Guerrilla guide to CNC machining, mold making, and resin casting (2015)

Post by Prcmaker » Wed, Jan 11, 2023, 9:20 PM UTC

donkeyofd00m wrote: post #90

Prcmaker wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mech eng here as well. This advice is great. I work in a high tech firm, prototyping through in-house production. Stuff breaks and we fix it. We make prototypes with the wrong parts, the wrong tools. We do our design, send out parts for machining, and often end up fixing stuff by hand because of a design oversight (it happens, it's prototyping, not production).

Cool! I work in R&D in heavy mfg I find when people outside the "handy" diciplines (factory operations, industrial setting eng, skilled trades), they think mfg and engineered components are much more elegant than they really are Perhaps things like apple, F1, dyson and defence distort that view. They do make their products with "spaceship" technologies. But it's critical to understand they are the exception, not the…

Post by nick889996544 » Wed, Jan 11, 2023, 9:25 PM UTC

Rokid wrote: post #85

totemandtoken wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was a mechanical engineer before I shifted to software development (so kind of the opposite of you) and I think you need actual, full on college level schooling to be a mechanical engineer in most cases. The stuff you're focusing on - basically manufacturing techniques - is a very small part of engineering in general. I didn't see any mention of CAD or FEA work, but even assuming you do know some of that or can acc…

> The biggest difference I see between software developers and mechanical engineers is a way of thinking. Can you give an example? Myself being a mechanical engineer who also turned to software development, the people I talk to from SW are used to dealing with large matrices and semi-complex math. Sure they don't know about modal analysis or Navier–Stokes equations, but the lack of a certain way of thinking I cannot…

Post by donkeyofd00m » Wed, Jan 11, 2023, 9:29 PM UTC

Prcmaker wrote: post #91

donkeyofd00m wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cool! I work in R&D in heavy mfg I find when people outside the "handy" diciplines (factory operations, industrial setting eng, skilled trades), they think mfg and engineered components are much more elegant than they really are Perhaps things like apple, F1, dyson and defence distort that view. They do make their products with "spaceship" technologies. But it's critical to understand they are the exception, not the…

High voltage and radiation equipment here. Our products are sleek, or prototypes you literally would not touch with a 10ft pole. Jank is part of the game. If we can run a bunch of sketchy tests for $100s to find a path forward, and do pre production on the order of $1k to $10k, we might justify that $100k purchase down the track. On the other hand, we might find our own method that means the $100k solution is never r…

Post by buildsjets » Wed, Jan 11, 2023, 9:40 PM UTC

digdugdirk wrote: post #18

throwaway4aday wrote: post #8

I think CNC machining is primed for developments that make it much easier to use for the home hobbyist. The tech is very close to what's needed for 3D printing but it has a few added requirements like the need for a sturdier frame and accommodations for a fairly large and powerful motor. Both are solvable with the right materials and the motor can be anything from a DC spindle to a repurposed wood router. The biggest…

I love your optimism, and would absolutely love to have this capability in a garage. But as someone who designs physical products (and deals with all of the manufacturing techniques you mentioned above on a regular basis) I can't say I agree. There's a huge amount of knowledge and skill required to make machined/cast/extruded metal components, and a very steep learning curve before someone can do so safely. Gamechang…

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jan 11, 2023, 9:45 PM UTC

rspeele wrote: post #19

legitster wrote: post #6

Semi-related: As an average consumer I'm disappointed that nearly a decade of the "makerspace" has seemingly failed to produce any sort of meaningful Renaissance in small-scale US manufacturing. I've purchased the odd 3D printed or resin cast tchotchke from small operations a few times at this point. But it's still disappointing that if you need professional quality products, you still either need to pay out the nose…

Another problem is that really good CAD software is expensive. I have used FreeCAD. Its instability frustrated me. Not very rewarding to work on a part that needs a moderately complex feature like a loft, only to find out that after adding the loft FC crashes every few minutes so the part is essentially impossible to edit further. SolveSpace is much more stable but it doesn't have those complex features at all. You c…