What does the C&C machine do exactly? do they put in co-ordinates in a computer and the computer cuts it? does it cut the ports into shape? or does it dremel out the ports? how does it all work?

Could a AbrasiveJet machine do the job?

you can enter co-ordinates and it uses up to 60,000PSI of water to cut through anything... and when i mean ANYTHING, i mean ANYTHING without any heat on the material. Again, when i say cut ANYTHING, i mean anything from Paper/Glass/CANDY!!!/titanium/diamond/foam... ANYTHING.. from the softest to the hardest... It makes the CLEANEST cut from anything and has the best pricision. it can cut in any 2D shape and some 3D even (x,y,z)

so, that being said, with the right co-ordinates, will porting be possible?


thanks

 

You wouldn't want to use a waterjet machine.... not unless you want to cut the head in half, port it, then weld it back together.

The CNC machines I've had the chance to see in action (SAR) use a long carbide bur-like tool. The fixture the head sits on rotates and turns and the spindle of the machine is fixed. The tool just spirals its way down the port as the head goes through it's slight tilting a turning. An awesome process to see first hand.
I've seen some of this stuff on the software end of it when I worked on a friend's network here about a year ago. The toolpaths are generated in a CAM software package and is then converted to a code the machine can read. The model used for the toolpath is reverse engineered (digitized) from a master port and worked from there.
That's as much as I know about the process though.

-Mindgame

 

thanks.. thats good to know!
Yes.. the Waterjet machine also uses CAD/CAM for its cutting.. but i guess you're right... i think the water jet also knows the debth, so it knows how far in the material it should cut. But i don't see it working out.. hehe

thanks for the info

 

Yep.. we take a hand port, that is the "master port," and polish it so that its mirror finished to be digitized. Once you've got the 3dimensional port surface, you can use many cam programs to generate a toolpath for a given machine.

It's simple in that it's only coordinates, but like Mindgame said, it's an amazing thing to watch.

I've used an abrasive O-Max waterjet in the past, but they arent good for what we're talking about here, only cutting parts on two axes. They're pretty damned neat as well, cutting fabrics, ceramics, glass, and on the model we used, up to 3" of steel. They aren't too precise however, divergence with the waterjet is a bit of a problem once you start cutting thicker parts last I remember.

 

ok.. i was just wondering.. cause yea.. i have a waterjet machine now one like the OMAX
and it does (x,y,z) co-odinates.. yet VERY acurate and precise!!

Quartz glass dragon

mini bike



this thing is gonna be fun