Deep Thought for the day: Can a project really be 'endless', if it has a beginning? Hmmm...
XP-G2 @ 3A needs 3.3-3.4v, so 12 of them in series would be 39.6-40.8v, or 118-122 watts. HBflex driver will do 3A at up to 48v, so it's technically workable. All LEDs in series. Each one getting 3 amps.
Will it be practical? Who cares, amirite?
I need .730" holes, with a .785" step on the backside to locate the optics/o-rings. The OD of those two is all that matters at this stage, once those are established and relatively concentric (I mean, look at my completely made up from nothing redneck tooling here, come on...) I can cut out the centers completely and hand-finishing the rest of the opening to match the machined areas will be easier than trying to make a round(-ish) hole completely by hand/eye.
2B is nice. Something about the 3Ds I don't really like, too much yellow or something? If there were such a thing as XPG2 in 3B I'd use those, but I haven't seen them anywhere. Mixing them does an awesome job of cancelling out all the weird stray greens/blues/yellows in the individual tints.
interesting and ambitious How about a hole saw though? Even a step drill or end mill the right size will save you so much time, however impressive the home made tooling…
The time-wasting part is the first deep cut, once that's done the tiny bit trimmed off to get to the finished size is fairly easy. Hole saws tend to wander, and once there's a big hole there's no reference point to use to cut the final bit out. My drill press is awfully sloppy, if it were tighter or using a mill it might work but not with this stuff.
fair enough. I wonder how a center cutting 2 flute end mill of a similar size would compare? It should clear the chips a lot better and cut down on the smearing you’re getting at the edges of your holes.
Oh, that- yeah, that's because of cutting the trench with the full face of the little endmill plus the slop in the drill press (not the spindle/bearings, but the part with the gear rack that moves up/down, between that and the body, whatever it's called). I'm deliberately cutting this first trench well inboard of the final ID. That slop in the press causes the bit to pull to one side or the other, depending on which side it's cutting on. I just have to take that into account when setting up.
The final cut will be only using one side of the bit so the wandering/oscillating isn't an issue. (mostly, lol)
ah, that’s a pain. Does the spindle have a quill lock that holds the bit at a certain depth? If the cutter’s pulling to one side then a 2 flute mill will be even worse although it should plunge cut better. Also worth thinking about what direction the cutter is rotating in relative to the cut - climb milling is a lot harder on the machine.
Yep, conventional end mills chatter like crazy in this machine. Just too much slop. The chattering isn't the big problem, it's when they chatter and move sideways and grab and BAM - your part is suddenly on the other side of the room.
It has a quill stop, but it locks the handle, not the spindle. I got spoiled by the massive seat & guide vertical mill I used at one of my old jobs, air float table and all. It had a lock/limiter on the side of the spindle, square bar thing with a sliding clamp. It was great being able to adjust the stop with a piece of shim stock in place, then remove it and make a cut the exact depth of the shim. But that's just too easy, feels like cheating...
