Brake Bracket Production
After being taught how to use the CNC (Computer Numerical Control) mill I was assigned a project. In this project, I had to create a brake bracket based on the dimensions shown below. This informational document was given to us by Ms. Proctor.
Inventor
After being given these design constraints, I created my brake bracket in Inventor (a 3D modeling software). A couple of pictures of the bracket being created in Inventor can be found below.
Fusion 360
After completing my design in Inventor, I set up the process I would be using to cut it out using the Fusion 360 software. To do this. I used the 3D adaptive clearing process. Finally, I checked that the router would be able to perform the task by stimulating the process it would take to cut my design. A picture of my selected stock point, a picture of the path that the mill would take, and a picture of the stimulation I ran can be found below.
When I finished my design in Fusion 360, I saved it as a ".nc" file to my flash drive. After this I was ready to use the CNC mill. Before using the machine I first used some double-sided tape to attach the styrofoam block to the mill's base. Additionally, I transferred the G-Code to the machine from my USB. A picture of me preparing the machine can be found below.
Finally, when the part was loaded, I aligned the mill's bit to the bottom left corner of my styrofoam block and zeroed the x, y, and z axes . After this I pressed the cycle start icon and and kept my hand over the space bar from the beginning to the end of the process. A few pictures of my brake bracket being milled out can be found below.
Final Product
After about 22 minutes, my brake bracket was completely cut out. Below is a picture of my finished design with my name and class hour laser engraved it in and a picture of Sydney and I celebrating.
I learned a variety of new techniques in this individual CNC mill rotation. First, I learned how to use the 3D adaptive clearing tool within the to the Fusion 360 software. I also learned how to prepare and use the CNC mill. This can be another helpful skill to have if I pursue a career in the field of engineering. Overall, I learned a lot of useful information about the CNC mill during this rotation.