Anyone else have a benchtop CNC machine?

[joey_zrl]

I have had a shapeoko 3 cnc machine for a couple of years. I basically taught myself a second trade because my daily full-time job is back-breaking, and I don't want to do that forever. I always wanted to make my own r/c parts. I started out cutting G10 fiberglass chassis and shock towers to make a traxxas oval car. Once I learned how to use the CAD/CAM software to design and run the tool paths, and about choosing feeds and speeds settings for different materials and end mill choices, I felt I was ready to tackle 6061 aluminum.

It still needs some finishing work, as you can see it some light scratches in the aluminum. The stock came that way, so I have to work with it to smooth it out. I will go over it with emery cloth to give it that deep brushed look, and remove any scratches. Then follow up with several coats of Mother aluminum Mag wheel polish. I may look into anodizing it later, but for now I'm enjoying the natural rawness of it.

I will be milling another chassis soon, and it will have a slightly different look than this one. Btw, this chassis will have nose tubes. I also, have a Stealth transmission template to drill the holes for the trans and arm mounts. I will be making aluminum steering bell cranks, as well as nose tube mounts. More to come...

104_3681[1] by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

000_0013[1] by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

000_0010[1] by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

000_0008[1] by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

[NomadRacer]

Real nice machine work!

[XLR8]

That's a beautiful chassis plate Joey! Experience has taught me that a uniform edge chamfer is just about impossible to achieve without a CNC router - wish I had one.
GoMachV at Factory Works uses a CNC to create his amazing chassis parts. If you haven't already done so, check out his creations on the Factory Works forum in the Business Section - they are like rolling works of art!!

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewforum.php?f=100

[joey_zrl]

Real nice machine work!

Thank you NomadRacer!

[joey_zrl]

That's a beautiful chassis plate Joey! Experience has taught me that a uniform edge chamfer is just about impossible to achieve without a CNC router - wish I had one.
GoMachV at Factory Works uses a CNC to create his amazing chassis parts. If you haven't already done so, check out his creations on the Factory Works forum in the Business Section - they are like rolling works of art!!

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewforum.php?f=100

Thank you XLR8! I bought an endmill just for that edge, but I think it will look a lot better on .125" aluminum. The one up top is .19" in thickness. It's purpose is to give a smooth finished look around he edge in just one pass. Jeff Malar... I have admired his work for a while now. I follow him over on fb. I absolutely agree. His work is well thought out and very admirable.

[joey_zrl]

I churned out a nose plate and some nose tube mounts this evening. I will be putting the proper bends in place in the next few days when I get more time. The nose tube mounts are .063" 6061, and they serve a double purpose.

000_0016[1] by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

000_0015[1] by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

[joey_zrl]

000_0018[1] by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

[GoMachV]

Very nice! How did you achieve the double bend in the noseplate? My machine shop said it took a pretty spendy die to do those

[joey_zrl]

Thank you GoMachV. I did this with a mini 18" bending brake from harbor freight.

[jwscab]

Yeah in order to make that double bend to match exactly the associated part, you need a die. This part shown above is a great approximation, as it's not really super critical to have the bend so sharp.

[joey_zrl]

jwscab, yeah I know exactly what you're saying, but the reason it's so sharp of a bend is because my 'custom' chassis is .19" thick. If it were .063" like the original, there would be less of a "drop off" angle to the bend. But, I'm not trying to replicate the original. It's actually a one off, maybe two off part. I agree that a die would be the best option, but I'm just having fun with this project. Thank you for the constructive criticism. I want to learn all I can about this stuff.

[jwscab]

Nah, don't take it as criticism, you did a great job without a die. I was just adding some thoughts on the subject.

[joey_zrl]

Thank you jwscab. I understand. I was originally thinking about machining my own die. But when I looked at the cost of aluminum for anything over 1", it was astronomical. I'm sure prices will drop soon due to the recent trade agreements between Trump and China. It's just a matter of time. Until then, it's the thin stuff, lol.

[joey_zrl]

I drilled and tapped the chassis and nose plate yesterday, and I am semi-pleased with the results. I can see on this first (practice) nose plate that it needs a little more angle on the drop down bend. The final chassis will be 1/8", so I will go back into the tweaking booth to make that happen. I'm just using screws and nuts that I had on hand in the designing stages, but the final chassis will have all O.G. hardware . The screws and nuts in the pics are of the same pitch and thread as the O.G.'s.

52599399_10216405841436253_4183200989848797184_o by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

52500244_10216405840996242_7449679985331142656_o by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

[joey_zrl]

Unfinished nose tubes and mount are on. The tubes look way up there to me. I will have to take some bend out of the nose plate to drop them a little lower.

52845270_10216461742353741_4357138390718611456_o by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr

52543512_10216461741793727_303510164688863232_o by Joey Wyatt, on Flickr