Design files for this project can be found here

1/21/2017 – Update to the alignment blocks

One of the issues with the Roland MDX-540 is that it’s surprisingly difficult to mount stock for milling when not using the vise in the rotary unit. The old fixturing table consisted of an MDF sheet with a few holes drilled in it to allow it to be attached to the aluminum extrusions. Removal of the table was required to mount anything, so it was nearly impossible to mount stock with any sort of accuracy onto the table. My fix for this was to redesign and remake the fixturing table out of aluminum together with some custom clamps and alignment blocks to allow for the precise positioning of stock onto the table.

Design files for this project can be found here

Here’s another small project I did a while back. The chuck spanner for the Roland MDX-540 in the Garage went missing, and without it the entire machine was out of commission as there was no way of tightening the lock nuts on the tool holders for the end mills. Rather than order and wait for a replacement spanner, I decided to model up and mill out a replacement on a Tormach PCNC 770.

Design files for this project can be found here

One of the downsides of working with a large variety of materials (wood, plastics, aluminum, steel) in CNC mills is that each material requires a set of end mills tailored for that material. The basic requirement for each material is a square (flat) and ball (round) mill, but on top of that you have roughing (1-2 flutes) vs finishing (4+ flutes) mills, different sizes (1/2″, 1/4″, 1/8″, 1/16″, and 1/32″), and a number of specialty end mills (chamfer, dovetail, keyway, drills, threading, and engraving). All together, that’s a significant number of end mills to have to carry around.

Design files for this project can be found here

1/28/2017 – Updated rendered pictures to remove artifacts and fixed wood type for bottom half of the case

Here’s a fun project I made earlier this year: a replacement case for a Mitutoyo Micrometer as the one that it came with didn’t hold the micrometer very securely. To make a replacement case, I first modeled the micrometer as accurately as possible then did a subtract operation to get the initial model of the case. Following that, a bit of cleanup was necessary in order to smooth out the design so that it could be milled out relatively quickly.