SPY005 machining status & style updates

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Data

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This is an update on the progress of the SPY005 project. Other CPF threads on the SPY can be found here.


SPY005-pic7.jpg


*** NEW image ***

The machining of the first few prototypes of the SPY005 body is complete. I am on schedule and have started work on the bezel assembly. The knob is being done by another shop and should be complete next week. The last piece to be made will be the end cap.

The machining of the body is the most time consuming and costly of all the parts. It was done first so I could gauge the progress of the entire project. If you are into machining and want to know more about the setups I will go into more detail. Here is a little quantitative information on the machining of the body.
  • Programming and setup took over 100 hours.
  • There were three milling machine setups. Machining from battery end, then from bezel end and finally the rotary table was used to machine the sides (shown below).
  • Total machining time to complete one body is 70 minutes (it will drop as the process is optimized).
  • Total number of tools used in the mill is 26.
  • Total number of job steps programmed in CAM software was 70.
  • Total number of fixtures designed and machined was 3 (one can be seen on the rotary table below) it needed accuracy to 0.001" to align properly.
  • Total number of cans of Coke consumed was not counted.
    huh.gif
These pictures show what the body of the flashlight will look like. No more machining or finishing work is needed. The Aluminum 6061 T6 material will be hard anodized with the HAIII natural color. As most people know it is a dark flat gray finish that changes the look of a piece of machined aluminum considerably. It will not be shiny as in the pictures below.



HV1T7373.jpg


HV1T7374.jpg


HV1T7363.jpg


HV1T7367.jpg


HV1T7368.jpg


HV1T7369.jpg


HV1T7376.jpg


HV1T7375.jpg





The last two pictures show one of the fixtures used to hold the part during machining. The inside of the body has a ledge machined in it that the "T" bolt slides into.


I am working or a video I took of the last step of the machining when the rotary table was running. Check back later for that.



Cheers

Dave
 
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Icarus

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Re: SPY005 machining status

:wow:... very very nice body! :goodjob: :clap:
:kewlpics:... and very nice pictures too! :twothumbs
 

McGizmo

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Re: SPY005 machining status

:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

That is just impressive as all heck!!! :grin2: :faint::faint::faint::faint:

:thumbsup:

Oh yeah..........

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
 
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Kiessling

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Re: SPY005 machining status

Excessively cool machinig !!! :thumbsup:
Really looking forward to this light in my greedy hands ... :D
bernie
 

McGizmo

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Re: SPY005 machining status

Dang! in my excitement, I for got:

:paypal:
 

mobile1

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Re: SPY005 machining status

I can't believe that I havent seen this light in your previous thread.... I totally missed it somehow. How much is one of those?
Very very nice, I like that it is so different then all the other lights out there...
 

Rothrandir

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Re: SPY005 machining status

more more more!

please, a little more info on the machines used?

i do setup, programming, operating, etc on mazak lathes. so it's really interesting to see how others do things.

awesome work! :thumbsup:
 

idleprocess

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Re: SPY005 machining status

Wow.

I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first saw the renders and heard that you were going to machine a design that's more of an injection-molded looking shape.

Very nice. Good to see a design called impractical making its way to reality and practicality.

What percentage becomes chips? I have to know :D
 

Data

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Re: SPY005 machining status

Thank you everybody for the kind words.


idleprocess said:
Wow.

What percentage becomes chips? I have to know :D


LOL, the block of 1x2x2.7" 6061 weighs 241g (~1/2 lb) and the completed body weighs 29.5g. But you know that is nothing compared to the wheels on the mars rover. If memory serves, they machined away over 99% of the metal. See this NASA link for more detail.
 

Data

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Re: SPY005 machining status

Rothrandir said:
more more more!

please, a little more info on the machines used?

i do setup, programming, operating, etc on mazak lathes. so it's really interesting to see how others do things.

awesome work! :thumbsup:

My mill is a Milltronics VM-15 with a 20 tool changer. That is a vertical machining center. I have it set up with lots of ram and an Ethernet connection to my CAD/CAM workstation. On the workstation I use Autodesk Inventor rel 10 for design work. It is so nice to work with solid models. The CAM software is from a European company called Open Mind. They are one of the few who make software that runs inside inventor (simple words that mean a lot).

I do not have a lathe. The lathe work on the SPY is being done by my partners shop. I think few people understand how different lathe and mill work really is. For a layman perspective the comparison is; with a lathe the stock turns and the cutter stays still. For the mill it is the opposite.

The mazak lathes are some of the best. What kind of parts do you make? Do you do the programming in the machine tool itself? Programming can be done inside my mill too but I seldom use it.


Cheers
Dave
 

Rossitron

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Re: SPY005 machining status

Very impressive machining!
You're making me wish I had a 4th axis on my CNC.

The new dawn of flashlights is just around the corner!


-Ross


Edit: Holy crap, the Milltronics VM-15 is one hell of a machine.
Makes my little MaxNC 15 look like a toy ;)
 
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Anglepoise

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Re: SPY005 machining status

It's really nice to see new designs. Yours and the 'Gatling' design have given us all something new to look and think about.

Your machining process is very intricate. Just don't price the finished product too low and get frustrated. The very best of luck and good fortune with it in the future.
 

idleprocess

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Re: SPY005 machining status

Data said:
LOL, the block of 1x2x2.7" 6061 weighs 241g (~1/2 lb) and the completed body weighs 29.5g. But you know that is nothing compared to the wheels on the mars rover. If memory serves, they machined away over 99% of the metal. See this NASA link for more detail.
Just under 88%. Beats paying an astronomical sum for the tooling to mold or cast it somehow...

Those rover wheels are mighty impressive. It pains me to think how much they cost each, or how many prototypes are sitting around on desks...
 

Haesslich

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Re: SPY005 machining status

I like the look in metal a lot better than I do in plastic. :D And yeah, i's amazing how much cheaper it can be to just mill away rather than mold something... and you can always reuse the metal.
 
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