Nifty CNC Machining in Perth, Western Australia | Local business
Nifty CNC Machining
Locality: Perth, Western Australia
Address: Bullsbrook 6084 Perth, WA, Australia
Website:
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25.01.2022 Yet another batch of brass washers completed. Only a small batch this time though.
25.01.2022 The start of another small run of brass stepped spacers. So much for a free weekend. These will keep me busy for a few days.
25.01.2022 Another batch of medical canisters completed today. Machined from polypropylene plastic. The square thread profile is for a screw on lid.
24.01.2022 Another repeat job done. Simple mild steel ferrules with a location spigot and tapped M12.
24.01.2022 Another job completed. A simple black acetal spacer OD = 19.0mm, ID = 6.5mm, Length = 16.0mm. Simply the best plastic to machine.
24.01.2022 I couldn't ADD my cad drg to the post, so here it is. Anyone that does this often will know I am a beginner.
23.01.2022 One last job for today. I feel the Hicell has earnt its keep. These are a CS1030 mild steel location socket. 40mm bar stock, 19.10mm x 12.90mm deep counter bore, drilled & tapped 5/8" x 11 UNC.
22.01.2022 My customer seems to be consuming a few of these concrete anchors. Another batch completed. Tapping M16 deep into stainless steel is tough on tooling.
22.01.2022 1st long production run in the new workshop ran smoothly. 3 days of uninterrupted operation with zero power supply or any other issues. Prior to the relocation, I had no less than 6 qualified electricians inform me that everything I have been planning for years will not work. Perhaps I should re contact them and suggest they retrain or hand in their tickets. No one knows it all. Especially if you have not done it yourself. Experience counts. Only 2 of my machinist mates were encouraging. I thank them both for their knowledge. They have been down this path and I trusted their advice. So, here we are, fully functional, just like I planned many years ago. Still got a long way to go setting up the workshop to how I like it, but that just needs alot of time. Happy days.....
21.01.2022 These are a repeat job for connecting to braided multi stranded wire cable by swaging over the multi grooved sections along the shank. Machined from stainless steel. Another time consuming job for the Hicell.
17.01.2022 These are a straight forward screw cut stainless steel tube. Thread is 1/2" x 20UNF. Easy enough you think, try doing 1.5mm thin walled tubing in a hydraulic chuck without crushing it. That's where experience and knowing your machine tool adjustments very well come in. You ignore the standards and "feel" what works.
17.01.2022 Finally home with just some cosmetic damage from the lift. Nothing I cant repair myself. Thanks to my mate John for all his help today.
17.01.2022 A mate that tinkers and builds Harley's is always looking to adapt some part he found from some bike, somewhere that was never intended to meet the one he has or as he would like. He tests me often. No, it is not Tim. He is a walk in the park compared to this old mate. Anyways, he wanted a simple hub to rotor adaptor. Easy enough. But he wanted a relief shape so you could not see the excess hub section through the rotor. Much of his building is based on asthetics. He changes ...the look of his bikes often. Sometimes weekly. I know, he needs therapy, but thinks this is therapy. I sometimes do a double take to check it's him. This is what I came up with. Now, my old Hicell does not have the ability to produce such shapes on its own. It is 27 years old. Have a think about the technology of the day back then. Many now use cad/cam software to achieve great results. I have never gone down that path. Mainly due to the exorbitant cost for software that I probably wouldn't get the full benefit from on a lathe. Milling is a different ball game. I decided to download a trial version that a mate uses. Rhino. After many hours of learning, I managed to draw a crude pic. I admit, I struggled with most of it. The axis were incorrect so I just selected all the intersection points and wrote them down by hand and then hand typed a G code tool path. Using X & C axis under polar interpolation, I created a finish tool path that did the job. Offsets took care of roughing. Acceptable for a 1 off, but not for more. I chose to have a go at this purely to prove to myself that I could do it. Pretty happy with my 1st attempt. I may just learn a little more new technology 1 day. I said maybe..... See more
17.01.2022 Another small repeat medical job completed. These are a location pin for surgical instruments machined from #316 stainless steel. Location diameter is 7.93mm. Thread os M6 x 1.0p The SHCS hex A/F = 5mm. I milled it using all 4 axis on the lathe with a 2mm 4 flute solid carbide end mill in the Z axis live tooling pocket. I know there are better ways to do it and a broaching tool would be nice but I just can't justify many thousands of $$$$ for such small quantities. I use what I have. Just need to use a little more creative thinking.
17.01.2022 Another repeat job done. These are a #4140 high tensile steel hex lock nut machined from stock round bar. Thread is M14 x 1.5p, hex A/F = 20mm. The 1st batch of these I machined was when I learnt to use the Z axis polar interpolation option that is common on newer machines but not so on machines nearly 3 decades old. These are done in a single operation on a single spindle machine with all chamfers and no extra off machine deburring needed. I'll post up a video of it shortly.
14.01.2022 Woo hoo...and we're back up and running. It is a little sureal right now just realizing that my very long term thoughts/plans/goals/dreams have actually come to fruition. My wife Nerissa is responsible for my drive, she has always believed in me and supported me. I'm NOT 100% yet, (Hicell is but I am not) as I still can't find most things from the move, but at least I have installed / repaired my machinery and had it all powered up. My new rotary screw air compressor is so qu...iet and energy efficient., a great addition to the workshop. There was cosmetic damage to guards and covers from the mover and just a couple of machine alarms when powered up. C axis proximity switches and limit switches must have been disturbed. The Hicell internal diagnostics makes it an easy fix. Not bad technology for 1993. I will sort the rest of my workshop tooling and materials over the next few weeks as time permits. The most positive note is that I have zero power supply issues. I had several qualified sparkies advise it would not work. The power suppliers are absolute idiots that give incorrect information and do not even know their own infrastructure. My own sparky, the Woolley one, with his business phrase of "were rough, but we're expensive" did a fantastic job of rewiring the workshop and shocked me by installing all hardware square, not on the piss like is his trademark. I guess this was his last legacy build for me, I'm never moving again. It's great to finally be home. See more
13.01.2022 This is the sort of job I get to play with and pretty much design it for the customer from scratch. My old workplace saying springs to mind "The customer does not know what he wants and he shall get that". In this case, the customer did know what he wanted just not sure how to sketch it, but just gave a brief description and let me run with it. These are fuel filler spouts and caps for welding into old tanks. The mild steel spout has a spigot for welding location and a threa...d that resembles a standard one, only smaller and more slim line. It was a mission to fit the raised spout, an O-ring recess and cross drilled breather hole all into less than a 15mm profile above the tank line. I tried reducing the height of the cap but even my fat digits struggled to gain a good grip so 8mm of straight fine knurl it is. These are prototypes so I hope he likes them and hopefully once fitted will send a pic to post up.
13.01.2022 This job was only dropped off this evening and is dead urgent. Customer requires it before morning. It is a sealing connector for the door on medical sterilizing equipment. Machined from #316 stainless steel. The threads are 1" x 11 BSPP & M36 x 1.5p with a face groove for the seal. Anyone would think I am a drive thru service now. Obviously, the one with hex tool stuck in it is the sample to be copied.
13.01.2022 This morning's job is another small batch run of Harley Davidson evo / shovelhead oil tank drain plugs. These are a repeat of my own design. Seems others also like not debarking their knuckles when the spanner slips off a 2mm wide hex on oem parts. I always make my hex the width of a spanner or socket depending on application. These are destined for a few builds that a mate has on the go right now.
13.01.2022 Another small repeat job completed. These are machined from black acetal. They are a shroud for medical grade tweezers used in surgery. The 2 small offset holes in the blund end are for the probes to protrude.
13.01.2022 This job is a one off drilling jig for a customer to drill their own holes in an aluminium outrigger arm. Yes, I know there are better ways but they only have a pedestal drill. Plus the hole is offset from centre, so alignment for the dowel pin needs to be correct. Simply slide it on, orient the job, tighten grub screw and drill from each side.
12.01.2022 Another repeat job completed. Bright mild steel for a change. 40mm bar stock, drilled and tapped 5/8 x 11UNC with a 19.10mm counter bore.
12.01.2022 Manufacturers often omit vital consumption statistics. The Hicell is no exception. I know it is a full industrial machine that consumes vast quantities of compressed air when using the live tooling. That's besides the other air consuming components like air cooled spindle, parts catcher, auto door, air blow on the quick release tool pockets, etc. I got tired of it eating small compressors for lunch. My supercrap one lasted a nano second. Even my old 10hp triple piston 3 phase... compressor struggled to keep up. It threw a conrod and destroyed itself. I finally succumbed and purchased a shiny new rotary screw type compressor with a larger receiver. This will out live me and never struggle to produce enough air, even for future machinery aquisitions. I fabricated the trolley myself as I may need to move it one day soonish and it weighs 300kg. Now to find time to plumb it up and never look back. I could have bought another Harley for the cost of this, but how do I hide a 4th from my wife? At the workshop of course. See more
12.01.2022 This week saw many long hours and late nights to complete the biggest order of 24mm x 90mm - M16 stainless steel concrete anchors I have ever done to date. Makes a change from the 1 off's but can get a bit tedious. The down side to having a single machine is, it gets tied up doing one job and all others must wait.
11.01.2022 Not bad for a morning's run. I've operated Hitachi Seiki's for well over 30 years but this Hicell impresses me with its speed and reliability. Not many 27 year old CNC machine tools could be so versatile in original form. That's half the job completed in the pic.
10.01.2022 I'm getting faster at cleaning the Hicell out for these brass spacers. Plus, trying some new tooling and a few program edit tweaks to produce a better product. The previous insert began to float in the holder after a few thousand jobs. Only by about 0.1mm but I don't accept that. This one is more stable and I gained a few extra jobs / bar. Cycle time was also shaved a little. Gotta love a win....
10.01.2022 One last job I snuck in before closing the workshop for a while. I am taking a break to focus on moving house but will be back asap. These are another batch of components bound for a mate that is into building his own design forward controls for Harley Davidson shovels / evos. They won't bend or break like the aluminium or flimsly fabricated ones do. These are the toughest you will find. Hopefully, he will post up pics when a set are on a bike and in use.
10.01.2022 These are a hinge pivot lug machined from #316 stainless steel. The spigot is to insert in the end of pipe. Each piece is half of the pivot joint.
10.01.2022 Not the best video but you get the idea how the milling is done in a 4 axis lathe. I typed out this G code program by hand so I could make adjustments for fit as all Harley's are not the same or their parts interchangeable like some people believe. Even left and right are a different fit by 0.5mm. It matters if you want it to fit correctly.
10.01.2022 It's been a while since I designed and machined any of these. For many years I used to machine small batches of these surgical laproscope eye pieces from a black plastic called PEEK. It is used for its autoclavable properties. Often, I was provided with just the damaged laproscope and no eye piece to copy. So I had to reverse engineer the eye piece to closely match the laproscope profile. No air gap is allowable for bacteria to enter. The OD shape has to be a certain profile... and size to be securely held in a camera mount for surgery. The opening for the ocular lens has to seal around the periphery and often the plastic section wall thickness is less than 0.5mm down to 0.1mm. Not the easiest of materials to work with to generate a perfect size and fit but I have always loved the challenge of these. Over the last 3 decades, I have machined many different shapes and sizes of medical eye pieces. See more
09.01.2022 Another mild steel supercharger pulley completed. This one was a 6mm reduction on diameter from the supplied sample. 8 ribbed V section belt drive. I've done similar profiles before so the odd ball pitch was on record. The rest of it was all new. Not alot to play with, it only has a 2mm wall thickness. But that is what the customer wanted. I chemically blackened it purely for aesthetics and corrosion prevention. These 1 off jobs consume machine time easily. Should do the job. More boost is always good. Customer's supplied sample is on the left in pics.
08.01.2022 Here is a snip of the polar interpolation finish tool path, I wrote the entire G code program by hand using extracted coordinates from the cad drawing I attempted.
07.01.2022 Another small batch of stainless steel oil pump plugs for Harley Davidson shovelhead's / evo's machined this morning. Most of these are destined for my mate Tim, who is building a few bikes for his lucky customers. I machined a few spares if any of of my mates have another build project on the go.
07.01.2022 This is a simple clevis connector for a mate's Harley Davidson shovelhead FLH. It connects the gearbox linkage to the forward controls. Thread is 5/16 x 24UNF,. Clevis is 7mm x 25mm with a 1/4" cross drilled hole for the pin. I hope he's happy, this was not easy and quite time consuming. Milling #316 staonless steel side to side with a 6mm end mill and the material just flexes away as depth increases.
07.01.2022 back into it this arvo after a short break, a nice easy mild steel job being weld on swing hanger bushes.
07.01.2022 You may remember a while back I began a side project to replace my original bar feed support stand. I needed the triangular scalloped profile pieces to support the honed tube for welding to the 16mm plate. The original was a poor design and was hastily fabricated out of scrap to make do at the time. As usual, time passes and temporary becomes permanent. I finally got around to finishing it tonight. This new version is fully adjustable through 4 axis. I can now line up the hon...ed tubed I used with the machine spindle perfectly. I can rotate it, skew side to side, raise or lower and pan / tilt. I also made up new sets of spindle liners so the bars will be supported closer to true = less vibration, increased rpm. Many would say, "just buy a bar feeder". NO!, I used them for decades and found that $15,000 only buys you a disaster, grief aggravation, oil leaks and general poor performance. I have a Grippex bar puller, so no need for a full fledged bar feed system, just a support. This should do it, just needs bolting to the floor now and alignment. See more
06.01.2022 I have been saving my brass swarf for the last couple of years. I was going to cash it in 6 months ago but some virus nonsense apparently reduced the price of scrap metal. How, is beyond me. It seems that it has been used as an excuse for many things lately. Anyways, if anyone that follows this page has a reliable, local contact that will actually return calls and take my 12 off, 20 litre buckets of brass swarf at a respectable price, let me know. I've had my share of incompetent merchants. Otherwise, I will just keep it and add to the collection. I have no idea of the weight, but they are heavy. Pic is only part of my stockpile. Feel free to post details in comments or message me. Cheers.
05.01.2022 Not all jobs are big in size or quantity, but are equally as important as any other. These are quite simply mild steel spacers. It made a nice change to work with a free machining material.
05.01.2022 Completed. Alot of machine tool run time on this one. In one way I'm glad it's only half the quantity I did a few months ago.
05.01.2022 These jobs are all machined from #316 stainless steel. The threaded ones are a hose barb adaptor from 1/2" BSPP to 1/2" hose with a circlip groove to retain it through a bulkhead. The other 2 pieces go together as a piston and shroud. O-ring grooves for the seals and circlip groove to hold it together. These are typical of how I receive jobs. Usually in a rough sketch but more often than not, a verbal description or worse case, in several pieces that I need to re assemble from being damaged and ascertain how it was to replicate a sample or sketch from what is left.
03.01.2022 This week I found time to delve a little further into using cad coordinates for polar interpolation in the Hicell. I needed some gussets to support a section of honed tubing for a project I am working on. I want them a neat fit for welding. Normally I would cut them from plate or have them laser cut but what the hell, I have a machine to do this for me. It just takes some thought and time to get it to do what I want. A few hours of changing axis and grid positions and I once again hand wrote the G code for these mild steel gussets from 50mm bar stock. They only took 4 minutes each, I could speed that up alot but as I am learning, that's just fine. Another piece of my project puzzle done. Next.....
03.01.2022 Just the start of another batch of mild steel domed sockets. M16 again! Seems everyone wants M16 threads these days.
03.01.2022 Just a short clip of the optional milling cycle using codes G126 / G127 using the Z axis polar interpolation option that is common on newer machines but not so on machines nearly 3 decades old. It's alot faster to process than traditional dividing head style milling of each individual flat. They look furry due to me turning off the coolant just for filming. The high tensile bar is slightly magnetic and the coolant washes away the swarf.
02.01.2022 Damn...my beloved sporty suffered a disability yesterday when I was shifting bikes. I am suffering a distinct lack of space right now. The front left footpeg only just clipped my work bench. Barely even touched it but enough for the cheap ass chinesium die cast alloy of puss to part company. These were a set of 5, I put on the bike many years ago, and I know full matching sets are hard to come by, plus not cheap. So, I had a few hours today to play with my own parts again. I reproduced a matching pair from 6061-T6 aluminium so they will not break again. Just need a quick buff and they will be good to go.
01.01.2022 1st job in new workshop completed, just some simple acetal bushes.a nice job to get going again with.
