If your a race car driver and you never spin off the track, your not testing your limits. Just so with machining if you never break a tool. John is newer to this. Once you gain experience you break fewer tools but you still break them. Believe me I have broke my share.
You must not be a machinist. Two things you don't make fun of other machinists for doing: Breaking tools and crashing machines...because if you are a machinist you WILL do both and it will happen more than you think.
Crashing machines last week I missed a decimal on an ikegai I work on, snapped the centre (mt5) at the very top of the angle, was amazed it was able to do that lol. Boss wasn't best pleased.
Peter, I am a retired Toolmaker. We used to grind a .005" longitudinal flat on the dowel pin to alleviate the air cushion behind it. You don't need to sacrifice your precise fit. I enjoy your videos. Thank you.
Nice job as always. A little trick you may want to try to seat the dowel pins is to heat up the air inside the hole for a few seconds and the put the dowel pin in. When the air cools it will draw the pin in. Kind of like the massage technic of cupping.
i really enjoy the videos. there are a lot of manual machinists on RU-vid and there are some cnc guys but there in the minor leagues compared to your content. no one goes into as much depth on the manual programming and no one has the machinery like you or dose or the real jobs. like your videos a great deal
I like these type of vids because its nice to see how someone with your experience goes thru the thought process, like tooling,fixturing, setup, and problem solving, like on your other vid you said you dislike reamers so you're going to use a boring bar, like now i,m going to do that as much as possible if it makes the process more repeatable. and your jack idea gave me a idea for where i work. So maybe it's not even about having tons of question for you to answer I just enjoy watching you like if I was your apprentice and you where talking to me right there and now.
I really enjoy your videos. I think your content is for cnc what Tom Lipton's content is for manual. Tom is more intellectual then other channels, on the cnc side of things the other channels I've seen tend to be either be geared towards hobbyists/true beginners or get views by doing crazy things. I will watch anything you post.
Not that either of them ever WOULD, but I'd pay good money to see a manual machining technical wizardry contest between Tom Lipton and Robin Renzetti. Both of them know stuff I don't even know enough to imagine. Peter's videos have that same effect on me. Direct, straight to the point, and in directions I just never would have thought of. Putting together ideas and techniques that seem like they *should* be obvious - but only after they've been explained. I, too, will watch anything Peter posts :)
I too love what you produce. When you consider how much material there is on RU-vid there is a paucity of good information on this subject. I'm grateful to all the content providers for the enormous time and effort they dedicate for the benefit of others. I'm an engineer myself but I'm always happy to be inspired and when things are sometimes difficult, a good presentation by people like you can make all the difference in pulling ones socks up and getting on with things. Thank you.
Peter, you would have to be one of the best educational cnc machinists on RU-vid. I love watching many others don't get me wrong but your are A+ without question ;) . Thank you for your time and effort that go into producing such quality.
You have no idea how much your videos have inspired me. I am from the old screw machine world. "Automatic bar machines", they call them. Acme-Gridley mostly. Most of these machines are from WW2 era. A few months ago, they put me here. In the CNC world. I LOVE it! I don't know of any other folks that share this valuable info on youtube! Other than Edge.
Of course it helps, thanks a lot, It is very important to be able to see the "a piece of an iron" from a master's pov for people who wants to get knowledge (: thanks for your priceless effort for preparing this videos, you probably charge for this machine 30-40usd per hour, but we do not pay anything for your effort. There is a lot of priceless information.
It is so nice to see some one showing the real time and effort that goes into machining a clients part. So many other channels portray a "slip it in the cnc mill and look what pops out". Things like taking multiple passes and measuring between to get a size usually aren't shown. The time and effort you put into these videos it appreciated and invaluable, I/we are learning so much.
I like the videos, very nice fixtures and way to take advantage of the machines capabilities. i like the vise on the Integrex. Something i used to do back in my tool room days was grind a small flat on the dowels, along the OD, to release the air.
I like your videos more then others. I myself have been Machining for about 24 years. One thing I don't get to do at my job is program and build fixtures. Hopefully in the next phase of my career I can get into that. The most we can do is edit programs for efficiency and replace broken or worn parts. I find it difficult and frustrating using someone else's program and fixtures. Bumped heads a few times and reluctantly made parts that an engineer signed off on that were rejected by an inspector because of bad programming and subpar fixturing. I guess that's how the machine shop world works. I like your situation where you make all the decisions. Something I want to do. Good stuff Sir and can't wait for the next video.
I have found that the ease and quality of the machine work has a lot to do with the thought and preparation that goes into the job. I personally don't like to fight a job the whole way through. I have been criticized in the past for going to so much detail on my setups (possibly that's so) but is part of the enjoyment I get in doing the job. Thanks for you comment it seems that in the machinist community nobody likes other peoples programs. I have completely setup a job, got first article on some ones else's machine while he was on vacation. Even run quite a few parts. Than he comes back. He tears down the setup and redoes it because he doesn't like it. Go figure?
Personally I like all the machining. You can leave all the "boring stuff" in! Would love to see more videos from you they are fantastic. Keep up the great work, I am learning a lot from you. Thanks
Amazing as per usual. We are truly privileged to get to watch you work with this drool worthy equipment and learn from your years of experience that you make look so effortless. Kudos & keep em coming!
I really enjoy your video on the Mazak. I use to program Mazak E650 for landing gear, but company decided to move the operations to Canada! I sure miss it. Thanks!
Hello (sorry for Google translation) I look at you from Belgium, I'm also working on an integrex, and I think you're the most interesting machining channel of RU-vid! I really like what you do, unfortunately I do not understand English, I would like so that someone can translate your videos, because the automatic translation is really bad :( Continue it's great!
I just started seeing your videos. Thanks for the awesome input into the community! As a starting Machinist and my second career, these are great! I’ve just had to come across making fixtures and jiggering things to machine parts on my own for the college I’m with, and watching this one helps out a lot with the thought process. Confirms my line of thought, and confirms that sometimes it takes a while to get things right for what you need to do.
You seem to be one of the most technically skilled and patient articulators making videos in the trade. You also seem to be doing very interesting things on your work prices. Between you and Joe Pie I'm getting better training than at trade school.
Hands down you are a master of your craft Peter great job I’m a young machinist climbing 🧗♀️ engineering work Your videos always number one ☝️ on my play list
Keep up the good work. I watch your videos to learn. I've been a machinist for 5 years and your videos help me think about how to do stuff differently.
Really enjoying this series, you’ve inspired me a ton. The dovetailed fixtures and mounts are brilliant I’m considering using them in some capacity at my shop for interchangeability purposes.
Brilliant! I don't have any production CNC in my small toolroom. Gives me a chance to learn another aspect of the trade. I have used shoulder screws as a thread in dowels at times, just had to sink them enough to insure perpendicularity. Ground small flats on pins at times to vent the air in holes. Keep'em coming. Thank you and happy new year!
I'm no machinist but I feel your content is riveting. I'm just amazed at this technology and your excellent talk through the process got even an idiot like me understand a bit. Thanks
I do a lot of machining on castings at work and they are always a pain due to being slightly different shaped or having been cast from multiple moulds but somebody need to do it you just have to use your head and knowledge. I've only been machining for 6 years, qualified for 2 years so don't have a lot of knowledge but you pick it up as you go you jugs make it work. It's great watching your videos i get a lot of tips and ideas for fixturing and holding parts. I like watching the machining as well even if you can't see much past the coolant. you get an idea of how fast things are cutting and how rigid the setups are. Keep the videos coming.
you're the best! Please keep the machining content. Even with coolant. Your air knife does the job and guys are just used to skipping because they haven't yet realized you solved that issue.
Another great video. I really like the adjustable jacking bolts under the ears. Nice approach!!!! Look forward to seeing your next video. Keep up the great work!
This has been a really excellent series on complex fixture design. I just loved it. If you get some time, I'd love to see you expound on your setup for inserting and removing tools from shrink fit toolholders. I've seen you install a tool using a propane torch in a previous video, and I'm wondering how you go about getting a tool out of the holder once it's worn out. Would really like to see a detailed video on how you deal with all that.
You can only use carbide shank tools in shrink holders. Because steel expands more then carbide the tool will release at the proper temperature. When doing this with a propane torch you have to be carful not to overheat the tool holder. Commercial shrink systems have temperature controllers to limit the heat but with care it can be done with a torch. I also have in the past made straight shank extensions by boring the shrink end .001" smaller in diameter than the carbide endmill shank. .001" is all you need to hold the tool. I will see about making a video on the subject thanks.
I really liked the shot from the bottom of the fixture while you were facing it. Great video Peter! You and one other channel (At-Man unlimited) I'm always giving a fist pump when I see a new video posted.
Hey Peter! I've been a subscriber to your videos for a while and what you described in the end of this video really makes sense and puts a spotlight on the "american data sharing" which is a huge catalyst for expanding the mind and eventually become more successful. it is really different than other continent's way of secretive thinking. and I feel like when you contribute your knowledge people will know you better and you will get more jobs and more opportunities. I guess you can conclude how it's been so far better than me as far as it comes to posting your life's efforts and sharing them on youtube, and how it affected your buisness so far. anyway, it's another chance to say thank you for everything you do because I know for a fact that I have used some ideas I've seen on your videos that brought me success and helped me step up at work. (Slavik from israel)
Nice job Peter. Those jack screws and t-nuts are beautiful. I think you do a great job with the footage balancing how much is shown when you have the coolant going.
The precision and plannig you make , is always impressive , it almost brings a tear in my eye , cause where i work , usually not even the finished part looks as good as your fixturing components . I said it before , but Happy holyday .
For some reason I just found your channel a couple of days ago, and have watched alot of your videos. Just love getting to see these large, fast, multi axis machines running. Your going to get some new subs in the next couple of days, going to give yoru channel a shoutout on my channel this weekend
i always use dowlpins with threads in one end because of the reason you talked about.. you can drive them out with a pulley hammer tool if they are stuck.. you dont have to drill from backside to hit them out..
Great video Peter! Amazing machine work and great videography. It really shows that your thinking about the viewer when you take the time to get those different camera angles and do your best to keep the lens clean, it makes your videos different and interesting. I still like watching that machine run coolant or not and you do a very good job of making it watchable in my opinion. I learn something from every vid and appreciative you taking the time to do them.
Thanks, I myself don't like to watch videos where there is just one static shot. So I figured if I don't like it other people don't either and they wont watch the videos. Not that I have any major pearls of wisdom but if they don't watch the video they wont get anything. According to RU-vid you only have about 15-30 seconds to capture their attention.
Hiya, great vid as always. Being an audio guy I thought that the bad sound from 06:50 to 10:50 can be fixed so I just tried it out. And yes it can be fixed. I ripped the audio out of the video and imported in into Audacity, a free audio editing program. Then I selected a section of 'only the noise' and did the 'noise removal|get sample' thing, then applied that noise removal to the segment from 06:53 to ~10:53. This greatly reduces the noise and the voice is much clearer, but it can be improved by applying some EQ and adding about 4db from 1000hz to 6000hz. One can then put the audio back into the video editor for much improved video experience.
Thanks David I'm going to check into Audacity. This particular clip I really needed the audio and had only the sound from the GoPro. But the GoPro is in that aluminum case. In order to pick up voice you have to speak loudly. I wasn't talking loud enough so I had to boost the volume or gain. I tried various noise reduction things in Premier they worked a little but they also distort the output. I don't like the way it sounds using Premier (or maybe I don't know how to do it properly. More likely). In this location where I machine there is this constant background noise from the air compressor I think this could help a lot with that.
That is what i thought, the GoPro in a box sound is quite distinctive. Audacities 2step process is very good so long as you select only noise for the sample. If you catch just one word the output sounds really strange. It analyses the sample for frequency content then subtracts it from the selected audio using fancy mathematics. If you struggle to get it right I can do a screen capture tutorial for you. Btw I really like that you write your own gcode probe routines. Too many people rely entirely on CAM output.
Very nice as usual. When I saw the inserted cutter with the broken screw I thought it was a tungaloy cutter, like the one I regularly use but then I saw the iscar insert box. 👍
I also like your style.laid backed, knowledgeable, and hardworking. I’ve seen your downtime and maintenance on the Mazack. Does it need like a yearly tuneup? What about how you set your tooling up?
I have owned the Mazak Integrex for about 5 years in that time I have only done what you see in the video two times. I have also cleaned out the coolant system once in that time. I think I have changed the Oil in the hydraulic systems about three times. It is important with these machines if you crash or hit something hard to check the alignment of the B axis. The machine has a tremendous amount of power and can knock the B axis out of square quit easily. in normal operation this isn't a problem. In the video I made I had some inserts give out on a face mill at a high feed rate and that was enough to require a realignment of the B axis. I have a test bar that is 13" long for the milling spindle. I like there to be less than .001" of error if I indicate along it's entire length with the B axis in any position.
I think we all can appreciate the customer letting you film all this on their part. Major thank you from me. That lathe fixture is quite the boss. Detailed and everything. The dovetail on the back makes sense. If you can reuse that same diameter like on some other jobs. That's a good idea. Also, I've noticed this among many lathe videos. Is there a particular reason why you are turning with the insert away from you? I had always figured that it would be best to see the insert doing the cutting.
On this machine it makes no difference because the tool is on the top of the part. The shavings can go either way. This tool just happens to be right handed. So turning toward the chuck it faces away. Turning away from the chuck it faces toward you. On this machine you can index and clamp the tool at any 15 degree angle. So the same tool can turn both directions. On a more conventional CNC lathe there can be a advantage to using tooling that lets the shavings (Or chips) fall directly into the chip conveyer. on these machines it does make it harder to index the inserts though.
Another cool fixture you've made. Maybe a little tip for the problem with those pennholes. Try drilling small holles through them. Then you don't have the air compression.
Cool fixture design! And the details on those t-nuts, bolts and washers! Looks to me like you've put in a lot of efforts and time! Or maybe it's only a walk in the park for you! What do I know! But what I've learned from your videos is pure craftsmanship and sophistication in machining, with a class of its own engineering geniuses, so much so that sometimes they might even strike me as overkill, no offence. My recent work involves implementing Offline CAM process into a Mazetrol environment. So I found that I specifically drawn to you intergex's videos! Can wait to see more of them! Maybe I can ask you for advise later! Thanks for sharing!
The reason the T-nuts are made the way they are is. When I change/mount the part I need the clamp jack screws not to fall off the fixture. The castings are to heavy to hold up there and fumble around with parts at the same time. This was the simplest design I could think of.
I’m amazed at the amount of manual intervention required to get set up to run an “automated” job. It just goes to show you that you have to be a machinist first. It’s a lot more than slapping stuff in a vise and pressing cycle start. I see why they give you the complicated stuff.
There are two kinds of CNC machine work. Fully automated where you just push cycle start and the machine does the rest. I would call that production than there's the rest. I would call sort of semi production or better yet CNC assisted machine work. Kind of like a Hydraulic tracer where you make a template and the machine follows it. Only the modern template is a computer program. That is the kind of work I mostly do. I enjoy the challenge of setting up a full production job but after that's done it doesn't interest me. let someone else run it. This video is of course about making a fixture for a job so almost nothing is automatic except the actual machining cuts. Thanks for the comment Peter.
Edge Precision Everybody is always looking for CNC setup people. Your work shows that setup is programming, fixture design, fixture fabrication, tool grinding and a whole lot more. It’s great content and hopefully will get more people interested in what it really takes to be a good CNC machinist. Thanks for sharing your work.
Amassing video, you are getting better at it with each next video. One suggestion; Maybe (it might be too much work tho) if you placed CAM simulation in a smaller window, to clarify what the machine is doing behind the curtain of coolant.
Yes I could do that with no problem. Another thing I would like to do is something ClickSpring does. Flash a ghost of the part on top of the image of the part. I haven't been able to figure out how he does it yet. I tried to use a cad model but the perspective in the video is hard to match with the cad model. I need some way to distort the cad models image to match the video's view.
Look at my video "Off Center Turning On The Mazak". That square block of 316 SST weighed more than 500 Lbs. I'm not sure what Mazak's specification for this machine is but I would bet it could take more than that.
HI Peter, First of all i can't believe you caught the broken insert, that was really cool. the way i pull pressed dowel pins from a fixture is with a 5c collet and a square holder it comes off like a charm every time. i want to see the actual machining of the casting it looks so interesting. lots of work on those castings i wonder how do you price that work? fixtures? excellent video.
Yes I have used the same procedure with a slide hammer. I've even pulled out very stubborn ones by taking a angle grinder and grinding notches in opposite sides of the pin. Than putting visegrips on the end of the slide hammer. The notched in the sides keep the vesegrip pliers jaws from sliding off the end. Thanks.
Have to tried "RAIN-X" automotive windshield water repellent for your new camera case you made? I do not know if it would ruin the clear covering you used, and as you already would know, to try a test sample. It is also unknown, if that wee bit would cross contaminate your finished parts through the coolant transfer?.. but, I have been using that product for over 20 years. Some folks do not like it, but is typically due from not applying the product correctly. Whip the RAIN-X on... rub it in, to get the the haze through a glare .... allow to set for 5 to 10 minutes.. whip off the haze until you see no more haze through the glare.. you are rady to rock and roll.. and the coolant will run right off, via its own weight. let alone for your windows of the machine, and of course, your vehicles... Nice work, as always, enjoy your Christmas and new year... Dru
I have tried Ran-X it doesn't seem to hold up to the coolant I use. As of now I'm using a product called FlyBy Forte. Its sold by CarPro. I think it works better than Rain-X but is much more expensive. One problem I am having is with the air knife on the camera if there's water in the air supply it blows across the lens. I am also using a small oil less air compressor (California Air Tools) because the shop air has oil residue in it that gets on the lens. I need to put some kind of drier system on the compressor as well. Thanks for the comment and information.
Love the content, coolant and all! I have learned so much from every video of yours I have watched so far, I really appreciate the time your taking to make them and how you explain what your doing and why. I agree with Bill's comment, your content is like the CNC version on Tom Lipton's content and its great. Thanks for passing on your knowledge and helping new guys in the trade like myself. What CAM software are you using, or do you program at the machine?
As usual, fantastic video! keep them coming! I've picked up a ton of little things from you already and hope I can squeeze some more knowledge out of you ;) Question time! Do you think the screw failed from over or under torque? Was is used or brand new? I've had them fail before but never if I actually follow the destructions and lubed and torqued them to the correct spec. I had tech rep from Kennametal once tell me that most screws fail because they are over torqued because lots of operators believe that if tights good tighter is better. Any knowledge to gleen out of you on this?
I think that the inserts on this face mill have been indexed many times. The screws get stressed from many tighting and loosening. Also the previous job this tool was used on was nitronic 50 material witch put much more force on the cutter at low speed. Than we turn 4000 rpm. That being said most machinists over tighten the insert screws. A friend of mine who has his own shop uses a toque screw driver on his tools. Thanks!
Thank you very much! Pretty much as I suspected but appreciate the insight. Screws do wear out and I've always used the damage to the driver as a good sign when to replace them. There is nothing like trying to undo a totally bugger screw on a right hand turning tool in a slant bed lathe with a part in the way and everything is still wet with coolant...
it's called fatigue.if thats the case where screw lose their strength over cyclic loads. my shop use kennametal and these bolt have some 200hr normal operation hr. better spare for some screw when running planned job.
would you bid lower if the company did an RFP based on the fact you already have the fixturing? Also how do you cost parts before custom fixturing? seems tough to know materials and time needed. Great work btw.
peter must have done some of the design work up front. although it is a good number of castings the amount of work on fixtures could easily make this zero profit if you got it wrong. i would give very little discount the next time: other competing shops need to make the fixtures too.
Peter can you explain the design intent of how the spherical washers work with the jack screw set up on the fixture. Thanks again on taking the time to produce these videos!
Because the castings aren't uniform in size and shape. The bottom surface of the ears that the jack screws come up against may not be perpendicular to the screw. The spherical washer helps to even out the distribution of the force when I tighten the clamp screw on the top. Otherwise when I tighten the clamp screw it might tend to twist or bow the ear and there by put a twisting force into the part. Hope that answers your question. Thanks.
I'm curious about those jack screws...I can see how the top section is tightened but how do you tighten the bottom section that goes into the aluminum fixture? I would think that this bottom section ought to be tightened first but I didn't see Peter tighten them and I don't see flats or holes needed to do so. ...maybe it was edited?
I’m not sure it showed in this video. There is a video in his series that shows these jack screws in more detail. There are some holes that I can put a small rod or Allen key in to snug the screw up against the casting. Than tighten the cap screw in the center to clamp the part.
I think I already know the answer but does your machine cool the coolant? Over a long period of machining surely it heats up. Those heavy material removal cuts certainly made the inside look like a sauna
On this machine there is no additional cooling system on the coolant. There is about 2-300 gallons of coolant in the tank. It cools some what thru the sides of the tank. I would imagine it heats up some but not enough to be a problem. In some cases the fog you may see is the water in the coolant turning to steam from the hot tool. That’s why when you make up coolant you put more water in the mix than concentrate.
I slightly fell asleep and for a second there I thought I was looking at Welding Tips And Tricks youtube channel - I was like weird... Jody got into CNC? LMAO you really resemble him a tiny bit.. you could pass off as his brother.
When it comes to "showed on tape skills" - you both are top of youtube creators in your area of expertise. The way how you bluntly "abuse" the capabilities of your Mazak is a treat to watch. Only bummer when it comes to subscriber numbers there are far more people interested in welding than advanced CNC machining. But I'm sure you can break 100k in some time.
Please can you comment on what kind of CAD you are using. Just from curiosty :) - I would like to think that I have seen some of those packages but this seems new and exiting
The cad software I currently use is SpaceClaim. I started using it many years ago because it did things other software's didn't do at the time. Now, most do pretty much the same things it did then. If I was starting all over I thing I would go with AutoCAD's Fusion. For general machining operations I think it would be the most cost effective solution. Not probably the best but good enough for 99.9% of everything you would need. The Cam software I use is Esprit and only because of the Mazak Integrex. They have worked with Mazak to make their software and post's work especially good with the 5 Axis B axis lathe. It isn't the simplest software to learn and use but it does work good.
it seems there's been alot of fixturing ops, could they have just cast the part oversized and with more material, limiting all these manual changes? I'm sure you know this, but how do you get your supplier to realize casting metal is the cheapest portion of creating a part. It looks like some type of Inconel? They are getting cought up on volumetric cost of material vs. machining time
Great video, How did you indicate the block to run true when chucking on the dovetail? It would seem to me like you would constantly be fighting vibration on a machine like that with the part that far out from the chuck, but you seem to run the piss out of anything you put in there. Must be a Mazak! Thanks for sharing.
I don't know if you can see in the video(Look at the corners closest to the chuck jaws). I turned off the corners of the block for a short distance. Than when I turned the block around I was able to indicate the corners that ran true to the dovetail. When I machined the other side I milled a c-bore to indicate next time I use the fixture.
Yes it is possible. In my experience reaming very precise holes takes some experimentation. On this particular job I didn’t have the time or extra material. So I just went to the boring operation. You have to have reamers of different diameters to test. If I run the job again I think I will grind some special tools to try to do just that.
Yes I was machining the dovetail connection first for the chuck jaws. Than flipped it over and chucked on to that dovetail in the chuck jaws I have already with the matching dovetail. That's where it was when the insert screw failed on the cutter, facing the other side.
