This assignment is about characterizing the CNC router. The router we have is simplex router which is shown below.
the machine is operated using MACH3
Safety
We made sure that each person wearing a protective glass during the run of the machine, established a safe permieter to observe the machine from while running and made sure that at least one person is in control of the emergency stop to stop the machine at any moment.
Runout
To test the runout we used this gauge. The gauge is fixed on the collet at first then we rotate the collect and observe the deviation. Then we fix the gauge on the endmill and rotate the spindle and observe the deviation. a deviation of 1 mil is observed.
Feeds and speeds
To test the feeds and speeds we designed some circles on ARTCAM and assigned different RPM and feedrates to each circle and then we cut them to see which feedrate and rpm resulted in the best finish. We tested the following parameters feed rate (spindle speed) 3000 mm/min (10000 RPM), 4500 mm/min (12000 RPM), 6000 mm/min (15000 RPM), 7000 mm/min (15000 RPM) and 8000 mm/min (15000 RPM). Because we used MDF not plywood, the finish for all of them was smooth so we decided to go with the highest to reduce machining time.
Fixuring
To cut the design we first started by fixuring a piece of plywood to the sacrificial layer using screws.
Sending the GCODE to the machine on MACH3
Cutting the test parts
A press-fit joint test
The designed was modified to include a dog-bone at each corner of the female joint. We forgot to add dog-bones for the male part which resulted in the part not fitting completley. We noted this mistake for future designs.
