| Author | Message | ||
     Squintz |
Here's a cool video of a CNC machine making a helmet out of billet aluminum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnIvhlKT7SY&feature =player_embedded | ||
| Svh |
That machine has to be super expensive. Wonder how long it took them to get the program entered and correct. | ||
| Jasonnennig |
Awesome, unbelievable technology... | ||
| Piotr12 |
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! | ||
| Dentguy |
I was expecting a video of some tool riding around with his head wrapped in aluminum foil. That's way better. | ||
| Jramsey |
Is "Billet" Aluminum as good as "Aircraft Aluminum" or any other commercially available "Aluminum." | ||
| Gunut75 |
Billet just refers to being made from solid stock aluminum. It is available in many grades. "Aircraft" aluminum is usually a special series of aluminum alloys used in the aircraft industry because of stress resistance, weight, and strength. | ||
| Jramsey |
Gunut75, I was making lite of the over used word of "BILLET". All US made Aluminum comes with the mill name, alloy,heat treat ect such as ALCOA 6061-T651 1 6390835 ASTM B221. | ||
| Jasonnennig |
How is the word Billet over used??? If a piece is made from Billet, than what's the problem stating that in all cases. I know if the piece is Cast, it is a good idea to let a person know thats the situation. Sometimes with machining it's hard to tell one from the other. (Message edited by jasonnennig on February 02, 2010) | ||
| Tepiddeath |
WOW! if I wrap my scorpion exo in foil i think i could sell it on ebay and make some coin on it! Anyone want to buy one?! Seriously though, that is way cool! | ||
| Danger_dave |
Thanks - sharing that around now. | ||
| Jramsey |
Oh gawd, I started a thread on the misuse of the word "billet" about 2 years ago. >>Machining it's hard to tell? Only if your an inexperienced machinist. Hot Rodders coined the term "Billet" years ago as a sales pitch and it stuck. I have people every day come in my shop and want something made for whatever and I show them what I'll make out of and they ask me if its billet and I tell them no its extruded 6061 T 651 and they say "I want it made of billet" so I put a 20 foot length in the bandsaw an wack a 6" piece off and say this is a BILLET. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I wonder how long it actually took to mill that helmet, & how many failures they had before they got it right. Damn impressive though. Jramsey, I'm with you on the "Billet" thing, a billet is a solid piece cut from larger stock. You could make something out of a solid lump of steel or even wood & it'd still be "billet" by today's definition of the word. | ||
| Ourdee |
How can I get that helmet? | ||
| Kyrocket |
WOW! Just think of what you could make with that. That is one amazing machine. | ||
| D_adams |
I will say this, those machines are a PITA to work on, but it sure is a pretty helmet once it's done. | ||
| Hootowl |
"Billet" actually refers to aluminum that is squeezed under immense pressure to form a more dense material. The resulting lump of metal is then machined into parts. | ||
| Rwven |
We have a much larger version of a five axis milling machine made by the Italian firm FPT here at our shop. Our machine is used to make the dies for stamping auto body panels in some shops (that's not what we use it for). | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
OK it's pedantic time, this cut & pasted from dictionary.reference.com –noun 1. a small chunk of wood; a short section of a log, esp. one cut for fuel. 2. Metalworking. a comparatively narrow, generally square, bar of steel, esp. one rolled or forged from an ingot; a narrow bloom. 3. an iron or steel slab upon concrete, serving as a footing to a column. 4. Architecture. any of a series of closely spaced cylindrical objects, often in several rows, used as ornaments in a hollow molding or cornice. 5. a strap that passes through a buckle, as to connect the ends of a girth. 6. a pocket or loop for securing the end of a strap that has been buckled. 7. thumbpiece. 8. Heraldry. a small, rectangular figure with the longer sides generally vertical, said to represent a block of wood. Origin: 1400–50; late ME bylet, bel(l)et < AF, MF billette, equiv. to bille log, tree trunk (< Gaulish *bilia tree trunk; cf. OIr bile landmark tree) + -ette -ette I entirely agree that generally what's called billet aluminium is made from a rolled or pressed piece of metal & then machined to shape. My point is that it's incorrect use of English. (Message edited by mr_grumpy on February 03, 2010) | ||
| Midknyte |
Have CNC machines and programming advanced to level where you can just feed it a 3D rendering and press GO, or do you still need to code and script the entire operation? | ||
| Gunut75 |
they say "I want it made of billet" so I put a 20 foot length in the bandsaw an wack a 6" piece off and say this is a BILLET. Isn't that the truth?! I'm not disagreeing with you at all. It is a loosely coined term. Have CNC machines and programming advanced to level where you can just feed it a 3D rendering and press GO, or do you still need to code and script the entire operation? Its getting close. There are now programs that write the g-code for you, from a 3D rendering that is created by the user. The code varies per machine, and the programs use post processors where the user can control variables in the code to fit the machine. Ad that little tidbit is just scratching the surface. If you ever get a chance, go to a tool and design show. You will be amazed. I have a fairly modern shop, cnc equipped, and I'm in the stone age compared to some of the new stuff out there. | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Like Ian says, it's far easier than it used to be. FAR easier than programming something like that in APT. Programming something like that still took several days to a week. There is still probably more programming time than run time on that helmet. |
