Boring Again, Taigmach Part 5JohnSL - Random Products2024-10-20 | Boring Again, Taigmach Part 5Why I Hate Half This ToolJohnSL - Random Products2024-09-02 | As an update from my previous video on removing and inserting pins and sockets into D-Sub connectors, I learned I was using the standard red/white tool incorrect. It works better than I thought, but I still hate half of the tool.
• Dsub Extraction Tool: amzn.to/3MlmU2o • Crimper: ○ Stinair: steinair.com/product/4-way-indent-crimper ○ Affiliate Link: amzn.to/3T39WKo • Insert for high-density crimping: steinair.com/product/high-density-positioner-for-sat-004D-Sub Connectors — More than you want to knowJohnSL - Random Products2024-08-31 | I have used solder D-Sub connectors for years and never really liked them. While working on an avionics upgrade for an aircraft, I learned about machined pins and sockets that can be crimped on. These are so much nicer. This video probably has more than you want to know, but covers things I wish I knew when I started.
• Dsub Extraction Tool: amzn.to/3MlmU2o • Crimper: ○ Stinair: steinair.com/product/4-way-indent-crimper ○ Affiliate Link: amzn.to/3T39WKo • Insert for high-density crimping: steinair.com/product/high-density-positioner-for-sat-004Machining an Oil Temperature AdapterJohnSL - Random Products2024-07-29 | I needed to machine a custom oil temperature adapter, to go from 1/4" NPT to 3/8" NPT. This was a chance for me to learn how to thread mill NPT threads.3D Printed TPU T-Slot CoversJohnSL - Random Products2024-06-17 | Chips kept getting into the T-slots of my mill table, and it wasn't fun to clean out. I used Fusion 360's configurations to create different lengths and variations and then printed in TPU on a Bambu P1S printer.Switching to a Bambu P1SJohnSL - Random Products2024-05-27 | After over 10 years, I finally decided to upgrade my 3D printer to a Bambu P1S.4th Axis Milling — Making a drilling jigJohnSL - Random Products2024-05-13 | Using my 4th axis to mill a part that requires at least two sided milling.
My Patreon: patreon.com/johnsl3D Printed Epoxy Injection Mold, Part 1JohnSL - Random Products2024-02-19 | Aluminum Filled epoxy is a great material for short-run injection molds. It's tougher than 3D printed injection molds, and has better thermal conductivity and 3D printed injection molds. My goal is to still use 3D printer, but to create a positive and then pour the epoxy around the positive.
I used EpoxAcast 655 + HT: smooth-on.com/products/epoxacast-655-ht-hardenerPart 2, Fixing an Injection Mold Design FlawJohnSL - Random Products2024-01-15 | This is a follow-up video on modifying the battery door of the TCS UWT-50 wireless throttle for model trains. The injection molder (and mold maker) discovered an issue with my "steel safe" changes, so I worked with Texlon and TCS to decide on the route we wanted to take.
My Patreon: patreon.com/johnslFixing an Injection Mold Design FlawJohnSL - Random Products2024-01-01 | We got reports from the field that the tabs on the battery door were sometimes breaking. This is for the TCS UWT-50 wireless throttle for model trains: tcsdcc.com/. Encountering and fixing and injection mold design flaw is fairly common, and is not that hard to deal with.
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/johnslExploding Crystal and Watch Gasket WoesJohnSL - Random Products2023-08-13 | The goal is to determine the correct size for the crystal and watch gasket for the 3D printed stainless steel watch body. But I was having problems with the crystal exploding!
Affiliate link to the crystal press I used: amzn.to/448o6woDouble Sided Milling of Z Axis Stepper MountsJohnSL - Random Products2023-07-09 | I decided to see if I could get good enough alignment between the front and back of some complicated parts by using double-sided milling of the Z axis stepper mounts for my lathe. The idea is to do this without the usual hat. I also tried using a vibratory tumbler for the first time.
The making of TheCrafsMan's Pocketnaut mold is part 2 of 2 parts of a collaboration between myself, LNS Technologies, and TheCrafsMan SteadyCraftin. In part 1, I walked through making the mold for the body (the orange section in the thumbnail). Part 2, this video, covers the mold for the face inserts.
The making of TheCrafsMan's Pocketnaut mold is part 1 of two parts of a collaboration between myself, LNS Technologies, and TheCrafsMan SteadyCraftin. In part 1, I walk through making the mold for the body (the orange section in the thumbnail). Part 2 will cover the mold for the face inserts.
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/johnslOperation Order — Watch Stem FirstJohnSL - Random Products2023-06-04 | Changing the operation order made a big different for this watch project. I'm using the riser I milled in the previous episode.
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/johnslMilling a Riser Block for the Watch Stem FixtureJohnSL - Random Products2023-05-22 | I realized that by milling a riser block for the watch stem fixture, I could reduce the effort and speed up the work to mill a watch body. This is a fairly simple job, but no less enjoyable.
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/johnslCustom Watch Body V2 Probing Gone Wrong!JohnSL - Random Products2023-04-16 | I'm always trying to make my machining more accurate and repeatable. For my watch body project, I decided to try out 3-point probing. I thought this would be more accurate than probing the back-left corner. However, this became a story of probing gone wrong.
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/johnslAdding Texture to an Injection MoldJohnSL - Random Products2023-03-26 | I was asked to add texture to an injection mold. I've never done this before, but heard that you can use sand blasting. I first tried an air eraser, which didn't work well. Then a full-sized sand blasting cabinet, which did work.
00:00 Open 01:08 Intro, CAD, and CAM 03:48 Milling the mold 05:51 Masking the mold 08:27 Sandblasting 09:02 Removing the tape 10:52 Re-machining the bosses 11:29 Injection Molding 17:34 WrapupA Threaded Watch Back Tiny and Tricky ThreadsJohnSL - Random Products2023-03-12 | Making a threaded watch back with tiny and tricky threads was not easy. I needed room for an O-ring as well, so there wasn't a whole lot of room for threads. I didn't get a working version the first time around either.
The question with new injection molds is often "will it fill?" I discovered recently that it doesn't cost that much to use Fusion 360 mold flow analysis to answer this question, along with how much sink you will get.Injection Molding a Guitar Pick - Designing, making, usingJohnSL - Random Products2023-02-12 | Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/johnsl
I was commissioned to make an injection mold for a guitar pick by Justin from NEO Guitar Concepts. At the end of the video, you'll see Justin playing the guitar with one of these picks. I show how I modified a guitar pick CAD file supplied by Justin, designed the injection mold, made the injection mold, and then molding some test guitar picks.
This is a behind the scenes look at the different applications and techniques I used to create the injection molding controller for my 60-year old injection molding machine. I'm using Visual Studio and Avalonia UI for the Android application. And Visual Studio Code plus Platform IO and the Arduino libraries to build the ESP32 application. The two communicate via Bluetooth serial.
Previous videos using the Nextion display and Rust:
Two-side milling can be a challenge, especially if you have a "hat" that you need to remove first. I decided to see if I could do perfect 2-sided milling using my probe and the probing feature in Fusion 360.Touch screen for a 60-year old injection molding machineJohnSL - Random Products2023-01-08 | Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/johnsl
I decided to pivot with my project on making a touch screen for a 60-year old injection molding machine. Previously I used a Nextion display and a micro controller. While this worked, it wasn't as easy or flexible as I'd like. Therefore, I decided to pivot to using an inexpensive Android tablet and an ESP32.
Previous videos using the Nextion display and Rust:
I'm back to working on the watch project and making it water resistant to 100m. The first step is the watch o-ring between the threaded back and the case. The question is will it survive the 50m depth test?Injection Molding a Spoon - Designing, making, usingJohnSL - Random Products2022-12-18 | I was commissioned to make an injection mold for a spoon by Manning Innovations for one of their customers. At the end of the video, you'll see one of Manning's machines in operation. I show how I modified a spoon CAD file supplied by the customer, designed the injection mold, made the injection mold, and then molding some test spoons.
Micro Mesh Polishing Swabs: micro-surface.com/product/polishing-swabsTwo Products from One Injection MoldJohnSL - Random Products2022-12-04 | You can sometimes save on the cost of injection molds if you take into account possible variations up front. We wanted two versions of the same case where the two different versions had openings in different places on the back.
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/johnslMaking Tiny Custom Threads for a Custom Watch BackJohnSL - Random Products2022-11-25 | What's the right fit for M27x0.5 threads? I created several test pieces to try out different threads that I'll use for a custom threaded watch back. I'm using aluminum for these tests and will switch to stainless steel for the depth tests that will come soon.
00:00 Intro 00:53 Test Case and Back 03:03 Normal Fit, 6g & 6H 05:10 Custom Form Tool 06:49 Fusion CAM Simulation 08:06 Milling Test Coupons 10:50 Trying the Test Coupons 11:52 Tighter Threads 13:19 Comparing the two fitsProblems with a 1mm Renishaw Stylus TipJohnSL - Random Products2022-11-05 | Calibration of the 1mm tip on my WIPS probe kept failing. Renishaw support gave me instructions on how to fix this over the phone and now I'm up and runing!Threads and tolerances, calculating diameters and pitch diameter offsetJohnSL - Random Products2022-10-29 | I needed to create some custom threads and therefore needed to calculate the outer diameter for the screw, the inner diameter for the nut, and the thread depth for each. I didn't find a single source that clearly explained how to calculate these numbers, so I created this video to simplify screw and nut threads. This mostly covers metric, but can be applied fairly easily to imperial, as tolerances are a little simpler in imperial.
Affiliate link for Machinery's Handbook 31st Edition: amzn.to/3SSeujX
00:00 Intro 02:26 Machinery's Handbook 04:08 Pitch Diameter Offset 04:34 Numbers we Need 05:40 Tolerances 07:36 Screw/External Threads 09:55 Final Screw/External Dimensions 10:30 M27x0.5 Example 12:48 Nut/Internal Threads 14:30 Final Nut/Internal Dimensions 14:49 Sanity Check - Validating the Equations 16:18 SummaryMaking a Floating Shoe Shelf with a Yeti SmartBench CNC RouterJohnSL - Random Products2022-10-08 | I used my Yeti SmartBench CNC router to make a floating shoe shelf. This was a great second woodworking project, and my wife is very happy. I made a few mistakes, but it all turned out well.Designing a Floating Shoe Shelf in Fusion 360JohnSL - Random Products2022-10-01 | After finishing the shelf and clothes rod for our front closet, my wife asked me if I could make a floating shoe shelf, which I designed in Fusion 360 for a CNC router.Haas Toolsetter Problem SolvedJohnSL - Random Products2022-09-19 | I was getting the cryptic error message GOTO OR P LINE NOT FOUND when I tried to set tool lengths. It was quite the mystery, and some people suggested my WIPS macros were corrupted and that I needed to load them. I show how to do just that, and the I found the problem. Haas toolsetter problem solved!Finishing a Front Closet with a CNC RouterJohnSL - Random Products2022-08-28 | Our craftsman-style house came with empty closets. For my first major wood working and CNC router project, I decided to finish the front entry closet by adding craftsman/shaker-style boards along the backs and sides to support a shelf and the brackets for the clothes rod. I had to learn how to do edge banding, painting, and install into the closet.
My Yeti SmartBench did a great job.
* TOGGLER ALLIGATOR A8 Screw Anchor: amzn.to/3As43wb * DAP Products Premium Wood Filler: amzn.to/3AUP7ZcCalibrating a Haas Probe and Tool Setter on a CHC Controller (Pre NGC)JohnSL - Random Products2022-08-21 | I purchased a WIPS (Wireless Intuitive Probing System) probe and tool setter from Haas. Because my machine is a 2009 machine, and therefore has the CHC (Classic Haas Controller), there is a lot less information out there about calibrating the probe. Plus, because of the tight installation, they had to angle it at 45 degrees.
Tool Probe Mount: exactengineeringshop.com/collections/tool-probe-mount/products/renishaw-ots-rts-tool-probe-mounting-systemWhy I Bought a CNC Router Yeti SmartbenchJohnSL - Random Products2022-07-25 | I was tired of not being able to get a contractor to make the shelves and cabinets for our closets and pantry. So I decided to get a full-sized, but yet not full sized, router. The Yeti Smartbench seemed like a great match for what I need.3D Scanning is Hard!JohnSL - Random Products2022-07-11 | I got a 3D scanner for testing with the goal of reverse engineering the cross slide on my lathe. I want to make a stepper-motor mount and thought this would make things easier. I was very wrong. There is a much higher learning curve for 3D scanners than I realized, especially for the geometric objects I'm wanting to scan. This video should give you a realistic expectation of what is involved in learning to use a 3D scanner, along with some of the limitations.
I asked the maker to send me a scanner with the only promise from me that I would post a video. I have received no compensation other than a free scanner.Visiting Dragonfly EngineeringJohnSL - Random Products2022-07-08 | My wife and I recently visited Dave at Dragonfly Engineering to check out his injection molding machines and learn how he got started.
Check out Dave interviewing me on his channel: youtu.be/uTX6AoJ0PWAHaas startup, setup, and running a jobJohnSL - Random Products2022-06-12 | Using a Haas CNC controller is a lot easier than it might look at first. I moved up from a Taig with Mach 3, and I also have a little experience with PathPilot and Tormachs. The Haas was quite the step up. But the more I used it's controller, the more I liked it. This is the video I wish I could have watched when I first got my machine. I walk through startup, setting up a job, and then finishing up.Is Vise Jaw Lift a Problem?JohnSL - Random Products2022-06-11 | How bad is it when you get significant vise jaw lift? I was getting 0.0055 inches of lift when using my serrated MMM-USA Piranha jaws. I really like these jaws because the step is only 0.08 inches, allowing me to mill much deeper into a part. However, the large jaw lift had me concerned.Design an Injection Mold for Desktop MachinesJohnSL - Random Products2022-06-05 | Injection mold design for desktop machines is easier than for the larger, industrial machines. But it can be very intimidating when you first start. I talk about the basics of gates, runners, sprues, and air vents.Part design for injection moldingJohnSL - Random Products2022-05-30 | Just because you can 3D print an item doesn't mean you can design for desktop injection molding. I offer some basics on what you'll need to change before you can be successful with injection molding for desktop machines.3D Printed vs Aluminum Injection MoldsJohnSL - Random Products2022-05-08 | There has been a lot of interest recently in 3d printed vs aluminum injection molds. I know I thought about that. At first glance, it seems that using 3d printed mold inserts would be faster and easier than making aluminum molds. That turns out not to be the case, and there are other downsides to using 3d printed mold inserts.
Update: I learned that Siraya Tech Sculpt Ultra White is rated at 220C. Here is an affiliate link that won't cost you any more, and helps support this channel: amzn.to/3PlsB0GMy Haas Office MillJohnSL - Random Products2022-04-24 | I've had my Haas Office Mill (OM-2A) for 3 years, and it always generates some interest. The OM-2 and CM-1 machines are not common, but perfect for what I do.Watch Case Water Proofing, Part 1JohnSL - Random Products2022-04-10 | Water proofing a watch to 100 meters requires having the right gaskets and o-rings. But instead of having to make multiple watch bodies, I decided to make a "test fixture" from 316L stainless steel that will allow me to test the front crystal and gasket, the back crystal and gasket, and the o-ring between the front and back. In this part I made the front. In a future episode I'll make the back, explain how I chose dimensions, and do a pressure test.A Washdown Hose Instead of AirJohnSL - Random Products2022-04-02 | A Washdown Hose Instead of Air for clearing the chips from my machine. Using compressed air, as I learned the hard way, is not a good idea. It sends the chips everyone, including under the way covers, all over the machine, all over me, and onto the floor. Using a washdown hose tapped into the coolant pump is much better.Hot Foil Stamp Fixture PlateJohnSL - Random Products2022-03-26 | Hot foil stamp fixture plate for a viewer who wants to be able to attach different dies to a single plate. This is a fairly easy job, where having rigid tapping makes a huge difference. Total machining time was about 1/2 hour, but mostly hands-off thanks also to the tool changer on my machine.Haas Y Limit Switch Error Its down!JohnSL - Random Products2022-03-22 | Haas Y Axis Limit Switch Error. Oh, no, my machine won't home! The y-axis limit switch is producing an error. I called my HFO, Selway, and they gave me instructions on how to fix what they though might be the issue.How an Injection Molder WorksJohnSL - Random Products2022-03-12 | How an injection molder works is a question I got recently from a viewer. Here is his full set of questions:
"I’m trying to understand how the injection molding machine works. It looks like a pneumatic piston presses down into a cylinder that is on a sliding axis. Is the force of the piston acting through the plastic the only force that makes the injector press against the mold? Is it a ratio of the piston diameter to the diameter of the injector orifice that causes a tight seal? The force pressing the injector against the mold doesn’t seem like it would be anywhere near the force that is holding the mold halves together presumably it does not leak."
"What is the spring function? Is it to ensure the injector lifts off from the mold when the pneumatic piston is removed?"