apharing Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Hey guys, I'm new on here, but i've been making lures for a while, and this website has helped me along the way. I'm now at WPI for college, and once i take a safety course, i'll have full access to a machine shop. All I need to do is provide my own material, and i can do whatever i want. I want to use the CNC machine to make my own two piece aluminium injection molds. Anyone have any experience doing this? Tips would be much appreciated! Thanks - Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 A lot of these guys are pretty darn slick at cnc work . That my friend is a machine to concentrate you efforts on . Until the guys jump in Go to cnczone .com You will find me ther too. However my knowledge is old and excentric to say the least and would not help much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coonhound Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hey pokerhitman...Have you made any jig head molds? I'm relatively new to the custom lure world myself, and i don't know anyone locally who does CNC work nor do i have any idea what all is involved. If i were to go to a shop to have a custom CNC mold made, what should i expect to pay? Would i just need to provide samples of what i want machined? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coonhound Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 lol Man, i don't know if you want to open that door! I'm currently deployed, but i should be home in about a month. The mold i want made is pretty simple, and making samples of what i want is no problem at all. Can i send you an email so we can stay in touch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coonhound Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Too cool man! Just took a look at your blog. That brush hog looks like it'll be a sweet bait! Hope you get it figured out. I don't know much about injection plastic molding, but would air channels help any? I'll definitely keep checking out your blog. Looks like some good stuff! I'll shoot you an email here in a few so i've got your email address stored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Most of us can't afford Master Cam. LOL. I am guessing the shop has it. But I know you can Bob it is only money. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 So tell us hit man is it the program or the programmer that make the bait? I know one that use a less expensive software and one that uses Mastercam and there work is incredible. I cant tell them apart. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted October 5, 2011 Report Share Posted October 5, 2011 imo, its the programmer. Mastercam is a good tool, but it is by far not the best out there. but then again we are only talking about creating, and I hope no one takes this the wrong way, pretty basic programs. I mean we work on some pretty tough parts where I work, I am talking about 5-axis machining of some exotic materials. And the proof of a good CAD/CAM software is how it handles these more complex parts. but in the end the programmer has to use his machining skills and his imagination to create the surfaces that need to be machined. I am finding that this is the hardest part for me, just because when your creating geometry for a part its pretty straight forward, but when your trying to draw a craw or a bug that has 0 straight lines or edges its not so easy. I am finding that out. The ones that have it do it like breathing, its just done without a thought. My son uses Solid Works and uses all straight lines because his programmer does all the work without a cam program. He said he would quit if he had to do molds like that. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigtwins Posted October 7, 2011 Report Share Posted October 7, 2011 Great topic! I do a bit of custom mold making, mostly for myself. All of it is done on the shop floor at the machine. From my own pencil/ graph paper drawings. I have access to 2 sweet mazak vtc's. That makes things easier using the mazatrol programing. But there is a lot of manual programing to figure out too. Anyone else using mazaks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigtwins Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 Yeah I've seen some of the integerx in action, but never had a chance to use one. Went ot a tool show last year and they had a great demo using the mills and lathes. Pretty cool stuff! The graphics for tool path are sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
