Business of Machining

The Joint Open House - 8 Years Strong Grimsmo remembers how he felt when he first went to a trade show: out of place.

Tip from a veteran attendee: "Form relationships, ask questions, be direct, and make it happen." Not only was this event an internal pat on the back, you could say that Skye's big wish has been granted or rather, GRANITED.

After visiting Kern, Grimsmo's wheels are turning. It's just a matter of time before he figures out how to dress the lapping plate full Grimsmo style.

GOT INK? You know you're a machininst when the only tattoo you would ever consider is an inch to micron conversion table.

Mountains to Ski and Mountains of Footage The guys brought home TONS of footage from their Euro trip, so stay tuned for all of the awesome tours to come from Tornos, Hermle, Kern, and more!

TACrafted Tour - A bright young man with a bright future Click the image below to watch!

Sometimes what you're looking for might be right under your nose, or in Grimsmo's case, a block away. After a quick meeting with his realtor, he might have zeroed in on a potential new shop! When considering a larger space, it's important to allow for growth without over committing.

Saunders is a guest on the Welding Tips and Tricks Podcast While covering the subject of ROI, the importance of CASH FLOW BUDGETS or live budgeting becomes clear. Sure, numbers matter BUT there are many non-monetary ways in which a capital purchase can be justified.

CLICK HERE FOR THE WELDING TIPS AND TRICKS PODCAST

Spring Tease a.k.a Pending Summer The season change is welcome BUT that means rising temperatures are soon to follow. A/C is an expensive purchase but it's important for SMW to have a comfortable working environment for employees and trainees as well. It's up to Saunders to figure out how to minimize the operating costs while maximizing its benefit.

"Make it once, make it right, and then make it the best.

Grimsmo

The SAGA pocket clips are the last component needed to make 100+ SWEET PENS!

SMW Workflow Woes Having all fixture plate models in a master file isn't ideal BUT neither is having an individual file for each. The possible solution might introduce more error.

TOPICS:

• Willemin air lines all replaced
• Saunders is using metric hardware
• Microscopes in the shop
• Tracking tool life
• Machining A2
• The ultimate Clamps
• Lapping precision holes

TOPICS:

• Being too nice or too driven to your staff?
• Grimsmo's Willemin needs pneumatic work
• Solved the Horizontal chip sorting issue
• Cash management
• Exit interviews
• Repair parts process bins

Buying, Running, and Building Successful Businesses Around CNC Machines.

TOPICS:

• ST-20Y is back in business
• Tolerance Creep & Squeezing the Most Out Of Your Machine
• Tornos Lovejoy coupler slips during production
• GK Quarantine Vlogs - Second Nature Machining Tips and Tricks
• Finding Center Lines On A Y-Axis Lathe
• Fusion 360 NC Program Feature
• Simplifying Lathe Workflow - Lockwood's WCS & Container Method in Fusion 360
• Dovetail Workholding
• KERN - Tooling in Groups & Fusion 360 Cloud Library

Although the world is changing, one thing remains constant: the love of CNC machining!

Saunders is ecstatic to be reunited with the ST-20Y AND he's taking notes on how to get the absolute best parts the machine can produce.

Contrary to popular belief, you can't just buy a KERN, input the code, and have amazing parts appear. According to Grimsmo, the machine brand will only get you so far and the rest depends on tweaking and improving your process, even just that tiny bit more.

While lifestyle creep is to be avoided if possible, tolerance creep is definitely something you need!

Lovejoy Coupler Slips During Production The year-old Tornos has been opened up to be serviced by Elliot Matsuura's technician. The coupler that attaches the motor to the ball screw is specifically designed to slip so nothing is ruined in the event of a crash; however, since the servo motors contain the enocders themselves, the machine is not aware of a mechanical slip, meaning it'll keep making parts out of spec until you catch it.

MAKE LATHES GREAT AGAIN Grimsmo and Saunders hash out details on finding the center line on Y-Axis lathes. Grimsmo knows the best way takes a little more work but it's perfect every time.

Saunders has a do-while loop while he runs a certain number of parts. He shares how he wants to use a variable to streamline his post processor. Other ways to streamline and improve workflow come from Rob Lockwood. By implementing Lockwood's container method for programming parts and using a repeatable WCS, G55 stays put and the lengthy NC instructions on checking and setting offsets are a thing of the past!

Click Here for a Video on Part Programming Using Lockwood's Method.

KERN - Setting Up, Tooling, & Planning Grimsmo hasn't cut anything on special K for a while. Is he allowing fear to hold him back? With a large chunk of steel that could fall and damage the machine, he's not sure if he can trust dovetail workholding. Grimsmo shares how he wants the tools and sister tools to be organized and how he's using the Fusion 360 cloud library.

Up Your Confidence Bank Each time you keep a promise to yourself, your confidence account gets a little raise. Although Saunders crashed the lathe, he didn't let shell-shock stop him from moving forward. The only way Grimsmo will get that raise is if he gets off this call and pushes cycle start!

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE...where you might get a little misty-eyed. The cycle has ended; the coolant is off so WHY is the foam still growing!? With no through-spindle coolant and small ER collets, Grimsmo's got no explanation for the extreme coolant atomization--annoying problem but fun to say!

Saunders notices an off-white tinge occurs sooner than it should but instead of replacing it and shrugging it off, he examines potential root causes. Will sending samples reveal what's really going on?

Improving Shop Environment Quality for $200? Yes, please. Saunders has been working to improve shop air quality. Between the Big Ass Fan, the ERV, and the new Fan/Filter Modification from Grimsmo's new lapping machine video, it's like a breath of fresh air.

So far, it's working great but whether or not the charcoal filter will clog remains to be seen.

Want to get an upgrade? Check out this NYCCNC page for a bill of materials.

Double Dose

AU Toronto pays Grimsmo a visit to talk Fusion 360. PLUS, the Elliot Matsuura APS Engineer stops by to talk machine tools and custom codes!

What makes it Swissish?

There's some fuss on WhatsApp about the Tsugami SS327-5AX Swiss Lathe with B-Axis

Pallets? Check. Code? Please wait. Grimsmo wants the code to complete for one pallet, rewind, move over, and start from the stop but there's one BIG problem: Fanuc and it's dinky memory size... Come on, MAN. It's 2018! You can't even BUY memory that small anymore!

To make matters worse, logic can't be used in the DNC side of memory which holds 2G (plenty of room). So, that means 2-3 hours of alone time (hand coding) and the pallets should be good to go.

Tune in to hear about Grimsmo's end of 2018 thoughts AND outlook for 2019!