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Business of Machining

John Grimsmo of Grimsmo Knives and John Saunders of NYC CNC discuss their success, struggles, goals and more as machinists, business owners and entrepreneurs.
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Now displaying: October, 2020
Oct 30, 2020

RASK KNIVES ON HOMESTRETCH, LIGHTS OUT MANUFACTURING, LATHE CRASHES, DATA & TOOL LIFE MANAGEMENT, MACRO VARIABLES, Q PARAMETERS, FUSION 360 BUG, PROVENCUT PART SERIES, and MORE!


Machining Verbiage
The new rule is that when running machines, you add "ING" to the end of the machine brand name to create a new CNC-centric gerund.
Acceptable examples are:

KEARN--ING
TORNOS--ING
HAAS--ING
TORMACH--ING


A BUMP IN THE NIGHT...
Just when you think it's dialed, you hit the lights and leave the shop only to be welcomed in the morning by 200-300 scrapped parts.


Grimsmo shares this one minor detail that derailed the entire lights-out process. Saunders points out that evaluating problems further up stream is worth doing!

FRIDAY - DATE NIGHT WITH A LATHE CRASH
The ST-20Y is set to run the one and done, dialed process for SMW diamond pins but the lathe insert broke on the 2nd pin. And that's not all. Not only was the insert blown, the parting blade took a huge crap! Luckily, Saunders had back up blades on hand, right? WRONG! 

With similar experiences being shared between them, they embark on an in-depth conversation about tool life management, tool counting, macro variables, and Q parameters. The question remains: how do you incorporate these into your shop operations successfully?

Forget textbooks---except the one Grimsmo is a true FAN...uc (I mean, fan of)

Fanuc CNC Custom Macros: Programming Resources for Fanuc Custom Macro B Users 


Machines Personified
Remember the poetic interpretation of Mars Rover's final message to NASA? While the rover never explicitly said, "My battery is low and it's getting dark," that partially humanistic phrase still managed to evoke a tinge of sadness for many. Why? We have a long history of personifying everything under, and including, the sun. In a strange way, machines have their own temperaments, quirks, likes, and dislikes--and that might be why it feels kind of sad leaving them alone in the dark.

Fusion 360 - Team Hubs & Documented Bug
The guys discuss migrating to Team Hubs and the importance of a local back-up copy of data. By the skin of his teeth, Grimsmo saves his butt by using Instagram to approximate the date of the correct version of a specific file. During a livestream, Saunders stumbles across a bug that is driving EVERYONE insane! Finally, Grimsmo discusses how one tiny checked boxed beside, "Make Sharp Corners" has been life changing! Click here for the HSS Spline Shaft Tool Video that incorporates spring passes + make sharp corners for awesome results.

ProvenCut Part Series
Saunders announces a new addition to ProvenCut that makes it more than just a library! Now, you can find parts similar to what you want to machine, select the machine and type of material, use the mouse to hover over the part to see which types of operations were used, and more! The first part being added to the series is a T-nut and there will be many more to come! 


RASK IN HAND & FINE TUNING
All parts have been made and now the only things left are final tweaks for the surface finish, fit, and solving the 5-10% lock-stick issue. Grinding is all systems go. The blades are now the best they've ever been!


Rebuilding The Shop - Custom Tables and Benches for Organization
For Saunders, rebuilding the shop has been in progress for several months now but it's still like a breath of fresh air! He's excited to meet up with someone from Maker Pipe who's offered to help with custom solutions to get SMW to the next level!

Oct 23, 2020

John & John go over the never ending struggle of the classic make vs buy scenario. This time they are talking about making a custom shipping table to help speed up Saunders' work flow. Grimsmo has a Canadian version called FlexPipe.

 

Saunders' has been doing some WORK when it comes to Automatic Brix reading of coolant systems. He has been using a digital refractometer that you can find two versions of them here.

ATAGO MASTER-20M

Atago PAL-1

 

John Grimsmo is still struggling with the Kern. It has been full of little victories and bigger issues. Luckily Angelo had a good idea that helped solve a grinding problem!

Oct 16, 2020

Solopreneurs, Robots & Payloads, ERP + Inventory Tracking, Brix, Automated Coolant Distribution, and MORE!

Business of Machining Podcast = The Manufacturing Entrepreneurcast


You CAN Be The Crazy Guy In Your Garage Forever!
The idea of expanding beyond oneself or even becoming self-employed isn't enticing to everyone---and that's okay! Grimsmo reflects on his evolution from solopreneur to entrepreneur and Saunders shares an experience with an electrician who likes his gig just the way it is.


Speaking of Solopreneurs, check out this shop update with
Adam Demuth, an incredible machinist who made the shift from a 9-5 to being self-employed. If you're not into stress but want to run a business, Adam's zen-rific perspective on entrepreneurship is perfect for you! Also, check out the Precision Microcast hosted by Adam and Joshua Hacko from Nicholas Hacko Watchmaker!

Lockwood Begs to Differ
Idealizing the infallibility of robots is nice and all but Rob's administering a heavy dose of truth!

"Why are we not better at this already!?" 
Saunders is disappointed in our lack of progress when it comes to payload issues for FANUC robot arms. Not to worry, 5th Axis is working on it! Check out their videos here!

THIS SUCKS! (but it will be worth it)
During Phase 3/4 of Nuking the Shop, Saunders faces the fact that all material and supplies must be removed from the racking and the team will have to start from square one. While discussing one of their new favorite topics, tracking inventory, we learn that the Johns are taking different approaches when it comes to quantities!


BRIX, The Holy Crap Scenario, and "Screw This, I'm Goin' Home!"

The guys outline the specifics of their automated coolant delivery systems and air lines. They discuss solenoids, refractometers, ball valves with external motors, IoT (internet of things), Mixtrons, and MORE! They share progress, plans, and solutions to problems. Find out what Grimsmo means by "The Holy Crap Scenario" and the situation that made him throw in the towel, so-to-speak.

The Smoking Gun--I mean, Knife?
Grimsmo tackles the lowest hanging, highest yield fruit during his "days off in the shop"! A few episodes ago, Grimsmo knew the one thing he could do to increase production right away and he nailed it! Now, there's something nice--uh, Norse, that can run lights out on the Mori!


RUN FROM HERE - Running Code from A Certain Point
SMW is focusing heavily on developing reliable processes when it comes to posting code. While they used to run from the "Run From Here" feature, things have changed....

 

 

 

 

Oct 9, 2020

Grimsmo has made some glorious progress on the kern. They have finalized an auto grinding routine for Rask blades. While Saunders' and their team have been toying with the idea of buying a Horizontal machining center.

 

Saunders' also has some awesome upgrades he is adding to Proven Cut.

References:

Surebonder.com

Oct 2, 2020

RASK PROGRESS, THREADMILLING, WORKHOLDING FIXTURES, 5-AXIS ROTARY TOOLPATHS, DIAMOND BURNISHING, GRINDING, SURFACE FINISHES, PROBING, & TOOL BREAKAGE DETECTION.


KERN IT UP.
Grimsmo machines his own ER 16 collet for the KERN! Wait until you hear about how he made this monolithic-integral ER. All this talk about holding parts on center brings back a good ol' Memory with Marv. Saunders recounts an accuracy test for cylindricity on the KERN--Swarf VS. Polar Interpolation in Garmisch- Partenkirchen.


Threadmilling. Single Point or Proper Threadmills? Tool Standardization?
The guys dive into threadmilling and tooling up machines; including single point versus proper threadmills, tool deflection, and whether or not to buy or DIY Collets. Regardless, the process needs to be reliable AND no matter how magical the brand of machine, it's still subject to the laws of physics.


Click here for the Ultimate Guide to Threadmilling on NYCCNC (video and threadmilling calculator).


HEAR ME OUT: The Synergistic Effect of CNC Theory.
Saunders asks an interesting question, "Could the collets be made on the Nak?" At first it seems like an impossibility but with an open mind, new ways of thinking can lead to solutions you never could have imagined.

Cogsdill Diamond Burnishing Tool on the Tornos: YAY or NAY?
Grimsmo shares an update on the SAGA pen clips.

Inconceivable---really!
Saunders teases Grimsmo with the mind blowing video that's in the works. This Covid-friendly collaborative video about MetalQuest's INDEX MS40-8 will be about the harmony between machine capabilities and maximizing workflows. It's hard to imagine the back-work, which is all the more reason it MUST BE SHOWN! Get ready to reduce cycle time, increase output, balance cycle time between spindles, and more!


Covid and Manufacturing: BIG GIANTS FALL HARDER.
No one wants to speak too soon but there's been a sigh of relief that smaller manufacturing businesses haven't felt the same pain as the larger, often over-leveraged, companies. Seeing a "company consolidation" flyer in the mail for an aerospace company feels....weird.


BUYER'S REMORSE?
Does Grimsmo regret the large financial risk he took with the KERN given how 2020 has panned out thus far?


TOTALLY REDEEMED AFTER BEING REAMED.
A few episodes ago, Saunders called Grimsmo out for committing two cardinal sins of grinding. In order to make progress on the Rask, he decided to forego dressing and balancing the wheel before grinding the knife blade.
Maybe Grimsmo's method of madness was intentional all along or maybe it was pure luck that resulted in the perfect recipe. EITHER WAY, IT'S FANTASTIC!


Surface Finish Factors
You hear about tool deflection, speeds & feeds, material type, and machine kinematics but what about presenting an even chipload/tool pressure to the cutting tool? Devon Dupuis from Autodesk and Saunders are collaborating on an OUT OF THIS WORLD part that relies on getting that chef's kiss finish.

Random Ceratizit Clickbait
Sometimes the algorithm provides....
Check out this video showing a new facemill with a vacuum/suction feature.

ERP: Permanent Product and Material Location
A big part of implementing ERP is deciding where things will be stored. It might sound easy to have a permanent location for parts and material but Amazon outright rejects that logic. The key is to make sure the item can be located anywhere at anytime. 

The Johns wrap up this 190th episode with probing, tool break detection, and what's on tap for the day!

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