Decimal points are important.

[cathouse01]

Got a new CNC router to fancy up my 80% builds. Engraved some graphics on the magwell and decided that it would look better if I put a rounded rectangle around them. That's when I learned how important decimal points are. Wanted an engraving 0.3 mm deep. Left out the decimal place and got a "lightening" cut instead (turns out the magwell wall is less than 3 mm thick).

 

[mu2bdriver]

Loaded magazine indicator.

 

[jayhitek]

Put a piece of plexi in there like a window. Will add 2 points to the class factor.

 

[BTSDOG]

Now its a 75% build.......

 

[not new guy]

Ghost gun

 

[42!]

How times have changed. When I was younger we would have cleaned up the edges and told everyone we did it on purpose. Now everyone wants to post their f'ups. How are you going to convince everyone you're a gunsmith god if you show off your mistakes.

just funning ya

I like the window idea.

 

[chris_1001]

Got a new CNC router to fancy up my 80% builds. Engraved some graphics on the magwell and decided that it would look better if I put a rounded rectangle around them. That's when I learned how important decimal points are. Wanted an engraving 0.3 mm deep. Left out the decimal place and got a "lightening" cut instead (turns out the magwell wall is less than 3 mm thick).
View attachment 793622

Blow out the other side to be symmetrical and angle the bottom cut to match the mag well angle.

 

[MaroonedinMA]

1 install plexiglass window
2 paint goldfish
3 become hero

 

[Marty McFly]

Ar14

 

[greencobra]

i think you found a new business. i'm digging your lightning cut. you can compete with that company whose name i've long forgotten who manufactured skeletonized ar lowers. always wished i bought one, don't know if they are still in the game. this could be a sweet little money maker for you.

 

[cathouse01]

@mu2bdriver has a good idea. Actual lets me make use of the smoked clear Lancer mags I picked up on sale. The stupid MA mag restrictions normally makes them useless when they're inserted into the magwell (10 rounders are so short almost none of it is normally visible). I might just make a narrower window on the other side to let light through.

 

[usp45ct]

On the bright side the cuts look clean.

 

[Wickedcoolname]

Just wait a while and put it in the classifieds. Call it a very rare custom safe queen.

 

[rep308]

Speed hole, now your bullets will go faster

 

[not new guy]

 

[jayhitek]

Just wait a while and put it in the classifieds. Call it a very rare custom safe queen.

$2,000 No lookiLoos

 

[Golddiggie]

OK, I'll ask... Which "router" did you get/use? Asking for a "friend".

 

[jayhitek]

OK, I'll ask... Which "router" did you get/use? Asking for a "friend".

Had to be a mill not a router..

 

[Golddiggie]

Had to be a mill not a router..

There are plenty of CNC "router" models out there. They're mostly for wood and soft metals. Depending on which one you get will determine the Z height limits. Which impacts using them on things like lowers. While SOME might be able to also work harder metals (steels), they won't be able to make either deep, or fast, cuts.

I do plan to get a true CNC milling machine at some point over the coming years. Need to get a house with a shop area large enough first. NFW will one fit in my current space.

 

[paul73]

Got a new CNC router to fancy up my 80% builds. Engraved some graphics on the magwell and decided that it would look better if I put a rounded rectangle around them. That's when I learned how important decimal points are. Wanted an engraving 0.3 mm deep. Left out the decimal place and got a "lightening" cut instead (turns out the magwell wall is less than 3 mm thick).
View attachment 793622

What router? Does it take gcode?

 

[McReef]

Garbage control behavior. A positional value entered without a decimal point should be interpreted as the smallest possible increment, or generate an error.

 

[cathouse01]

What router? Does it take gcode?

Just a little Gemmitsu 3020 Pro Max from SainSmart. They have them on a 20% discount for $399 since they've come out with a new V2. With a 300 watt spindle it seemed to me to be the smallest one capable of engraving anodized aluminum. My first try looked pretty good until I messed it up by cutting all the way through the magwell. It's a pretty standard 3020 type machine, there are a bunch of different makes. It uses standard GRBL gcode. It comes with the Candle gcode sender but I use it with UGS and Easel. I dedicated an old I5 based MacBook Pro to it and it works just fine.

 

[cathouse01]

Garbage control behavior. A positional value entered without a decimal point should be interpreted as the smallest possible increment, or generate an error.

It was when I was entering the cut depth in Easel that I left out the decimal place and it was my fault. I just double clicked the default value (0.1) and hit 3 not paying attention to the fact that the whole value 0.1 was highlighted and not just the 1. Live and learn.

 

[snax]

A mere mundane detail.

View: https://youtu.be/3fGHaVn5rGo?si=B_PVmPZ4AQecJ0gk

 

[cathouse01]

For anyone interested, here is the setup I use to engrave lowers:

That's a Real Avid Smart-Fit AR-15 Lower Receiver Magazine Well Vise Block in the magwell, which I then clamp in a FoxAlien Mini Low Profile Vise which is attached to the router's spoil board. I could gan a half inch of vertical clearance by not using the spoil board, but I don't need it for engraving the sides of an AR15/AR10 lower. The Tap Magic Aluminum cutting fluid is the key to getting nice clean cuts. Since these routers are primarily used by woodworkers, lots of people try to use them dry. When working on metal, particularly anodized aluminum, you really need to use a good cutting fluid.

 

[McReef]

It was when I was entering the cut depth in Easel that I left out the decimal place and it was my fault. I just double clicked the default value (0.1) and hit 3 not paying attention to the fact that the whole value 0.1 was highlighted and not just the 1. Live and learn.

I definitely wasn’t commenting on you having made a mistake. Mistakes are inevitable, and are how you learn. You’ll learn to make less, but never none. Building good habits, like proofreading key segments of your programs, double and triple checking offsets, and dry-running programs will save you a lot of trouble and $ over time. Keep at it.

My original comment was really just me thinking out loud, and I realize now, not really helpful, nor did it really contribute anything of value. My apologies for that.

 

[Uzi2]

On the bright side the cuts look clean.

Clean? It's full of chatter marks from either cutting too fast or a dull tool.

 

[71montess]

View attachment 794798

Clean? It's full of chatter marks from either cutting too fast or a dull tool.

A little anal today ?

 

[240Geezer]

Garbage control behavior. A positional value entered without a decimal point should be interpreted as the smallest possible increment, or generate an error.

Operator/ programmer error.
I've had programs that would have sent the spindle through the table, the floor, and bedrock.
Programmer just shrugs.

 

[McReef]

Operator/ programmer error.
I've had programs that would have sent the spindle through the table, the floor, and bedrock.
Programmer just shrugs.

It isn’t really applicable with hobby level stuff, and it isn’t really useful comparing the behavior of machinery that costs as much as a house, to stuff you might find IN a house, hence my apology to the OP.

What I was referring to was the way a machine’s control handles erroneous inputs like the OP described. A value entered without a decimal point, when one is expected, might be handled a number of different ways, probably the least desirable of which, in 90% of situations, is to interpret it as the maximum possible value.