Hello Everyone,
I'm making some diode housings for a laser show company on my milling machine. I needed a very smooth surface to bond to the tec so I used a single point tool called a fly cutter. It's a tool that mounts in the machine and cuts a single line at a time as the work piece moves past it.
I had the machine running a bit fast to make a really good grating but I did get enough to take a shot for the forum.
If I had really tried it could have been much brighter but I was going for a good surface finish, not good diffraction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXiwE9F24Ao
Jeffrey Weil
NorthBeach Holography Inc.
Ruled grating
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Jeffrey Weil
Ruled grating
Hello TomB.Tom B. wrote:Cool! - What was the line spacing and the milling machine type?
First I"d like to lay claim to the most boring gallery post ever! WooHoo! I had all these views without any response until now.
The machine is a huge bench mill. It's got a bigger work envelope than a Bridgeport. I dont know the line spacing as the power feed on the machine has no speed indicators. Manual mills never do. You set the speed by experience and how the cut is going, how it sounds, etc...
http://www.ihcnc.com/ I have the manual mill with the stand. It was originally purchased for the Turrell holograms sold at Pace Gallery in NY. I made the prototype frame and the lights on it. Now it's at my home lab for general stuff and making holography gear. I still make some special led lights for a few artists with it.
I also have a small mill that I don't use any more. The big one just kicks it a** in every way. You can see it eating my little mill on this page down towards the middle of the page http://www.ihcnc.com/pages/comparison.php You'll see a small mill in the working area of the bigger one. I have that same small machine.
I also have 2 lathes. Both I use. One is a 1940 south bend that I'm restoring. A thing of beauty that looks like it's from the age of steam.
Jeff Weil