with an interest in what ever the tax dollars go to will defend it as good and worthy. I don't begrudge you the grant in this case, but overall it's just another part of what got us so far in the hole in the first place.

[theperfessor]

Can't argue with your overall sentiment, Brett. All I can say is I didn't have anything to do with getting the grant, I was just told we got a grant, here are the guidelines and restrictions, order what you need to support a first rate Advanced Manufacturing program.

I'm just a worker bee after all. My responsibility to the taxpayers is to use what they pay for in the best way possible.

[kenjuudo]

Perfessor,
Those are very efficient setups. I rode heard over a half dozen of them along with the ABB version. Very user friendly and easy to get the hang of even without CNC or G code experiance.

Some advice...don't try to save money on wire, the lower quality stuff causes alot of headaches. Add a mist system, and program it to operate every tenth cycle or so. Pay attention to the nozzel orientation (splatter) and change tips at the first sign of a problem, about half a dozen tips for eight hours of continuos operation. Liner life is pretty good but keep a couple on hand. Make sure you get at least one spare manual so the new operators have a copy at the machine to reference. The pendant leads don't take much abuse.

[PatMarlin]

Speaking of educational tax dollars...

Who's idea was it to dismantle all the first rate industrial arts shop classrooms in California. They dismantled and sold off all that high quality American made iron for peanuts and shut those rooms down everywhere.

Boy that really gave California and the students some good educational and career opportunities.

I still speak with my metal shop teacher, who is a family friend, conservative and shooter. Retired of course. Till this day we say 'Oh remember that machine?", in his classes that we got to use. Hell they wouldn't even let him buy any of it at the time... :drinks:

It just makes me sick. That is what liberalism has done to this state. I would have been a total looser if it had not been for industrial arts and music classes.

[arjacobson]

I was lucky here in Iowa. In our town we had a white farm/oliver tractor factory. The high school had/still does a fantastic VOCATIONAL machine shop course. My junior year it was 3 hours a day. My senior year they cut it back to two hours. We still had a few people around that realized the importance of voc-tech courses.. They did lay off the teacher who did the cad cam program....that was 1986..

[theperfessor]

Kenjudo, I appreciate your advice. I will be ordering a lot of tooling and supplies over the next few years and it's good to know from someone with experience what to look out for. I bet the robots you were working with were running continuously 40+ hours a week. I bet we ours will be run 6-9 hours a week and most if that will be debugging, testing, etc. I bet we won't be burning wire 3 hours a week.

One thing I've learned over the years about buying used equipment is that most school shop equipment is beat up but not worn out, and most commercial shop equipment is worn out but not necessarily beat up. Has to do with hours and type of use and that beginners (students) make the most mistakes and real pros take better care of their hardware.

Isn't it amazing how many places have cut out voc-ed type programs from schools and then whine about the lack of industrial development and good paying jobs in their areas? I'm a big fan of continuing education for a lifetime, but that doesn't mean a traditional four year degree is right for everyone. Vocational skills-based training is a good choice for a lot of people. I'll get off my soapbox now...

[PatMarlin]

Give you one example of the editor in this KipwareT Keith...

Take my male die for instance. Writing programs for new calibers for CNC.

All "Z" numbers stay the same, but all "X" numbers change including rapids and feeds. If I was to goof up on one of my X's and not change the number, or enter a wrong one, then of course a crash is in the making.

You call up a prior caliber male die program in the Kipware G-code editor. Rename it to the new caliber, then use the simple color pallet feature that will color any letter or number in the program which ever color you choose.

So in my case "X" is the magic letter I have to look at and not miss. I select color blue for the letter X , and it colors every "X" blue in the G-code program.

Now it's easy to see what numbers need changed without making crash mistakes.

Maybe other CNC machines software does this, but my Fagor controls do not. Kipware has saved my rear end in many ways and sped up my operations dramatically.

[kenjuudo]

Perfessor, more like three shifts a day six days a week, I was around them daily for eight years at a former employer and never had any breakdowns (quite a few wrecks) or enough wear to cause concern. Tough, well made equipment. I've seen operator error send one hard enough into a guard to snap off three of the four 3/8" lag bolts holding it to the floor.

I think you'll get alot of use from one, a great precurssor to learning to write G code, really sticks X Y and Z axis in someones head, and the abillity to instantly see the results of input. I always started someone out tracing a circle on a piece of plate, then have them write their name on the plate with a marker and program/teach that. When they were comfortable take it out of NOWELD and let them make some sparks.

We also use them with grippers installed to transfer parts through various processes. Being competent with one is a great advantage for someone wishing to work in manufacturing as almost every automotive supplier has them on the floors. My current employer has over sixty of them. A plant only needs so many machinists, but as they add more automated lines being familiar with robots makes you a more versitile employee to them.

I think you are very fortunate to have one and your students will benefit greatly. Tax money well spent for once!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Perfessor: do make sure they put that Waterjet machine in a completely separate room unto itself. They will ruin other machinery around them in a matter of days., it is a combination of water vapor and abrasive garnet dust that gets everywhere.

I have seen several installed in machine shops only to the see other machines ruined in record time. One took out an absolutely perfect 12" Graziano Lathe that I wanted badly. Turned it to junk in a matter of days and the idiots who owned the shop didn't even know it was happening.

People do not have a tendency to clean up very well unless beaten frequently, and this one makes a serious mess that gets everywhere. It is a full time job to clean up after a water jet.

Shame to see all that nice Haas machinery ruined, earmark or not. At least it was made in Oxnard CA, and not China.

Randy

[theperfessor]

Because of the five axis head we have to build a wall around it anyway. It will be open at the top so we can use the overhead crane to handle material. In our new building it will be located at the extreme end of the building across an aisleway wide enough to back in a semi under the crane so its as far away as we can get it from anything else.

Your concerns are noted and appreciated.

[nanuk]

cnc wood router??? I'm thinking guitar bodies!!!!

it is my understanding that guitars and such need to use "Stressed" wood that is bent to form, for it to resonate.

if it were just cut out and glued, it would be soft and floppy and not vibrate with the tones you like.

Think hand Saw blade.... hold it up and tap with a small mallet.... Now, put the handle between your legs and with the other hand, bend the blade into an "S" and tap... you can make music. Use a fiddle bow and you can make it sound like a broken violin

[waksupi]

it is my understanding that guitars and such need to use "Stressed" wood that is bent to form, for it to resonate.

if it were just cut out and glued, it would be soft and floppy and not vibrate with the tones you like.

Think hand Saw blade.... hold it up and tap with a small mallet.... Now, put the handle between your legs and with the other hand, bend the blade into an "S" and tap... you can make music. Use a fiddle bow and you can make it sound like a broken violin

Instrument wood does not need to be stressed for good tone. It has more to do with shape, and varying thickness of the woods. I've built violins, mandolins, and various unidentifiable instruments over the past 25 years, and have learned a bit about it.