Corner finder and cam clamps

Rad Racer · #1 Sun 05 April 2009, 22:36

Made a couple more tools for my MechMate today.

This is a corner finder, it can also be used to set z-hieght. I saw one of these on CNC Zone....thought it was pretty neat so I made one.

To use this tool, place it on the corner of your material and center the cutting bit over the copper pipe. Lower the bit so it is just inside the pipe and run the centering script.

Note, the bit does not have to be exactly in the center of the pipe just close. The script will determine the exact center for you and set the Mach3 dro's

Rad Racer · #2 Sun 05 April 2009, 22:55

I was struggling with the best method to clamp small parts to the bed of the Mechmate.....this is my solution

The whole assembly can be screwed down to the milling bed, or held in place with c-clamps. The small item you wish to clamp is held in place with the cam locks shown in the picture.

Since it is made entirely from wood (except the bolts) your cutters will be safe if you have a mishap

On the bottom side you can see that holes were machined to the depth of the nut so the assembly sits flush on your cutting table. The holes are slightly smaller than the nut so they hold themselves in place....once pressed into the wood.

jhiggins7 · #3 Sun 05 April 2009, 23:05

Really nice work Wayne. Very creative. Thanks for sharing.

BTW, do you have a link for the corner finder? I looked on the Zone, but didn't find it.

Regards,
John

Rad Racer · #4 Sun 05 April 2009, 23:23

John, here is the CNC zone thread:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56079

This is a YouTube video showing the operation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOXY4...eature=related

This video shows the centering tool variation I built.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcHgK...eature=related

Hope this helps, Wayne

jhiggins7 · #5 Sun 05 April 2009, 23:45

Thanks Wayne. Very helpful.

the_affliction · #6 Thu 16 April 2009, 14:09

wow your videos on youtube are really inspiring thanks for taking the time to post them I think I am going to give a go on the davidlaser scanner and your corner finder too simple effective

Rad Racer · #7 Fri 17 April 2009, 10:32

Glad you like the videos Kelsey.

Although it's interesting to watch CNC's cut, it's really interesting to watch your own Mechmate CNC cut

Gerald D · #8 Fri 17 April 2009, 10:59

I hadn't see a video of a CNC router cutting (nor had I seen any CNC router in real life) when our first machine started cutting in the year 2000. Since then have looked at a couple of videos and fully agree with Wayne - a video is positively boring in relation to the real thing!

Gerald D · #9 Fri 17 April 2009, 11:02

Just quick comment on your cam clamps; they work very well with "down-cut" spiral bits, but they can be risky with "up-cut" spirals which lift the work off the table. The up and down forces of spiral bits are a very signicant factor in deciding on the workholding method.

Rad Racer · #10 Sun 19 April 2009, 10:06

Gerald, you are correct about the clamps. Anything more than a light cut with a up spiral bit and it lifts from the holder. I found out the hard way

For my gear reduction components (shown here), I taped them down to the table with double faced tape. Holds tight but still can be removed from the spill board without much effort.