The One-Person Machine Shop | Probing for Setup and Lights-Out Machining

One-person machine shop owner Dan Donaworth, owner of Dan’s Custom Machining, says he needs to run his machine tools lights-out “just so I can get some sleep.” The shop keeps making money after hours in this way, but a tool break or a mislocated part during this unattended machining could be disastrous - resulting in a scrapped part or a crash that damages the machine. On-machine probing, both to measure the part and to measure the cutting tool, is the safeguard that helps ensure effective unattended production by checking for these concerns.
Probing helps during the daytime, too. Setup time is the chief efficiency challenge for any small job shop. Relying on probing allows setups to be performed much more rapidly. Dan Donaworth talks about his use of machine tool probes (from Renishaw) in the latest episode of our video series, “The One-Person Shop.”
Related resources:
Tips for accurate probing: www.mmsonline....
Dan’s Custom Machining: www.mmsonline....
Renishaw: www.mmsonline....
The One-Person Shop, episode #1: www.mmsonline....
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all job shop doing short-run work, where fast setup and a trouble-free machining process determine the job’s profitability, what is the effective way to hold thin, delicate parts? The answer Dan’s Custom Machining found is vacuum workholding. This video describes the use of quick-setup workholding using the force of vacuum pressure.
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