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Ep 2: Machining by the seat of our pants.
32 Plays13 days ago
Jon and Jamie discuss the day-to-day workings of running a one-man machine shop.
Jamie:
http://instagram.com/jspec_engineering
Jon:
Recommended
Transcript
Catching up and Time Zone Challenges
00:00:37
2SM Performance
So Jamie Peacock, are you there buddy?
00:00:39
jamie peacock
I am.
00:00:41
2SM Performance
All right.
00:00:41
jamie peacock
Yeah, good, good evening. This time I remembered.
00:00:44
2SM Performance
Yeah, good morning to you. Yeah.
00:00:45
jamie peacock
Yeah, thank you.
00:00:48
2SM Performance
ah
00:00:48
jamie peacock
ah Time zones are great.
00:00:51
2SM Performance
Time zones are great. Well, man, it's been a week since our last discussion.
00:00:53
jamie peacock
Yeah.
Innovations in Composite Materials Manufacturing
00:00:58
2SM Performance
I guess we'll start off by asking what have you been up to?
00:01:01
jamie peacock
Yeah, since last week when we chatted, I was busy he trying to figure out how I was gonna run a job. Since then, I've run the job. I made about 100 pounds of early shavings. so It was ah was quite a lot of fun. Big, big plates that got made into skinny little like one inch rings. So um yeah yeah that that job actually finished up yesterday.
00:01:23
jamie peacock
And then did some been doing some mold work ah for the same same customer out of 7075 for composite molds. And yeah, those I was posting on the Instagram, they they came out really, really well. Like I must say the the LK for a drill tap style machine really does some beautiful surfacing work. um Yeah, took me Took me a while to program the parts and make sure I was not going to have any collisions and got the two parts the way I wanted so that the cusps would kind of line up with the edge of perimeters instead of like being as you need your desk and it was.
00:01:59
jamie peacock
It was doing it stupidly, but I found some additional constraining stuff on there that I could get it to actually follow the perimeter of the contour so that I would get a nice smooth edge on the contour.
Troubleshooting Machine Alarms
00:02:10
jamie peacock
On the edge of the contour and the center of it, the guys can polish out. So so it wasn't so it was a challenge, but got it, got it sorted out. so And yeah, just been running a lot of, a lot of aluminum this week. What do you mean up to?
00:02:22
2SM Performance
Very cool. Yeah, I've been up to similar stuff, running a lot of aluminum. ah I've been running the 6061, a lot of parts on both my mills. I've got one mill running, although I'm setting up the other, which is pretty cool. I only I have both machines set off in one phase converter so I can really run one, spend a lot of time. But it's cool having two machines to run and set up at the same time. It's really nice.
00:02:52
jamie peacock
Yeah, that's quite sweet. I see those caps you were making this week looked really, really good.
00:02:59
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, I also made 25 of those gas caps. I got those delivered the other day. A lot of them are going out to anodized, and then when they come back from anodizing, I'm going to do a contrast cut on them. I do a chamfer along the outside edge, and then I mill out the pockets, and then I still engrave the middle. So you get that cool anodized look, but you have you know chamfering and a contrast cut. So those are going to come out nice, I'm sure.
00:03:26
jamie peacock
Yeah, your your stuff looks really nice when you do those contrast cuts.
00:03:30
2SM Performance
Yeah. Yeah. So I got those delivered. Um, and then today I finished running, um, I believe it was 10, uh, lids exhaust lids.
00:03:44
2SM Performance
And then I got 10, uh, rear scooter offenders. So yeah, that was, it was fun.
00:03:49
jamie peacock
Okay. Yeah. And you're saying you you had some minor issues with your machines.
Safety in Machining Magnesium
00:03:58
2SM Performance
Yeah, my older Sharp, man, I only had like three or four more parts left to do off to on. And I have some kind of tool pocket proximity sensor on my umbrella tool changer. That it was just acting up. I don't know if it was getting coolant in it or chips in it. I kept blowing it out, but I kept sending giving me a an alarm 1950 on my old finite controller and I don't know exactly what it is. I looked it up on Google and they said just get the debris.
00:04:34
2SM Performance
in the cooling off of it and it should work. And what I ended up having to do was when it would keep alarming out, no matter what, I had to restart the machine and that seemed to have fixed it after I cleaned it. I don't know if that reset something in the controller or what, but that seemed to have fixed it. And I was able to get all the parts done and get the the box of parts delivered to my customer at nine o'clock tonight. So it was that was a close one.
00:05:01
jamie peacock
yeah that yeah those alarms can be rather rather persistent and rather tedious interesting that you had to reset the the device or the machine like reboot it that's kind of strange because the alarm should just clear like that's rather rather strange but at least you got it sorted out
00:05:08
2SM Performance
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, very weird.
00:05:21
2SM Performance
Yeah, I was hitting reset on the controller and it kept alarming out. Yeah, I just turned off the back of the machine and it seemed to fix it. Sometimes that happens.
00:05:31
jamie peacock
Yeah, power cycle does wonders.
00:05:35
2SM Performance
Yeah, it really does.
00:05:35
jamie peacock
that's the good old That's the good old computer thing. Have you tried switching it off and on again?
00:05:40
2SM Performance
Yeah, you got to reboot that RAM, man.
00:05:42
jamie peacock
Yeah, just reload everything and i see if it sorts its shit out.
00:05:48
2SM Performance
Yeah, it's amazing.
00:05:48
jamie peacock
But yeah, at least you came right.
00:05:49
2SM Performance
It does wonders.
00:05:51
jamie peacock
Yeah, no, it shouldn't work, but it does.
00:05:56
jamie peacock
But yeah, at least you came right with it.
00:05:57
2SM Performance
listen
00:06:00
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, it's been a really busy week and it came through in the clutch and I got all the parts done and I can finally breathe and focus on the next parts. I got some magnesium parts that I got coming up next on one machine and a prototype to do on the other. So that should be really fun. I enjoy doing new stuff.
00:06:19
jamie peacock
Yeah, the ah weird so you're machining mangan magnesium. That sounds like a lot of fun.
00:06:25
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:06:27
jamie peacock
Sounds like a fire hazard.
00:06:27
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, I'm absolutely terrified to do it. But um, yeah, I'm gonna run. ah Instead of water based corn, I'm gonna run oil based coolant, like as you would see in like a grinding machine or like, um yeah, like a grinding machine, or a Swiss machine.
00:06:39
jamie peacock
and that
00:06:45
jamie peacock
That's terrifying. All the PBS motorsports, they ran mag magnesium alloy rims, and they were just running bloody coolants.
00:06:56
jamie peacock
They just ran coolants. I was taking chips and going outside, the my colleague I was with used to smoke. So I used to run out, go grab a bunch of chips, go sit outside while you had a smoke and light the chips on fire. Being super responsible, don't tell OSHA.
00:07:07
2SM Performance
Wow.
00:07:11
jamie peacock
actually I actually took a bunch of shavings, brought them back with me, like a bunch of long strings in my toolbox so that I could use them to ignite thermo as one does.
00:07:24
2SM Performance
You're playing with her my Jamie.
00:07:26
jamie peacock
I may have, not the worst thing I've done.
00:07:32
2SM Performance
Wow.
00:07:32
jamie peacock
yeah i used to get out I used to get up to a lot of stuff in my youth. Now I try and be a responsible adult.
00:07:37
2SM Performance
You too, huh?
00:07:39
jamie peacock
It's not easy, but I try.
Balancing Work and Hobbies
00:07:42
2SM Performance
ah Combat robots.
00:07:44
jamie peacock
Yeah, that's that's where the spare energy gets put these days, combat robots and fishing.
00:07:49
2SM Performance
ah
00:07:51
jamie peacock
At least fishing is a totally different thing. lock Because that's something I battle with, is switching my brain off from work. I'm always thinking about work. At least when like when I go fishing, I'm then not thinking about work.
00:08:01
jamie peacock
I'm thinking about fishing. Whereas combat robotics, it's the same stuff. It's fusion. Milling pots on the mill, there's no separation there, really.
00:08:12
2SM Performance
Yeah, I struggle with that as well. I have a very, very one track mind.
00:08:17
jamie peacock
yeah yeah the balance it's yeah it's a challenge it's a real challenge trying to trying to not just focus on one thing
00:08:17
2SM Performance
And once I get into something, that's all I want to do. And I don't really have a lot of balance in my life. I try to break that up.
00:08:33
jamie peacock
like I was actually chatting, I was on the Taps and Patients Discord yesterday, their Patreon Discord, chatting to some of the guys there.
00:08:34
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:08:40
jamie peacock
And we're discussing how how many hours you put in and all that stuff. Yeah, I put a lot of hours into work, but at the moment, there's lots of work, so I do that.
00:08:50
jamie peacock
When I get a gap, i I'll take a break and I go fishing, but that doesn't always that doesn't always happen, unfortunately.
00:08:59
2SM Performance
Yeah, gotta make the money, gotta pay the bills, man.
00:09:02
jamie peacock
That's it's like, yeah, unfortunately you can't live for free. Wish I could, but you can't.
00:09:11
2SM Performance
I want my cake and I wanna eat it too, Jamie.
00:09:13
jamie peacock
Exactly. But that's that's the long-term goal. Make lots of money so that you can take a break and and actually enjoy life a little bit.
00:09:20
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:09:23
2SM Performance
Yeah, I'm sure automation some of some sort is gonna come in there and help make that happen.
00:09:27
jamie peacock
Yeah. automation or um yeah or just process improvements and run ahead. like that That's my goal for this year. I want to go away in June, so we're going to... I should be getting a PO from a customer like this week still. And if they keep those numbers up that they're talking about, I will just overproduce and deliver in the beginning of June and go on holiday.
00:09:52
jamie peacock
lock
00:09:53
jamie peacock
take take a week off, yeah, because it's for them it's on a monthly basis. They're running through parts. So for me to overproduce a month's worth of stock is really not the end of the world. The material cost on the job is like 10%. So I make 10% less on this batch and I have ah just deliver next month. I don't have to actually manufacture anything.
00:09:53
2SM Performance
Oh man, that's a great strategy.
00:10:17
2SM Performance
That's great.
00:10:18
jamie peacock
Yeah, so but not unfortunately not all customers are like that.
Dealing with Defective Machinery Purchases
00:10:24
2SM Performance
Yeah, cool customers make a world of difference. It makes life so much better.
00:10:28
jamie peacock
Oh no, yeah, 100%. I've got a customer for those molds coming today to pick up. I realized I don't have the one T-slot cutter I need, so I've got to go and try and find one today.
00:10:40
jamie peacock
so that I can, it's like some stupid little tea slots that really just shouldn't exist. ah The part was designed by the CSR, it's our local like metrology type guys, but you can tell it was, it was designed with no budget in mind.
00:10:53
2SM Performance
ah here
00:10:58
jamie peacock
They didn't really care how it was made, they just wanted it this way. Like I would have designed it totally, totally differently so that it would be a bit easier to manufacture.
00:11:08
2SM Performance
Manufacturability, yeah.
00:11:08
jamie peacock
But they want it this way. Yeah, they want it this way, so they're getting it this way. um The problem with that is I now have to go buy a stupid dovetail cutter I don't want so that I can make this i can make this work.
00:11:22
2SM Performance
Did you quote that into the job?
00:11:24
jamie peacock
I didn't because I thought I had a dovetail cutter, but yeah, I don't.
00:11:27
2SM Performance
That always happens.
00:11:30
jamie peacock
Yeah, so I need a dovetail cutter because I've got to make some dovetail workholding for some upcoming jobs. So I need a 45 degree dovetail cutter. It's not really optional. So I'll go buy a high speed steel one today because I can get one quickly and cheaply. And then I'm going to order an insert one from our good friends over in China.
00:11:48
jamie peacock
And that'll take, either the only reason I don't have a big one right now is because they haven't had stock the last couple times I've ordered. But they look like they're back in stock. So I'm going to attempt to buy one from them.
00:11:59
jamie peacock
And then that'll go in the slow eo for material prep because I've got a product line hopefully coming online by the end of Q1 this year.
00:12:00
2SM Performance
Uh-huh.
00:12:09
jamie peacock
for one of my bigger customers where it's an additional like 250 to 500 parts a month and that needs to be done on dovetail otherwise it's just going to be tedious yeah I know
00:12:20
2SM Performance
OK, wow, Q1, you sound so professional. The dovetail, is that going to be material pressure? Are you going to be using a dovetail vise, like a five-axis style vise?
00:12:29
jamie peacock
yes so i'm gonna make so i'm gonna make a fixture basically just a plate that holds four five parts and then i'm gonna stack the map in my machine that i can have like 10 or 12 parts in the machine every time i hit go because also the material
00:12:32
2SM Performance
OK.
00:12:45
2SM Performance
You can just walk away for hours and that thing's running.
00:12:47
jamie peacock
that's it well not really because that machine's bloody fast so there i'm gonna order i'm gonna order material that's like not even uh sorry i'm just adjusting my microphone yeah uh that's not even 200 thou long uh 200 thou no wait hang on maths is hard um 0.5 times 35.4
00:12:49
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:13:10
jamie peacock
No, fuck. I really, I cocked this up royally. um Yeah, basically five millimeters longer than it needs to be. And then in that five mils, I'll put a dovetail, do more then I can hold it really reliably for op one, go to town on it, and then op two will drop into soft jaws or into a fixture.
00:13:18
2SM Performance
ah her
00:13:28
jamie peacock
it's like ah It's like a little gas cap, but smaller.
00:13:33
2SM Performance
Okay, a little cylindrical part.
00:13:33
jamie peacock
Yeah, so I'm... Yeah, a little cylindrical part. Well, it's got a hex on one side. So what I'll do is I'll hold it dovetail, I'll go to town, put the hex and put the the sunken section for the label.
00:13:44
2SM Performance
Mm hmm.
00:13:44
jamie peacock
Then when I turn it over, I can locate it and do all the machining, put a mark, and then I put it on its side and I want the threaded, there's a side hole.
00:13:54
jamie peacock
The side hole needs to always be clocked to the threads, exactly the same. That way when they, if they take one off and put one on, the cable always lines up to the same place.
00:14:06
2SM Performance
OK, so when it threads on, it always lines up. OK, so you're going to have the lead of the thread on the same exact location as the hole on the side.
00:14:09
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:14:12
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:14:15
jamie peacock
That's the plan.
00:14:16
2SM Performance
Got it. You got to clock it.
00:14:17
jamie peacock
Yeah, so, yeah, I'm gonna clock it.
00:14:18
2SM Performance
OK.
00:14:19
jamie peacock
So what I'll do is when ah when I machine the op two, I'll put an indicator in just, I'll put a ah divot or something internally where it doesn't matter, that when I load it for op three, I make sure that's always facing the same direction.
00:14:33
2SM Performance
and What do they call that? A witness mark? I've heard.
00:14:35
jamie peacock
Yeah, witness or something to orient with, I don't know.
00:14:36
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:14:39
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:14:39
jamie peacock
I just, yeah, so I'm gonna, that's the plan.
00:14:40
2SM Performance
Very cool.
00:14:41
jamie peacock
I made samples of those a while ago, but yeah, unfortunately that requires an operator with a brain because it needs to be located the correct way after OP2, but that's fine.
00:14:42
2SM Performance
That's tricky.
00:14:50
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:14:51
jamie peacock
That's not the end of the world. It's not a complicated thing. It's just something you need to pay attention to.
00:14:58
2SM Performance
Yeah. Yeah. And how many of these are are you wishing to make?
00:15:02
jamie peacock
ah It should be between 250 and 500 a month.
00:15:08
2SM Performance
Oh, your style of machining is so different than mine, like your quantity.
00:15:08
jamie peacock
The problem, yeah, the issue there is it's like a $6 pot. So it's not a, yeah, it's not a particularly high car cost pot or high value pot.
00:15:17
2SM Performance
Oh, wow, yeah.
00:15:24
jamie peacock
It's just high quantity. Now for those guys, everything I do, the most expensive pot is like $6. A lot of the stuff is like 50 cents a pot, but I do 500 of them at a time.
00:15:31
2SM Performance
Wow.
00:15:36
jamie peacock
So, and that 500, the machine just runs.
00:15:36
2SM Performance
Crazy.
00:15:39
jamie peacock
It runs for about a day and a half. And that's 500 of those little parts finished. So it's all about on that with those customers, it's all about efficiency. And every time.
00:15:50
2SM Performance
They just want as much as they can get as fast as they can get it.
00:15:54
jamie peacock
Well, I'm competing directly against China and Ukraine on that one. So they were buying stuff from Ukraine and then Ukraine got invaded and all of a sudden they couldn't get stock.
00:15:59
2SM Performance
Oh wow.
00:16:04
jamie peacock
So they realized it's a shit plan.
00:16:05
2SM Performance
the
00:16:06
jamie peacock
Can we not have this made locally? And when they inquired, apparently no one could do it locally. And then I was there making prototypes for them for another project. And they were like, oh, could you possibly manufacture this? I'm like, yeah, sure. Let me, let me take a sample. I'll make you drawings and I'll give you a quote. And yeah, I picked up, I'm now their main supplier, which is really, really stupid of them, but that's their problem.
00:16:32
2SM Performance
That's really great to work.
00:16:32
jamie peacock
No, they only have the one supplier.
00:16:34
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:16:35
jamie peacock
It's a really shitty idea, but ah yeah I'll happily take their money. I have no intention of dying, but yeah you never know what happens.
00:16:41
2SM Performance
hi yeah Yeah, you never want to put all your eggs in one basket. But hey, when it's me, I'll hold the basket.
00:16:50
jamie peacock
Yeah. hundred percent 100%. I mean, they don't, they don't even have drawings for their
Improving Manufacturing Processes
00:16:57
jamie peacock
pots. Like I own their drawings because they gave me samples. I made drawings for manufacturing.
00:17:02
jamie peacock
I didn't quote them for drawings.
00:17:03
2SM Performance
Oh, you had to reverse engineer everything that they give you?
00:17:05
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:17:06
2SM Performance
Okay.
00:17:06
jamie peacock
So I reverse engineered and we ended up making some significant changes to make it easier to manufacture and a bit of a better product, quite frankly. Like they were having failures after about a month and a half after installation.
00:17:20
jamie peacock
So I had a look at it.
00:17:20
2SM Performance
Mm-hmm.
00:17:21
jamie peacock
I'm like, okay, this thing's got one rivet. Let's up that to five rivets, put five rivets. Then it was and or used to take us forever to do the ah the assembly. We used to do,
00:17:32
jamie peacock
We used to do 25 of them in an hour, because we had we would put them together, drill pop rivet one hole, then drill the other five holes, put another four pop rivets in, and then stack it. Then I made a swaging machine to crimp them. We now do 25 in six minutes.
00:17:48
2SM Performance
Wow.
00:17:49
jamie peacock
Yeah, no, we, we crank them out now. And the, we, I said to them, listen, we can crimp these things together and your price is going to drop by, I think it was like a dollar on the assembly.
00:18:00
jamie peacock
They're like, oh, cool. It's a better price. And so far, I don't believe we've had any of the same failures because instead, yeah.
00:18:07
2SM Performance
Yeah, like Jamie, you know I've always said, you're you're a man that wears many hats.
The Jack of All Trades Dilemma
00:18:12
2SM Performance
You're an electrical engineer, you're an engineer, you're a consultant, a manufacturing consultant.
00:18:12
jamie peacock
Yes.
00:18:21
jamie peacock
Yeah, i do all the I do all the things.
00:18:21
2SM Performance
You do a lot, man.
00:18:24
2SM Performance
Yeah, very well-rounded.
00:18:25
jamie peacock
But also, yeah, I'm adequate at most things, but I wouldn't sound great at any of them.
00:18:33
2SM Performance
What's the old saying? Jack of all trades, master of none.
00:18:37
jamie peacock
Yeah, it's better than ah Master of One.
00:18:40
2SM Performance
a
00:18:42
jamie peacock
But yeah, it's...
00:18:42
2SM Performance
thats
00:18:44
jamie peacock
Like yeah, the being jack of all trades also, like you don't have time to actually deep dive and focus on one thing and get really, really good at it.
00:18:53
2SM Performance
thank Yeah, that's kind of boring anyways like if you're an EDM guy and all you do is EDM EDM EDM You think you'd kind of want to branch out a little bit?
00:18:55
jamie peacock
That's the only, it is.
00:19:01
jamie peacock
Yeah, if you're EDM guy, ah Yeah, if you're an EDM guy, my heart goes out to you. I used to be one of them. It was fucking horrid. No, it was the worst.
00:19:11
2SM Performance
Oh.
00:19:12
jamie peacock
Like you would, I'd get an SMS or a message at like two in the morning, get in my vehicle and drive through to the workshop to go deal with a wire break.
00:19:24
2SM Performance
Wow.
00:19:25
jamie peacock
Yeah, ah my wife, yeah, my wife hates those machines.
00:19:25
2SM Performance
Sounds like a blast.
00:19:29
jamie peacock
Like ah if I go to my own customer and she's with me and she hears the wire kind of beeping, she starts to freak out. She's like, I shut this again because she used to have to come with me or she used to want to come with me in the middle of the night, just so it wasn't me by myself in an industrial area.
00:19:45
2SM Performance
but
00:19:45
jamie peacock
Yeah, because the industrial areas.
00:19:46
2SM Performance
Nobody else was there, was qualified to fix the wire.
00:19:50
jamie peacock
No one was there. It was that like, we didn't used to run Narchift. So I used to set stuff up and then go home and then I'd get a message, hop in my vehicle, drive back like 20 minutes to work, go and fix the wire break.
00:20:03
2SM Performance
Ah, night shift.
00:20:05
jamie peacock
Yeah, so I would, I had keys for the workshops. I'd go and turn the alarm off, open the back, go in quickly, resets it, get back in my vehicle, drive home. Like it would be an hour and 40 minutes of that was driving.
00:20:17
2SM Performance
Very fun. On call.
00:20:18
jamie peacock
Yeah. Yeah, I know it was, it was horrible. That's why I don't have a wire cutter, not only because they're expensive, but because I don't want to have to deal with a needy little machine.
00:20:30
2SM Performance
It's better than being a laid guy, though. I will say that.
00:20:34
jamie peacock
Yeah, lades. I say that and I have two of them.
00:20:37
2SM Performance
You put it very well.
00:20:39
jamie peacock
Yeah, I have two of them, but yeah.
00:20:40
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:20:43
2SM Performance
What did you say?
00:20:43
jamie peacock
like yeah Yes.
00:20:44
2SM Performance
You said it's an acquired taste.
00:20:47
jamie peacock
No, lades are, I look at some of the guys that I know that run lades. I'm like, hey guys, you you do some really dodgy stuff here. But I mean, they make it work. I just couldn't really be bothered. Like I do my production stuff on lades. I don't like lathe job shopping. I do it every now and again and I don't do tool and die work anymore because of that.
00:21:10
jamie peacock
Like I did a bunch of tool and die work last year. And I don't like forgot the guy who comes to the summit like sorry, I can't assist. Because I end up standing at the lathe for like three or four days straight doing his stupid turning work, when it's really just not worth not worth what I'm charging for it. And if I try to charge more, he doesn't get the order.
00:21:34
jamie peacock
and because he's running, he's he's actually running a production job.
00:21:34
2SM Performance
Totally get it.
00:21:38
jamie peacock
If he breaks a single insert drill in a month, that's all his profits from that job gone. He's running way too close.
00:21:45
2SM Performance
has a terrible business model
00:21:47
jamie peacock
Yeah, the thing is he got he got the contract because he was he was told, this is the price you need to meet. so He met the price, but it's yeah way, way too tight.
00:21:58
2SM Performance
He's shooting himself in the foot.
00:21:58
jamie peacock
I'm like, no. Exactly, because guaranteed something, something will go wrong at some points in the month.
00:22:01
2SM Performance
He needs to diversify.
00:22:07
jamie peacock
And there's your, yeah.
00:22:07
2SM Performance
Of course.
The Used Machinery Buying Process
00:22:09
jamie peacock
And that was so, I don't think I told you the story. Okay, we're going to do a bit more backstory quickly.
00:22:15
2SM Performance
Story time, Jamie, come on.
00:22:16
jamie peacock
So, story time again. So this time last year, I decided I need another spindle. So I went to a place down in Mayaton, it's about 25 minute drive from here, to have a look at a Leadwell Robo drill style machine.
00:22:29
2SM Performance
Mm hmm.
00:22:33
jamie peacock
So I went, had a look at the machine, said to them, please send me a quote, I need to organize financing. ah check I went there, we powered on, I checked the machine. I then realized I forgot to check how much memory it had. So I hopped in my vehicle the next morning, drove down there again, turned on, checked how much memory, and like yeah not the most memory, but I'll make it work. Old Finnook controller. That afternoon, I get a phone call. Yeah, no, sorry, someone put a deposit on the machine. um It's been sold. I'm like, seriously? I've been waiting two days for a quote. I would have put a deposit if you told me I needed to. ah Anyway, these clowns, I then bought my LK somewhere else.
00:23:09
jamie peacock
but my customer bought a lathe from these clowns. A big, I'm making a lead well sound bad now. These Gaza clowns, lead well are good machines. It's just lead well are really good machines, just not from these specific, or no, it's not, it's a secondhand machine dealer.
00:23:20
2SM Performance
It's the distributor, yeah.
00:23:24
jamie peacock
And they are, yeah.
00:23:25
2SM Performance
Oh wow, clowns.
00:23:26
jamie peacock
Yeah, so this machine arrives on my customer's floor with a bar feeder that doesn't interface with it, because he bought a bar feeder from them as well. The chuck didn't clamp, so they had to pull the chuck off and put a new chuck on.
00:23:39
jamie peacock
then the tooling blocks on the turret were all clapped out.
00:23:40
2SM Performance
Oof.
00:23:43
jamie peacock
So they had to make new tooling blocks. We then, heat now my customer hasn't run it for Nooklade in a long time. So he's like, no, please can I come through and just help him get this thing going. So I go, now I'm doing this like after hours, so he would work the full day, then like half past five, six o'clock in the evening, I would shoot through there and would work until like 10, 11 o'clock at night, because then no one's bugging him, no one's bugging me. I go through, we spend like four hours getting it all working, starting to make test cuts, getting the program checked out, go there the next day, same story. Third day, we threading and we had to relieve the threading bar, because it's a ah rope thread, so it's like a round profile thread.
00:24:22
jamie peacock
We had to relieve the boring bar so we could get enough clearance to get all the way in. And we're running and I'm like, what's going on here? Like the first part's good, then the second part's not. And I'm looking and it's rubbing the boring bar. this This should clear with like millimeters. Why is it rubbing? Now we're like 12 hours into setting this machine up. I grab an indicator, put it on the tooling block. I'm like, like okay, maybe the tooling block's poked. Check, nope, tooling block's skewed.
00:24:50
jamie peacock
Okay, index the turret, put it on the turret itself, index it, the whole turret will skew. So I say to phone these clowns tomorrow, have them come and square the turret. So the guys come through, they square the turret up, had to, yeah, square it up, we get it running again.
00:25:07
jamie peacock
So we we get production running, and then his drills are wearing out. So I go through there again, we put an indicator in, we indicate we sweep the bores, because now all we've been doing is basically touching the tool off.
00:25:19
jamie peacock
We haven't really been like indicating the bores. We're being lazy. Indicate the bore, the whole turret is low by half a millimeter. So low by 20 thou.
00:25:28
2SM Performance
Oh, from the spindle.
00:25:30
jamie peacock
So what had happened is that crashed the turret at some point.
00:25:31
2SM Performance
Oh, wow.
00:25:36
jamie peacock
And they just bought this machine, cleaned it, checked the power on and sold it. They hadn't actually done a full check on it. So he made a shim, shimmed the turret up. So eventually we get this machine running and he's running production. And on like the second day of production, he's like six or seven hours into production and the turret doesn't lock.
00:25:57
jamie peacock
So you cycle the power index, turret locks. And you run for like 30 minutes, next thing, turret would go to do a tool change, wouldn't lock, disable the motor, and it would pivot down again. So he finds the manual that came with this thing. It says in the manual um for the turret. If you crash the turret, you need to replace the following components.
00:26:18
jamie peacock
the locking pin, all the seal sets, like there's a whole list of shit that's got to be replaced. These jerks had done none of it. So he got them out, they stripped the turret, they allegedly fixed it, put it back together, no, you can run. He runs four hours in, stops locking again. But this is now like, this has been on his floor for five or six months at this point. so He's meant to deliver 4,000 pots a week.
00:26:42
jamie peacock
And he can't. So now his customers wanting to pull the order, he's had to pay the machine payments for this machine, even though it isn't running. Eventually he... yeah So when they... ah They basically got him to sign a document saying the machine is working before it was delivered.
00:27:02
jamie peacock
Like they wouldn't deliver until he signed the documents for the financing saying that the machine was in good working order.
00:27:04
2SM Performance
Mm hmm.
00:27:07
jamie peacock
So they wanted to just leave him with the machine. He eventually threatened to sue them and they took the machine and put another machine on his floor. And now he's running production. But yeah, these oaks down and made a bunch of fucking clowns.
00:27:20
jamie peacock
Shit, I shouldn't have sworn.
00:27:20
2SM Performance
He had he had to literally threaten lawsuit to for them to make it right.
00:27:21
jamie peacock
Oh well.
00:27:24
jamie peacock
Yeah. Yeah, pretty much.
00:27:26
2SM Performance
Wow, yeah, it's.
00:27:27
jamie peacock
And then they're like, no, we'll fix the machine, and we'll bring it back. He's like, yeah, you'll bring it back, put it on my floor and I'll run both machines for three months until you can take away the good machine. But you're absolute, absolute clowns.
00:27:37
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, that old machine has to prove itself.
00:27:40
jamie peacock
Yeah, absolute clowns.
00:27:40
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:27:41
jamie peacock
Like his business was in a good place financially and this nearly wrecked him.
00:27:47
2SM Performance
Yeah, they sold them a trash machine.
00:27:50
jamie peacock
Yeah, they sold him ah literally a trash machine. It's like not even that it was just a dud, it was trash.
00:27:56
2SM Performance
There's crash. Yeah, a bunch of times.
00:27:57
jamie peacock
Yeah, yeah, it was.
00:27:59
2SM Performance
And they didn't replace the locking pins and all the ah components that need to be replaced.
00:28:02
jamie peacock
There's a lot of, yeah, there's ah there's a lot of that that goes on here where guys resell machines without thoroughly checking them.
00:28:13
2SM Performance
yeah Yeah, absolutely. like When I bought my new machine, my new to me used machine, um i I got the offer from them.
00:28:18
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:28:22
2SM Performance
We came to a price. And then before I even gave them any money, I told them, hey, I'm going to buy a flight up to Minneapolis. I spent another $1,000 of my own money to go up there and you know check the machine.
00:28:38
2SM Performance
Now, this was really funny because When I flew up there, I brought with me in a case, like ah a spindle bar, like a test bar.
00:28:47
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:28:48
2SM Performance
Have you seen those test bars at hostels?
00:28:50
jamie peacock
yana Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:51
2SM Performance
Yeah. I'm going through the airport with TSA and I've got my little bag, you know, with my dial indicator, test indicator, and the mag stand in it, and a spindle test bar.
00:28:59
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:29:02
2SM Performance
And the the security people at the airport were like, what is this?
00:29:07
jamie peacock
yeah
00:29:07
2SM Performance
I had to like try and attempt to explain what it was. And they're like, okay, hold on a second. And then he's like, is it a tool? I said, yeah, yeah, it's a tool. You can consider it that for calibration.
00:29:20
2SM Performance
And he said something really funny. I guess this is literally a rule what the TSA security is. If you have a tool that is longer than 12 inches, it has to be in a checked bag.
00:29:32
jamie peacock
Yeah. Yes.
00:29:36
2SM Performance
So I guess my tool was too big. Me and my girlfriend joking about that.
00:29:39
jamie peacock
Nice.
00:29:43
2SM Performance
But.
00:29:44
jamie peacock
So we used to travel with a calibration rings. So it was a tool steel ring that had been hardened and ground to a specific diameter. We used to travel with them in our laptop bags.
00:29:52
2SM Performance
Mm hmm.
00:29:54
jamie peacock
we had Each of us were going down ah with three of them in our bags. And we had done it many times. And the one morning, the TSA agent decided, nope, not today, and made me take my laptop out of my bag, put it in my colleague's bag, put all the rings into my laptop bag and go and check it in.
00:30:13
jamie peacock
We had flown with them many times.
00:30:13
2SM Performance
Oh, wow.
00:30:15
jamie peacock
Oak was on a power trip and he's like, nope, you will not take this onto the aeroplane today.
00:30:20
jamie peacock
aa the Yeah, the TSA or the airport security annoys the hell out of me. Anyway, back to your story.
00:30:20
2SM Performance
OK.
00:30:27
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, and and this this is the weekend right before Thanksgiving in America. We have a holiday Thanksgiving. Anyone American knows about it.
00:30:35
jamie peacock
Yeah, no, no, I know thanks not Thanksgiving.
00:30:36
2SM Performance
um So. Yeah, yeah, and so this is like one of the biggest travel days of the year. you know the The lines to go through the security check was just massive and I'm carrying this spindle test bar and all these indicators. and ah i had it I had to check the bag. Long story short, I went up there. that The people at the machine reseller place picked me up from the airport. They were really cool.
00:31:02
2SM Performance
and I pretty much i just spent the day you know taking the weight covers off the machine, inspecting the ways, putting the test bar in the spindle, putting the indicator on it, checking the run out, going up and down in Z, you know turning the spindle.
00:31:18
2SM Performance
and like If anything was wrong with that machine, I was not going to buy it.
00:31:18
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:31:23
2SM Performance
I even brought like
00:31:24
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:31:25
2SM Performance
a bunch of cash from with me. that was The Spindle Bar was the funny part. I actually had a big amount of cash on me.
00:31:31
jamie peacock
yeah
00:31:33
2SM Performance
I so i was kind of nervous if they were if I was going to get you know pulled aside with it and they were going to take it for some reason and I'd have to explain it.
00:31:39
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:31:42
2SM Performance
I was the only thing I was really worried about. But um yeah, I checked everything on that machine. I checked the wiper seals for the ways, the way covers, everything, and everything checked out.
00:31:49
jamie peacock
Yo, you.
00:31:56
2SM Performance
So, yeah.
00:31:56
jamie peacock
Yeah, you've got to you've got to do your due diligence on machines. like ah So when I bought the LK, so I phoned my mate Dylan down in Cape Town, and I'm like, hey, you've got this machine, because I phoned him after that deal fell through.
00:32:05
2SM Performance
ah her
00:32:11
jamie peacock
And I said, what do you have on the floor? What are you bringing in for Machine Tool Africa? Because we had that coming up last year. So I was like, what are you bringing in? Maybe I must just wait and get get something off to the show, like get a good show discount.
00:32:24
2SM Performance
but demo model yeah
00:32:24
jamie peacock
And he's like, no, no, yeah. He's like, no, no, there's an LK on the floor. Let me go see what the story is. So he went to his boss and his boss like, no, no, it's a second time machine 2019 whole spiel. I'm like, sweet. This was on like a Friday. I'm like, I will see you on Tuesday. Cause flats on Mondays are expensive. So I was like, I'll see you on Tuesday morning. Pick me up at the airport. So I flew down. He picked me up at the airport. We went, I used all his equipment cause I mean a machine reseller.
Tax Minimization and Government Distrust
00:32:50
jamie peacock
So indicator in the taper checking backlash had the way covers back now the machine was in flippin good condition powered it on played around with it a little bit and then I was like I can I hundred percent and Yeah, that thing was on the floor the following.
00:32:51
2SM Performance
and
00:33:04
jamie peacock
Well, I think like a week and a half later Had it on my yeah, yeah, I paid them I paid them a deposit like ah Flip what is it like?
00:33:08
2SM Performance
your players? Yeah.
00:33:15
jamie peacock
15 percent deposit they put it on my floor and I started making parts and then I paid the balance once I was tax registered so I could claim back the sales tax.
00:33:25
2SM Performance
The write off. Yeah.
00:33:27
jamie peacock
Yeah, because there's no ways I'm gonna let the governments have any of the any money they don't deserve.
00:33:28
2SM Performance
Very cool.
00:33:33
jamie peacock
And they deserve no money at all.
00:33:36
2SM Performance
Especially when there's rolling blackouts with electricity.
00:33:39
jamie peacock
Yeah, exactly. Nah, I will give, yeah, I give them as little money as I can.
00:33:42
2SM Performance
They already took the money and they didn't spend it.
00:33:48
2SM Performance
I love how you always explain it.
00:33:49
jamie peacock
because it's, yeah, because Africa, like they get the bare minimum that I have to give them and that is all they will ever get from me.
00:33:50
2SM Performance
You said it's because Africa.
00:33:54
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:34:00
2SM Performance
At least you're giving, man.
00:34:01
jamie peacock
not my Yeah, well, that's the problem is there's 5% of the population that are giving the government any money, the rest just levonne live on the the money from the other 5%.
00:34:04
2SM Performance
That is very, very true.
00:34:14
jamie peacock
Like our tax base is tiny, and the problem is every year it shrinks because everyone who can leave does leave.
00:34:24
2SM Performance
I had a best friend from Johannesburg and they left to America, yeah.
00:34:25
jamie peacock
But, yeah.
00:34:30
jamie peacock
Yeah, now everyone who can leave does leave, but all ASEAN has, it gives me more opportunity.
00:34:31
2SM Performance
Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:37
2SM Performance
Hey, yeah, it's more for you, more work, more opportunity.
00:34:39
jamie peacock
Yeah, the more people that leave, the less competition I have. Yeah, less competition there is.
00:34:43
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:34:44
jamie peacock
That's the way ASEAN is. and until because So I'm working on the palette system, which has been on my Instagram every now and again, and I run it.
00:34:48
2SM Performance
Yeah. So are you, are you looking forward to anything in the future? Do you have, you want to talk about what you have planned?
00:35:01
jamie peacock
But yeah, that, that's what I'm working towards now. I've got that, uh, that big job that I was busy with for the for those rings and the molds. I've got to make one little mold this morning and then that job is out and I can go back to working on important things.
00:35:17
jamie peacock
um
00:35:17
2SM Performance
That's all the same customer. Okay.
00:35:19
jamie peacock
ah Yeah, yeah, the mold and the the rings are all one customer. He's coming past at 11 o'clock this morning to pick up. So I've got to make a few few little bits and bobs for that job still, but I want to switch the machine over to running steel because I need to make a grinding fixture for the pallet systems and then I can grind the pots and I can actually start assembling them.
00:35:25
2SM Performance
Very cool.
00:35:39
jamie peacock
ah And then I've got a bunch of other steel bits and bobs like I need to make the dovetail clamping system I need to make a wire cutter for my one customer basically take a 15 kg roll of 420 stainless welding wire and chop it into six millimeter long pieces Yeah,
00:35:57
2SM Performance
move. Oh, I've ran a job like that.
00:35:59
jamie peacock
whole roll
00:36:01
jamie peacock
Yeah, so I'm making him a um making them a machine that just, you literally feed the material in and it just goes brrrr and cuts like a thousand pieces a minute.
00:36:01
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:36:11
jamie peacock
So I made ah made a version one of it, but the feeding was unreliable.
00:36:11
2SM Performance
Wow.
00:36:15
jamie peacock
So now I'm gonna make him a new version and then, hopefully simplify the design a little bit, and then it should do should do what it needs. So I was feeding with a cam. I'm now gonna just have a cutter, and I'm gonna have it push with a spring-loaded feeder. So every time the cutter comes down, the feeder runs back, and as it goes up, the spring pushes the material forward, chops it, pushes it back, and just feeds the material automatically.
00:36:39
2SM Performance
It reminds me of those those wire spring factories in China. there Those machines that make springs, they push the wire through and they chop it and they they go really, really fast.
00:36:46
jamie peacock
Yeah, those are super impressive.
00:36:51
jamie peacock
yeah they Yeah, I'm running a little servo on there, because I had it laying around.
00:36:53
2SM Performance
Wow.
00:36:57
jamie peacock
It does 4,000 RPM, and then I'm running it. It's a two Newton meter servo that's running through a four to one gearbox, because, well, that's what I had laying around. um And that's enough to shear.
00:37:07
2SM Performance
You have that just laying around. love that.
00:37:09
jamie peacock
Yeah, i bought it I bought it for a job but two years ago that I did for my my brother's company. So they do fishing rods. So he's part of the development team for assassin fishing rods. so And what they were doing is they would have a bunch of rods, like blanks developed in China, have them test, send them the videos, then ship the rods here. They would then test them with like a two liter bottle of water.
00:37:37
jamie peacock
see how the rod bends, like get one of the works wehouse staff to hold the rod so they could look at the the angle of hard bends, make notes, send it back to ship the rods back to China with notes, have them develop new ones, send them back. or they was spending ah stupid I think they were spending like a thousand dollars on shipping for every batch because now these things are a couple meters long that they're having to ship with DHL.
00:38:00
jamie peacock
So they had me build them a fishing rod tester that they strapped the rods into and then it's effectively just a linear axis that would drive up. And they would they had an anchor points that was on, it's a little trolley on casters with like 20 kgs of weight and a load cell.
00:38:13
2SM Performance
Uh-huh.
00:38:16
jamie peacock
So they could actually set it to say, go to five kgs of load. This thing would run until it hit five
Economic Comparisons: Africa vs. US
00:38:21
jamie peacock
kgs and then stop.
00:38:21
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:38:22
jamie peacock
or they could manually jog it. So I built this whole thing and I bought the gearbox for that and didn't need it. So it was sitting in my industrial Lego box.
00:38:33
jamie peacock
I've got a box labeled industrial Lego. It's literally just all the industrial stuff.
00:38:35
2SM Performance
i gotta to come I gotta come visit South Africa and see your Lego box.
00:38:41
jamie peacock
Yeah, I've got weights.
00:38:42
2SM Performance
I bet you have all kinds of cool stuff.
00:38:44
jamie peacock
I have way too much stuff in my workshop. But yeah, you're always welcome to come through to sunny South Africa. You'll feel like you're rich when you're here because everything's super cheap.
00:38:54
2SM Performance
Live like a king.
00:38:56
jamie peacock
Yeah, well, that' that's how my brother put it. Like we were discussing immigrating and whatnot. He's like, yeah, you can live like a king among among the savages or you can live like a savage among the kings. Because like if if one of us goes overseas, we are gonna be on the bottom end of the pay scale.
00:39:11
jamie peacock
Whereas here we're on the top end of the pay scale and life is pretty cheap. So yeah, like comparing compared to the US, we make like next to no money, but we live really well because life is cheaper.
00:39:24
2SM Performance
You seem like you're doing pretty good. Yeah, the relative wages to the cost of living.
00:39:26
jamie peacock
Yeah, yeah.
00:39:29
jamie peacock
yeah look the cost Yeah, the cost of living here is basically through the floor.
00:39:30
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:39:34
jamie peacock
like And what yeah what we pay the domestic workers and garden gardeners and things like that is basically for free. look It's really cheap.
00:39:43
2SM Performance
That's crazy.
00:39:44
jamie peacock
yeah And the problem is you can't pay them a lot more otherwise they start getting targeted in their communities for having too much money.
00:39:46
2SM Performance
Very cool.
00:39:51
2SM Performance
Really?
00:39:52
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:39:52
2SM Performance
Wow.
00:39:53
jamie peacock
Same thing in, same thing in Madagascar. Like Madagascar, we, we went there on honeymoon. We paid the lady who cleaned the house and made us three meals a day. We paid her $4 a day and you can't pay her more than you pay her more than that.
00:40:09
2SM Performance
That's just.
00:40:11
jamie peacock
And the community starts targeting her.
00:40:15
2SM Performance
Wow, they're they they're kind of like crabs in a bucket bringing everyone down, right?
00:40:16
jamie peacock
but Yeah.
00:40:20
jamie peacock
yeah
00:40:21
2SM Performance
You know, like when you you put crabs in a hot pot and one starts climbing up to freedom to save itself, the other crabs pull it back in so nobody can succeed and get money because everyone's going to target the person.
00:40:27
jamie peacock
Yeah, they pull him down. Yeah. No.
00:40:35
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:40:35
2SM Performance
You know what I mean?
00:40:36
jamie peacock
Africa, Africa's a, yeah. Africa's a different beast. Like the, yeah. Oaks don't want to see other people succeed, even if it's their, like, yeah, they don't want to see other people succeed.
00:40:36
2SM Performance
It's a self-sabotaging
00:40:44
2SM Performance
Yes, yes
00:40:47
jamie peacock
You must all be at the bottom together. It's kind of sad.
00:40:50
2SM Performance
Yeah, that is that's terrible man Okay, so non-destructive testing with the fishing rods you had the gearbox laying around and Now you're using it
00:40:51
jamie peacock
But yeah, that's. Yeah, like that's why I kind of insulate myself from the from that side of the community, like I really couldn't couldn't be bothered.
00:41:05
jamie peacock
Yes.
00:41:08
jamie peacock
Yeah, I bought it in case I needed more torque. Now I'm using it to cut wire.
00:41:11
2SM Performance
Okay.
00:41:13
jamie peacock
Yeah, so I needed it in case the 12 Nm stepper wasn't strong enough.
00:41:13
2SM Performance
Cut the wires.
00:41:18
jamie peacock
In retrospect, I could have got away with like a 2 Nm stepper on that thing.
00:41:18
2SM Performance
ah
00:41:23
jamie peacock
Because it's literally just lifting a load of like 10 kilos.
00:41:26
2SM Performance
Would that be like a NEMA, like a NEMA stepper?
00:41:28
jamie peacock
But rather, I could have got away with a NEMA 23. I went with a NEMA 43 closed loop stepper.
00:41:34
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:41:37
2SM Performance
Oh, wow.
00:41:37
jamie peacock
Like i was I was riding the thing up and down.
00:41:38
2SM Performance
Okay. Close loop.
00:41:40
jamie peacock
I was literally standing on it and riding it up and down and the motor didn't have a problem.
00:41:45
2SM Performance
Yeah, that's a little overkill if you think a 23 is good enough.
00:41:46
jamie peacock
Yeah. Yeah, when in doubt, make it start.
00:41:51
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, I got 23s on my little bench mill.
00:41:52
jamie peacock
No.
00:41:54
2SM Performance
They work good.
00:41:55
jamie peacock
So the Slo-Yo runs closed loop 23s. It runs a 2.2 Newton meter on X and then three Newton meters on Z and on Y.
00:42:08
2SM Performance
Very cool.
00:42:09
jamie peacock
I actually ran, so I've got gas shocks on the Slo-Yo to balance the head. And we learned...
00:42:14
2SM Performance
Oh, what's his name?
00:42:18
jamie peacock
Kurt.
00:42:19
2SM Performance
The guy that makes the pens. Kurt, he did the same thing.
00:42:24
jamie peacock
Yeah, confirmed.
00:42:24
2SM Performance
I think he modeled that after yours.
00:42:25
jamie peacock
Yes. we may have had some discussions about that.
00:42:29
2SM Performance
Yes.
00:42:29
jamie peacock
um Yeah, so he put gas struts on his. So what did the issue you run into there is they can do about three and a half meters a minute, anything faster than that.
00:42:40
jamie peacock
And the gas strut actually starts to limit the, it starts to inhibit your speed.
00:42:44
2SM Performance
slow it down.
00:42:46
jamie peacock
Yeah, it starts to slow you down.
00:42:47
2SM Performance
Yeah.
Developing a Combat Robot
00:42:48
jamie peacock
We put one on it. So after I did my machine at work, we needed to have a Z axis on a measuring head. not drop when the machine depowered because obviously it can hit stuff. So we put a gas struts and the guy forgot to turn the rapids down. He bent the gas struts in half with a servo motor that was the size of a NEMA 23 with a Siemens servo motor.
00:43:13
jamie peacock
He sense it, he sense it up, he sense it up and it entered.
00:43:14
2SM Performance
How is that possible? how
00:43:18
jamie peacock
No, those Siemens motors can get overdriven quite heavily. Like it's it's constant load is two Newton meters. It's peak is like probably in the range of 10.
00:43:29
2SM Performance
10 newt meters peak.
00:43:31
jamie peacock
10 Newton meters on a ball screw, it's some serious force.
00:43:37
2SM Performance
Wow, and it gets the strut in half.
00:43:39
jamie peacock
It bent it, it folded it in half. Cause he tried to just go at full speed up and this thing said, nope, and bent out the way.
00:43:43
2SM Performance
Wild.
00:43:50
jamie peacock
joey yeah We used to do some really interesting stuff where I used to work. I mean, I put braking systems on on a Z-axis as well that when the motors powered off, a pneumatic cylinder would extend and we had a row of bolts in the face. So the cylinder would extend and drop between the bolts, wherever it was, just so it would drop like 10 or 20 millimeters, but not enough to crash into whatever it was doing.
00:44:16
2SM Performance
Wow, it's a good idea.
00:44:17
jamie peacock
Yeah, we we did some really some really sketchy stuff there. I mean, we try to do um nitrogen, I think.
00:44:21
2SM Performance
Yeah, the old Haas machines, then the old Haas machines have like a hydrogen or helium. ah Nitrogen, that's what it is.
00:44:30
jamie peacock
Yeah, nitrogen, spring balance.
00:44:32
2SM Performance
Yes. Yeah.
00:44:33
jamie peacock
Well, gas balance, yeah.
00:44:35
2SM Performance
yeah
00:44:36
jamie peacock
I have something similar in mind for a combat robot.
00:44:41
2SM Performance
Really, nitrogen combat robot?
00:44:42
jamie peacock
Yeah, I wanna make, Well, I wanna make a 225 gram flipper that'll throw someone into the roof, which is not an easy feat. So I was thinking of using a pre-charged pneumatic cylinder effectively as my spring.
00:45:00
jamie peacock
And then I can adjust the amount of spring force that I have pre-fart and dial in so that I can just load it.
00:45:00
2SM Performance
There you go.
00:45:07
jamie peacock
That my actual crankback system is right at the limits of what it's capable of. That way I can get the most amount of force out of my forward movement.
00:45:17
2SM Performance
Okay.
00:45:17
jamie peacock
But yeah, that's it's yeah designing something that's that small is not an easy task.
00:45:26
jamie peacock
And then manufacturing it isn't easy either.
00:45:26
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, what is that going to be like? um Like when you. What's that called on the top of the spindle where you press the button and it moves the thing something far?
00:45:37
jamie peacock
Oh yeah, you're, so that's ah that's a pneumatic over hydraulic system usually.
00:45:42
2SM Performance
Yeah, is it going to be something like that?
00:45:43
jamie peacock
Yeah, so I'm gonna, no, I'm just gonna basically build a little cylinder with an accumulator tank and a spring, but all in one little billet so that I can pre-charge the accumulator and as you push the, you you can effectively just compress the air.
00:45:58
jamie peacock
um
00:45:58
2SM Performance
Oh, you're gonna machine the little air bladder cavity into one block in the same assembly?
00:46:03
jamie peacock
Yeah, in the same assembly, so it's ultra compact.
00:46:04
2SM Performance
Okay. Okay.
00:46:06
jamie peacock
Yeah, now the the pneumatic, pneumatic of hydraulic systems are really sweet for the for the ATCs.
00:46:06
2SM Performance
Very cool.
00:46:13
jamie peacock
Ma slovier uses a three to one lever on a 80 millimeter cylinder and the LK as far as I know is a mechanical draw ball. So the Z actually drives up, yeah it drives up and pushes a lever and that's what triggers the draw ball on the LK.
00:46:23
2SM Performance
Drawbar, yeah.
00:46:30
2SM Performance
Yeah, but you you know what I'm talking about. Like when people that take the bench mill that has like an R8 and they put the the the air cylinder with a little lever that goes down and put pushes down on the drawbar, you can just stick tooling in and out of the spindle, like a little contraption like that.
00:46:32
jamie peacock
Yeah, yeah.
00:46:36
jamie peacock
Yes, i then they have the multi-stage cylinders. Yeah.
00:46:48
jamie peacock
yeah ah Yeah, I've had two different versions. I had one, I actually made it a double acting cylinder. i took a a 50 millimeter festo cylinder, cut it in half, made an intermediary and made a double acting cylinder for the sloyo.
00:47:03
jamie peacock
But that used to act over a lever. So I had a lever bolted next to the spindle that would pivot and I'd push up and it would push my spindle, my drawbar down.
00:47:09
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:47:13
jamie peacock
And then I changed that for an 80 mil cylinder with a three to one ratio on that as well.
00:47:13
2SM Performance
Yes.
00:47:18
jamie peacock
Also I couldn't, when I designed the spindle head, I put the spindle too close to the motor.
00:47:19
2SM Performance
Very cool.
00:47:23
jamie peacock
I should have come further out. So I can't actually fit a normal cylinder for BT30 clamping and unclamping. There just isn't enough space.
00:47:33
2SM Performance
Totally get it.
00:47:34
jamie peacock
Yeah, like yeah stupid design decisions there.
00:47:37
2SM Performance
So is it your spindle motor or your z-axis drive? That's too close to your spindle Okay
00:47:43
jamie peacock
They're all super close. So the spindle motor and the Z-axis drive have like, half an inch of clearance, and then the cylinder to the spindle motor, also half an inch of clearance, but it sits like the center of the so of the cylinder probably sits an inch and a half in front of where the spindle is. So I had to make a lever to deal with that.
00:48:08
2SM Performance
Yeah, I've always wanted to make one of those for mine. I just never got around to it.
00:48:12
jamie peacock
Yeah, super, super useful.
00:48:13
2SM Performance
I just.
00:48:14
jamie peacock
The only issue with that is the straight chunk R8 stuff.
00:48:15
2SM Performance
Oh my gosh, yes.
00:48:18
jamie peacock
If it starts to pull out, it then pulls out. Like, as soon as it comes off that face contact, it just goes to shit really quickly.
00:48:27
2SM Performance
Oh yeah, oh yeah, TTS man.
00:48:28
jamie peacock
Like, yeah, TTS, even um Cliff from... thread express he runs product or used to run production on a stormbox and he was saying the TTS interface is really good because it's a dual contact so you got face contact and shaft contact it's really good until it as soon as it pulls off of that face it just it just fails because then it's not rigid anymore and it just starts pulling out further and further and I used to when
00:48:51
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:48:55
2SM Performance
Oh, yeah, it's happened to me.
00:48:57
jamie peacock
Yeah, when I used to run steel, I used to tart in the drawbar extra half a turn manually. So every time I put my steel tool in, on TTS I would tart in the spindle an extra quarter turn, run the six mil end mill, then I would loosen it, then take it out, put my other stuff back in, and the smaller tools I would run just with the pneumatic drawbar.
00:49:20
2SM Performance
Wow.
00:49:21
jamie peacock
Yeah, that's
Switching to BT30 Spindles
00:49:22
jamie peacock
one of the reasons I switched that over to BT30, so that I didn't have to deal with that.
00:49:22
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:49:28
2SM Performance
Yeah, I would love to switch my little mill to BT30. I don't even know how to do all that. I guess you would just have to replace the entire spindle assembly.
00:49:33
jamie peacock
Yeah, the whole spindle, no, you just do the core.
00:49:37
2SM Performance
Yeah. Yeah.
00:49:38
jamie peacock
So you'd have to make a drawing of your spindle core, and then you'd have to have someone who knows how to make it make it, because I learned that people who think they're good at things or not, they had to grind mine twice, because it had mad run out.
00:49:39
2SM Performance
It's the Mm-hmm.
00:49:53
jamie peacock
And then I ended up regrinding it myself in the bearings in the machine. And then it was okay.
00:49:58
2SM Performance
Oh yeah, we talked about this.
00:50:00
jamie peacock
Yeah, it wasn't great, but it was okay.
00:50:00
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:50:04
jamie peacock
But yeah, BT13.
00:50:04
2SM Performance
Hey, you're you're not NASA.
00:50:05
2SM Performance
You're not splitting hairs.
00:50:07
jamie peacock
Yeah, I know exactly. Like if I don't have to measure it, I don't. Like a lot of the work I do by design, I don't measure. Like if I can if i can throw a fourth out tolerance on something, generally speaking, I don't need to measure it.
00:50:21
jamie peacock
Like on the LK, we can hit that pretty consistently.
00:50:26
2SM Performance
Oh, for sure. Yeah, I didn't know that was a 2019 machine.
00:50:27
jamie peacock
Yeah, so.
00:50:30
2SM Performance
That's really nice.
00:50:31
jamie peacock
Yeah, it's pretty new, like as far as machines go.
00:50:33
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:50:35
jamie peacock
So in 2019, the guy who bought it ended up getting cancer and then selling it back to the agents. So unfortunately, ah it generally pays for itself.
00:50:41
2SM Performance
Have you had any issues making payments with that or just everything's been going smooth? It pays for itself.
00:50:51
jamie peacock
Our cash flow has been a bit short since November. um
00:50:55
2SM Performance
Yeah machine shop life
00:50:56
jamie peacock
we yeah we had ah yeah we had a We put a lot of time and effort into a into an order or planning for an order that never came through. The money got stolen because we live in Africa. And that put us on the back foot since November. I've actually got a phone a customer today and say, hey, where's my money? they There's $1,500-ish outstanding. And I'm like, can I have my money, please? They thought that paid a deposit on a job when they'd actually settled an invoice that they apparently hadn't captured or something. So I'm like, here's your statement, friends. Best you sort your shit out, I need my money. I was expecting that in at the end of December. And yeah, now we seven days into the new year. And I'm like, can I have my money, please? You're really ruining my cash flow here.
00:51:44
2SM Performance
Yeah, it's really key with month to month business costs and starting a machine shop.
00:51:48
jamie peacock
yeah like and those guys are the only guys that are on a 30 day account and they're about to lose that privilege because my tolerance yeah well they're gonna lose me as a 30 day account i'm their only vendor so i'll be like hey guys guess what you're now cash up front again well done you fucked up so
00:51:58
2SM Performance
Yeah, they they better pay up or they're going to lose you as a good vendor.
00:52:11
2SM Performance
Hmm. Have they done that to you before or is this like a new phenomenon?
00:52:14
jamie peacock
No, this is this is the third accounts lady I've had to deal with in the last year. So I think it's just an accounting issue and they'll get their stuff together. It's just, ah until they get their stuff together, it's a bit tedious.
00:52:29
2SM Performance
You know what man, the bigger the the company I've noticed, the more issues like that happen.
00:52:34
jamie peacock
Yeah. No, the more the more people you have to deal with. But it's getting to the point now where I'm going to CC the CEO in because i'm like I deal with the CEO on a personal basis.
00:52:37
2SM Performance
Yes.
00:52:43
jamie peacock
Like I do a bunch of stuff. I've got like five or six projects active with him. So I know he's not going to want he's not going to want me to get pissed off about this. So if I don't get a response by like 10 o'clock this morning, I'm just going to forward him the email I sent yesterday with all the statements attached to say, please can you deal with this? Because I'm getting over, I'm getting very, very over this now. And hopefully he'll just go and light a fire under the accounts people.
00:53:11
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:53:12
jamie peacock
Because it it looks to me like someone forgot to capture an invoice.
00:53:12
2SM Performance
oh
00:53:16
2SM Performance
and
00:53:17
jamie peacock
I don't know how, because they paid the exact amount for the previous invoice, and they think it's a deposit on the following invoice.
00:53:17
2SM Performance
yeah Yeah, convenient.
00:53:23
2SM Performance
in
00:53:25
jamie peacock
And I'm like, you guys don't do deposits anymore. What's going on? So hopefully yeah hopefully they sort their dumb shit out, because it's now affecting other jobs.
00:53:35
2SM Performance
Yeah, i've I've had that happen to me before where it was some kind of clerical error or there some mix up. And I had to break it down and explain it to him.
00:53:42
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:53:45
2SM Performance
I said, you know, the survival of my business as small as it is really depends on you guys paying me for my work that I did for you.
00:53:50
jamie peacock
is yeah no exactly yeah no 100 like yeah what they pay me every month is pocket change compared to their turnover so like just pay it please don't don't make this more difficult than it needs to be
00:53:56
2SM Performance
And you're like some massive company. I would really appreciate it if we can sort this out as soon as possible. And they eventually came through.
00:54:15
2SM Performance
Yeah, I don't know why they they do that.
00:54:16
jamie peacock
Cause they, they want to place, they want to place like, I think it's about a $5,000 order every month and going through the year. That's what they claiming. And they want to place that.
00:54:26
jamie peacock
I'm now thinking, Hey, I've got to put up for all that material. And if yours are going to stuff me around with payment, that's going to put me like in a really, really bad position.
00:54:36
2SM Performance
Yeah, you can make um a clause or like some kind of agreement with them to where on future orders they have to make a deposit on material before you.
00:54:37
jamie peacock
But yeah, hopefully.
00:54:47
jamie peacock
They used to, they used to do deposits, but ah the material cost on their job is so low that I can actually bankroll it. And I don't mind bankrolling it. Cause it means when their money comes in, there's none of it has to go out.
00:54:57
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:55:00
jamie peacock
It's all can just go straight into the business to cover running costs and things like that.
Financial Strategies for Business Sustainability
00:55:05
jamie peacock
So I kind of, yeah, no, no. I know guys who've gone out of business cause they, yeah.
00:55:05
2SM Performance
I'd be careful with that though.
00:55:10
2SM Performance
They can go as is exactly my next point was they can go out of business and then in the middle of an order and they can stick you with that job.
00:55:15
jamie peacock
Well, Yes. No, I've got a customer who, and his business went, he went out of business because he was doing a job.
00:55:27
jamie peacock
It was a recurring job. he They sent a PO, he did, sorry, doing maths again, about $50,000 worth of work for them.
00:55:37
jamie peacock
And then they they took they took delivery and they just didn't pay, and didn't pay, and and ended up for about four months not paying, and that put him out of business. But his business was also running with a hell of a lot of debt.
00:55:37
2SM Performance
Mm hmm.
00:55:49
jamie peacock
All their machines were financed. All their vehicles were financed. Whereas I'm running, I've got one machine that's financed and a generator that's financed. Like I try and keep my my costs as low as possible and my debt as low as possible.
00:56:03
2SM Performance
That's the best thing you can do as like a small machining operation. I know Curtis and Rebecca from middle spec always talk about that.
00:56:07
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:56:10
2SM Performance
And it's like the most true thing ever, even on all the forums and groups for machining.
00:56:12
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:56:16
2SM Performance
And I've talked to say say, man, you want to own as much of your stuff as possible. Leasing stuff and renting is like a killer for businesses, especially in this industry.
00:56:25
jamie peacock
Yeah, 100%. Yeah, it just it pushes your your overheads up like I keep getting asked when am I going to go into an industrial space?
00:56:28
2SM Performance
Yeah. So I was.
00:56:33
jamie peacock
I'm like never ever as it is with the way with the way i'll our rental agreements is worded, the business rents the garage from my mother-in-law.
00:56:35
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:56:44
jamie peacock
I live in the house for free. Like the the lease agreement is for the garage only, just so happens that I live in the house as well, but not the point.
00:56:47
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:56:53
jamie peacock
Like it's worded that I can claim that all from the business. And if I can't, if for some reason cash rows problematic, I go say, Hey, listen, mother-in-law, I'm paying you a little bit late this month. And she's like, okay, no worries. so She doesn't mind.
00:57:06
2SM Performance
Very, very cool.
00:57:07
jamie peacock
I try not to do that.
00:57:08
2SM Performance
That's smart.
00:57:10
jamie peacock
I think I also got a bit complacent last year. like For the first time in two years, for since probably May last year, I haven't really stressed about month end.
Hidden Costs in New Machinery
00:57:21
jamie peacock
It's been like, okay, there's enough money for everything that needs to be paid. And then I got a bit complacent towards November and that came back to bite me.
00:57:25
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:57:30
jamie peacock
Like we got ah we got a bit, yeah.
00:57:30
2SM Performance
Yeah, I did too.
00:57:32
jamie peacock
And that's something that we've learned from and we won't let happen again, but yeah, now it's a case of recovering from it.
00:57:36
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:57:39
2SM Performance
Yeah, I bought this new machine and I watched my check-in account go from a very large number to a very, very low number.
00:57:45
jamie peacock
It's a very small, yeah.
00:57:48
2SM Performance
and It was exciting and happy about the new machine, but it was extremely stressful and I was having second thoughts. They commented, I bite off more than I could chew here.
00:58:00
2SM Performance
Because then you know I had the cost of like the electrician wiring up both the machines to the base converter and and making the plugs in the walls and the rigging to move it.
00:58:00
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:58:08
jamie peacock
Yeah, all the all the stuff you forget about, yeah.
00:58:09
2SM Performance
and All these other costs I didn't think of. Yes.
00:58:13
jamie peacock
Those add up very, very quickly and people don't think about them.
00:58:14
2SM Performance
And oh my gosh.
00:58:17
jamie peacock
Like I got lucky.
00:58:17
2SM Performance
You think I would remember them from the first machine, but I didn't.
00:58:19
jamie peacock
Yeah, I got lucky when when my machine was put in, they put the rigging into the cost of the of the machine. So I paid them and the machine just pitched up.
00:58:28
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:58:29
jamie peacock
It was really nice. But then I had to buy the phase converter. That was, that was I think nearly $2,000.
00:58:32
2SM Performance
Yeah.
00:58:36
2SM Performance
Yeah, mine one was about two grand, yeah.
00:58:37
jamie peacock
Yeah, I bought it from the same clowns who screwed me over. I bought it from them because that way I could get the warranty for it. um And then, yeah, I had to wire that in and yeah all those little things just add up.
00:58:44
2SM Performance
Oh, part
00:58:48
jamie peacock
I had to redo my garage doors. That was like, I think, that oh, that wasn't that bad. That was about $600. to have the doors fabricated.
00:58:55
2SM Performance
oh that's nothing.
00:58:57
jamie peacock
Yeah. No, but I also...
00:58:58
2SM Performance
Hey, that's a good thing about Africa.
00:58:58
jamie peacock
sorry Well, no, I called in some serious favors there. Like my mates got a fab shop. So I was like, listen, I need these doors.
00:59:06
2SM Performance
Oh cool.
00:59:07
jamie peacock
And he did them for me at cost. Like he did them for me at what it cost him and paying his his guy who does the welding. So I've got a really, really good mill there.
00:59:15
2SM Performance
Very cool.
00:59:16
jamie peacock
But that like we've got our we've got a WhatsApp group. It's five guys in a garage. And that's we've got an architect, two industrial designers, a guy who does fabrication, and myself.
00:59:28
jamie peacock
So we all, like if any of us get a job, that is not in our wheelhouse. So I need to go drop off a job tomorrow. um It was a sheet metal job. I had the laser cutting done, gave it to my mates, he did all the bending, and then it goes to powder coat, whatever the profits end up being, we split 50-50.
00:59:46
jamie peacock
And that's the arrangement we all have on the group. if If I can get the work, but it's in your wheelhouse, we do the job, you bill me for the job, and then whatever the profit is, we split.
00:59:56
2SM Performance
Man, I love that.
00:59:57
jamie peacock
Yeah.
00:59:58
2SM Performance
That's like a metal fabrication community of friends that help each other out.
01:00:00
jamie peacock
That's it.
01:00:01
2SM Performance
It's like a little ecosystem.
01:00:01
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:00:03
jamie peacock
So we all, yeah, we all point to each other, like all of us, except for the architect, we all work for ourselves. The architect works for his mom as an architect and then he's got a ah big CO2 laser.
01:00:03
2SM Performance
and That is so cool.
01:00:14
jamie peacock
So if we need any big laser work, we just go to him.
01:00:18
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:00:19
jamie peacock
Yeah, like it's everyone, it's, ah yeah, we all look out for each other and it yeah benefits everybody. It's also quite a cool group to just hang out with.
01:00:30
2SM Performance
Yeah, I'm sure you guys shoot the shit and have a lot of inside jokes and are fun to talk to.
01:00:31
jamie peacock
you Yeah. not hundred percent like I'll go visit them and we'll go talk shit for an hour while they're working. like if i need If I need a weld, I had a or have a TIG welder, they've got my bottle of gas because I'm not a welding shop.
01:00:45
jamie peacock
Now it's nice to have a TIG welder, but for the four times a year that I need to TIG weld something, I get in my and my vehicle and I just drive to my mates shop and go and weld it there.
01:00:46
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:00:55
jamie peacock
because no it's not, the thing is it's not it's not what my core business is.
01:00:55
2SM Performance
Very cool.
01:00:56
2SM Performance
I wish I had a tag welder.
01:01:01
jamie peacock
Like I had a plasma cutter. I sold that when I got Bertha because I'm not a fabrication shop. It was super nice to have and you could do odds and ends, but I'm not a fabrication shop. If I need something fabricated, I'll phone my fabricator and have him do it.
01:01:18
2SM Performance
Yeah, they have the but press break and the the bar tubing benders and all that stuff.
01:01:18
jamie peacock
yaing
01:01:22
jamie peacock
That's it.
01:01:25
jamie peacock
They've got all the stuff for it and they're better at it than I am. Like when I do it, it's um possible. Let's put it that way. Like I had the i had the plasma cutter. I said thee ah did the electrical enclosure on um on the slow EO, the rear electrical enclosure. I did that on my plasma cutter.
01:01:47
jamie peacock
And then I sold it when i before I did Bertha. And Bertha, I ended up just cutting leftover sheet metal with an angle grinder and TIG welding it together to make the the console. like you can You can do some really good stuff just with basic tools and sheet metal.
01:02:02
2SM Performance
Yeah, Dremel with the cutoff wheel and an angle grinder and.
01:02:05
jamie peacock
100%. The thing is, with with sheet metal, if you make a stuff up, you just weld it up and try again.
01:02:11
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:02:12
jamie peacock
Sheet metal, you can make something look reasonably good, pretty easy.
01:02:15
2SM Performance
Powder coat can hide a lot.
01:02:17
jamie peacock
yes it can yeah grinder and paint make me the welder i ain't not yeah no that's that is a very true statement when it comes to me like i welded the rack that's outside that holds my chip in and it's like i've got my welder there i stick weld if i need to like if i need to tack something together i'll just quickly whack it together but it's very much not part of my everyday equipment
01:02:18
2SM Performance
A grinder and some powder coat does wonders.
01:02:23
2SM Performance
Yeah, well, i I've never heard that one. That's the first. but Yeah, that's that's a good one.
01:02:45
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:02:46
jamie peacock
Like as it is, I'm trying to get rid of stuff out of the garage because I've got a bunch of stuff on shelves that doesn't need to be there. I actually want to start putting finished products on the shelf like when I make extra stock.
01:02:55
2SM Performance
Yeah, man, you have no. I mean, I have ADHD. I'm pretty bad with my surfaces, but yours is like serious.
01:03:04
jamie peacock
Well, we were, ah my wife was helping me tap one of those plates yesterday. And I'm like, this is the only open surface that's not gonna stuff this part up. I've got a granite plate next to the slo-yo behind the door.
01:03:17
jamie peacock
Like that's the metrology section. And that was the only place.
01:03:20
2SM Performance
Just knock some stuff off the tabletop and make a spot.
01:03:23
jamie peacock
Yeah. Now I need to, so I had the table, I had the table next to the, next to the LK, like in that walkway.
01:03:25
2SM Performance
Just sweep it off with your arm.
01:03:32
jamie peacock
I had that clean and then I built that wire cutter and now the table's ruined again.
01:03:38
jamie peacock
Like I went through and cleaned it and then built the wire cutter and ruined it. So I need to go through and just clean it again, but it's also a case of I don't like cleaning. So I will find other things to do.
Building Long-Term Customer Relationships
01:03:50
2SM Performance
So the the wire cutter thing is this kind of this new little side hustle for your business where you're making little machine tools for specific operations.
01:03:50
jamie peacock
Like I,
01:03:54
jamie peacock
Yeah, the little wire.
01:03:58
jamie peacock
Oh, no, no, this is just a wire. It's the wire, it's the wire chopper for my, it's for one of my customers.
01:04:03
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:04:04
jamie peacock
yeah No, no, it's just like a favor job. So when I went to IMTS, I went to visit my customer before I went, he's like, no, no, he's got some dollars. Here, just take like, oh, fuck, I think it was.
01:04:16
jamie peacock
trying to think now I think it was about $500 cash. He's like yeah take this that way you don't have to draw money when you're there we'll sort it out when you get back. So this is a bit of a favor job just to settle up that.
01:04:27
2SM Performance
Oh, wow.
01:04:28
jamie peacock
Yeah so now like I've got a very good relationship with that customer like he pays for stuff I think I've got a project going on two years with him now that he paid me for in full and I just haven't got around to sorting out
01:04:28
2SM Performance
OK.
01:04:38
2SM Performance
You know, he's a cool customer.
01:04:40
jamie peacock
And it's on um it's in my hand right now. And he knows if he needs it urgently, he asks and it gets done urgently. But it's not super urgent. So it's a case of when I get time or when I get motivation to do it.
01:04:54
2SM Performance
We're like that.
01:04:54
jamie peacock
The problem is like, ah yeah, it's paid for in full. So there's no real motivation to finish it.
01:05:01
2SM Performance
I know the feeling I have a few right now like that that I have to do eventually.
01:05:02
jamie peacock
Yeah, but. Yeah, what I find, what I find is put it on a list and I like ticking things off a list. So if it's on the list and I can tick it off, then I'll actually do it.
01:05:14
jamie peacock
Cause then I can say, okay, it's done. I don't have to worry about this anymore.
01:05:18
2SM Performance
Yeah, it's very satisfying doing that, right?
01:05:19
jamie peacock
Yeah. So we, we just.
01:05:20
2SM Performance
I got white boards all over my office with lists on them and check boxes.
01:05:25
jamie peacock
Yeah. So we just set up Trello now.
01:05:26
2SM Performance
I love putting that little check in there. Yeah.
01:05:29
jamie peacock
So we set up Trello on a PC. ah You probably saw the PC that I've got on top of Bertha. for doing MA just managing what needs to be done. And that's got trailer.
01:05:38
2SM Performance
Yeah, I meaning to ask you about that.
01:05:40
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:05:41
2SM Performance
You also have a module on the outside of your LK.
01:05:42
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:05:46
2SM Performance
I think it is in it. It's tracking your spindle uptime and your coolant level and all that.
01:05:48
jamie peacock
Yes. So that, okay, so.
01:05:51
2SM Performance
I wanted to know more about that.
01:05:53
jamie peacock
Yeah, okay, we can dive into that quickly. So I run Home Assistant, so I've got a Raspberry Power 5 running Home Assistant that does my cameras around the house, ah does a couple odds and ends in the house, runs an ad blocker and my Plex server and stuff. And then I've got an ESP32 on the LK.
01:06:13
jamie peacock
with an optocouple module. so when the lk ah So basically it takes a 24 volt signal and drops it down to 3.3 volts for the ESP.
01:06:16
2SM Performance
What's that?
01:06:25
jamie peacock
So it's effectively it's ah it's effectively a light shining at a light sensor, so it's electrically isolated from the from the ESP.
01:06:25
2SM Performance
What's an ESP?
01:06:34
jamie peacock
So I've got ah two channel one on the LK at the moment. so That looks, when you turn the LK on, I'd literally just piggybacked off the 24 volt power. So as soon as it turns on, I get a signal to say the power is on on the LK. And then I found the relay that switches the green light on in the back of the panel. And I piggybacked on that. So when the green light's on, it tells the l the ESP that the LK is running.
01:06:58
jamie peacock
And then we did a bit of math, yeah, bit of maths and home assistance.
01:06:58
2SM Performance
oh okay
01:07:02
jamie peacock
And that calculates, so it uses a historical stats and logs ah the how long the on state is for each of those. And then subtracts the one or divides the one by the other.
01:07:13
jamie peacock
And that gives me a percentage of ah spindle uptime. So yesterday was really bad. It was like 52% because I was doing all those big rings where I was having to make fixture, then program, then adjust and indicate and all that.
01:07:26
2SM Performance
you're You're constantly setting up and putting tools in and out and stopping it.
01:07:28
jamie peacock
Yeah. so Yeah, that doesn't count as runtime.
01:07:31
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:07:34
2SM Performance
No.
01:07:34
jamie peacock
But once stuck it was at, I think it was down to like 20% when I started that mold yesterday.
01:07:38
2SM Performance
I bet that mold made up for it though, huh?
01:07:40
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:07:40
2SM Performance
Yeah, the mold.
Innovations in Coolant Level Measurement
01:07:43
jamie peacock
Because as, as Grimsmo says, what is measured is managed. So that's why that's why I put it in there. But then that also, um I've got a coolant sensor that I need to sort out.
01:07:54
jamie peacock
It's a ultrasonic sensor that looks at my coolant level. I need to change sensors because the sensor I've got, it's a core reverse sensor, ultrasonic sensor, but it's got a very wide beam right at the sensor.
01:08:07
jamie peacock
So it's actually hitting the housing that I made for it. So I've got a different one I wanna.
01:08:11
2SM Performance
You need to narrow the beam.
01:08:13
jamie peacock
I've got it, yeah, I've got a different one that beat up to like a centimeter from it, so an inch from it.
01:08:14
2SM Performance
OK.
01:08:18
jamie peacock
So I'm gonna put that right low at the coolant tank and hopefully that will resolve the issue. And then I've got four relays on that little ESP as well.
01:08:29
jamie peacock
One controls the, my lots that I added on the machine. And then two of them handles shutting down the phase converter and the fuck you asking box. So the the one disconnects the machine from the phase converter, and the other one shut is the phase converter.
01:08:45
jamie peacock
So what I've got now is an automation setup. I say auto power down. On my machine, it's got an auto power off button. I hit that. When it hits the M30, it turns the machine.
01:08:55
jamie peacock
It physically disconnects the disconnect at the back. It's really cool. Turns the machine off. Home assistant sees that the machine is switching off.
01:09:01
2SM Performance
It's like a breaker.
01:09:03
jamie peacock
Yeah, it actually does the big tourney switch.
01:09:03
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:09:05
jamie peacock
It turns that off. automatically.
01:09:07
2SM Performance
Wow.
01:09:08
jamie peacock
So the home assistant sees that the machine is switched off. It then waits I think 10 seconds or so and then it switches off the disconnect box and then switches off the phase converter. So I can go to bed and have my machine turn off entirely.
Workshop Automation and Sequencing
01:09:23
2SM Performance
Oh my gosh, dude, you're going to have to make it how to for us garage guys.
01:09:24
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:09:27
jamie peacock
So I'm also, I kind of went a bit overboard. I put four relay modules in for the ah the lights in my workshop. I haven't got into the roof and rewired all my lights and then my clock. So I'll go on my phone. I say Iron Man mode and it will turn on my lights in sequence across the workshop in like four banks. It goes on and then turns the LK's lights on and the clock on as well. Now I kind of got carried away.
01:09:57
2SM Performance
well That's like a...
01:09:58
jamie peacock
Yeah, I still wanna add, so there's one more project I still need to do and that's adding automation to my compressors. So I've got a ah pressure sensor and I wanna put the compressor that it turns on at like six and a half bar and turns off at seven and a half bar.
01:10:15
jamie peacock
So it doesn't actually trigger the built-in switch. So it runs just before that built-in switch kicks in and turns on way sooner so that my air pressure is more constant.
01:10:24
2SM Performance
pressure switch.
01:10:25
jamie peacock
Yeah, so I'm gonna, I'll basically add a secondary one.
01:10:26
2SM Performance
OK, more consistent, yeah.
01:10:29
jamie peacock
If it fails, the built-in one will then work.
01:10:33
jamie peacock
Just as a as a ah redundant, like even the the auto switch off. I've got two toggle switches. If they are not in the right position, the home assistant can do what it wants. It's not turning my phase converter off.
01:10:33
2SM Performance
Very cool.
01:10:45
2SM Performance
OK.
01:10:46
jamie peacock
So if if I say auto power down, I then go toggle those switches to enable it. They just bypass the relays effectively.
01:10:54
2SM Performance
It's kind of like those automated houses where you can, you know, uh, you can say something and turn the lights on and the lights turn on and it'd say 70 degrees and the AC turns on.
01:11:02
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:11:06
2SM Performance
It's kind of like that.
01:11:06
jamie peacock
So yeah, that's exactly it. My neighbor's got a smart speaker. I just can't bring myself to spend, I think it's like $50 for a smart speaker. And I'm like, nope, not happening. Cause I'd like to work and walk into the workshop in the morning, clap my eyes and say, daddy's home.
01:11:16
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:11:19
jamie peacock
And it just turns on, but I just can't bring myself to spend that money on on an automated speaker.
01:11:21
2SM Performance
Yeah. Oh wow.
01:11:25
jamie peacock
But yeah, ah can it can be done.
01:11:26
2SM Performance
50 bucks.
01:11:27
jamie peacock
His is set up like, you sit in his lounge and say, ah turn on the lights and the light will turn on. Like he's got it all.
01:11:34
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:11:35
jamie peacock
He's the one who actually got me into home assistance.
01:11:39
2SM Performance
Very cool.
01:11:40
jamie peacock
Yeah, so he helped me out.
01:11:40
2SM Performance
So are you documenting this process? Like are are you blogging or anything or or like writing it down? Like how you're. doing this like automating your your spindle time counter and you kind of do it for fun as you go.
01:11:48
jamie peacock
Not really. No.
01:11:55
jamie peacock
I do it for fun as I go and my home assistant makes a backup every like two days or so just in case it decides to fail.
01:12:02
jamie peacock
um So yeah it's backed up there, but yeah i'll probably I'll probably dive a bit deeper into it. I was thinking of doing a project, because you can also run ESPHome just on the ESP board. You don't need the rest of the infrastructure. And then you can just connect to ESPHome via your phone and see the stats. You don't have to have all the other paraphernalia. So I'm going to chat to my neighbor about how to set that up.
01:12:02
2SM Performance
Mm hmm.
01:12:29
2SM Performance
Very cool.
01:12:30
jamie peacock
Yeah, either that or because you can also put a screen on the ESP and then you can have it display your current uptime. Because to to tie it into the machine is relatively simple. It's go find the relay that's switching your your pedestal light on and go just find 24 volts somewhere. And then that'll that'll tell the the ESP that the machine is on and that the machine is running. And then to calculate that out, it's relatively simple.
01:12:56
2SM Performance
Very cool. So you're kind of like splicing it.
01:12:57
jamie peacock
Yeah. and ah Yeah, I literally just pushed the, or I unscrewed it, pushed another wire in by the lock connection and screwed it closed again.
01:13:01
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:13:08
jamie peacock
And it shares a ground, so it was yeah quite straightforward.
01:13:13
jamie peacock
I've also got it now.
01:13:13
2SM Performance
Very cool.
01:13:14
jamie peacock
I've got an automation setup called Notify Me. So I go into Home Assistant to my LK Systems page and I say
Machine Monitoring and Maintenance Automation
01:13:21
jamie peacock
Notify Me. And then once the LK stops for 15 seconds, it'll send me a notification to say that the machine has stopped.
01:13:28
jamie peacock
because the yeah the the green light turns off when it does a tool change.
01:13:28
2SM Performance
That is so cool.
01:13:34
jamie peacock
So I need it to be a bit like significantly longer than a tool change would be.
01:13:38
2SM Performance
Oh.
01:13:38
jamie peacock
And then this yeah and this way also if I'm doing tool break detection, it'll tell me if a tool breaks because the light turns off when it pauses at my tool break detect. So then it'll pause and stay.
01:13:48
2SM Performance
So maybe you you need to find a different relay than just the light.
01:13:53
jamie peacock
So I was thinking of tying into the orange one, the orange light, which flashes if there's an alarm. ah But yeah, that entails extra effort. And I've only got a two ah ah twoch channel opto board in there right now.
01:14:08
jamie peacock
So I was thinking, I wanna build a ah monitoring setup with eight channels that you can that I can tie into the EMCO and I can tie it into Bertha. And then I can monitor all my machines and the uptime because I'll be very curious to see what the uptime is on the EMCO. Because that thing generally turns on, gets warmed up and then runs production nonstop.
01:14:32
jamie peacock
for the day like there's maybe yeah maybe a few minutes of downtown between bars like if i don't look to see that the bar is finished because it's a lot unfortunately is around the corner of the lk so where i generally am in the workshop i can't just look and see the light i've got to like put my head around a corner which is a bit a bit annoying i'm probably going to extend that light at some point and put it up in the middle of the workshop
01:14:34
2SM Performance
I love that thing.
01:14:52
2SM Performance
Yeah. yeah
01:14:59
2SM Performance
Yeah, I have that problem now with my old mill. and I can't see the light because the spindle when it's up is blocking it.
01:15:06
jamie peacock
Ah, yeah.
01:15:07
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:15:08
jamie peacock
But you should be able to hear when that thing's not running.
01:15:11
2SM Performance
Oh, no. Yeah. Yeah, my old machines. It spindles quite a bit louder.
01:15:15
jamie peacock
Yeah, my spindle, I was chatting to the guys yesterday, I was saying, no, I did a steel job in July and I did, I removed 300 pounds of steel in four days on a 30 taper machine.
01:15:16
2SM Performance
I don't know why. it's
01:15:28
jamie peacock
My spindle is noticeably louder since that job.
01:15:32
2SM Performance
Ooh, are they okay?
01:15:34
jamie peacock
yeah Yeah, I'm trying to get a exploded diagram of the spindle of the whole head assembly because I think it's just the coupling that's noisy because it's a direct coupling to the spindle and I would like to know where it is so I can see it and assess the quality of it. But yeah, I haven't i haven't actually climbed into the head of that machine yet. so
01:15:56
2SM Performance
the coupling from where the spindle motor interfaces with the actual spindle and links together and drives it.
01:15:57
jamie peacock
but
01:16:01
jamie peacock
Yeah, because it's, it's all alright yeah, I think that has taken a bit of a beating.
01:16:03
2SM Performance
Okay.
01:16:06
jamie peacock
So I would like to open it and have a look.
01:16:07
2SM Performance
Okay.
01:16:08
jamie peacock
I just haven't got around it. I actually need to, I've got a few things to run on the machine that I want to shut down and just do some maintenance, pull the way covers back, check how the high under the way covers looks, just give everything a once over.
01:16:21
jamie peacock
It'll take like an hour, hour or two. And then I know the machine is good for the next year.
01:16:27
2SM Performance
Very good. Yeah, you gotta have that annual maintenance schedule.
01:16:28
jamie peacock
Yeah. Yeah, well, I had all the way covers off a while ago when I had that oil line break, the aftermarket oil line that the previous owner put in.
01:16:39
jamie peacock
um So that snapped and then I had all the covers back and I rerouted the oil line correctly this time. So that was six months ago.
01:16:45
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:16:48
jamie peacock
So it hasn't been that long, but I need to just do preventive maintenance. I need to open up the tool, take the tool changer cover off again, clean all of that out and just give everything a good once over.
01:16:59
jamie peacock
Probably pull all my tools out as well and just check just clean the clean all their tapers clean the spindle taper and just make sure everything's all good like i I did clean the spindle taper and Retouched off all my tools for the mold so that everything was exactly the same z-plane But I need to give everything a Yeah, like the LK has been really good with that and the only time I've had issues is running plastics actually
01:17:05
2SM Performance
Yeah. No boogers in there.
01:17:17
2SM Performance
Yeah. Yeah. You don't get a chip on your taper of your tool holder and you get gouging and stuff.
01:17:29
jamie peacock
where the chips are light enough that they stick to the taper.
01:17:30
2SM Performance
Really?
01:17:33
jamie peacock
If coolant gets on the tape because they they're kind of exposed, if you get splashing coolant and then a ah piece of acrylic or POM gets stuck up there, then it can actually, like I ruined the ah ruined the size on an acrylic job because I ran it, measured it a little bit on the side, just called the tool back and opened it and took off like four thou and it turns out it was bigger by like 40 thou because there was a chip on the taper yeah i didn't tell the guys and they didn't notice yeah yeah it's pretty good
01:18:01
2SM Performance
That's it. Oh, okay. Yeah, those drill tap style tool changers, yeah all of your tooling is pretty exposed. It's not like an umbrella or an arm style where everything is hidden and and covered.
01:18:17
jamie peacock
Yeah, it's pretty good. There's also an air blast when the when the taper comes down over the over the tool holder.
01:18:22
2SM Performance
Oh, yeah, the purge. Yeah.
01:18:24
jamie peacock
Yeah, there's a purge, but it you not thorough enough in my opinion. I like the way that the brothers do it.
01:18:29
2SM Performance
Can you turn up that valve?
01:18:32
jamie peacock
I must have a look. It might actually be running at a bit low pressure. I must go and have a look in the back.
01:18:37
2SM Performance
Yeah, you should open up that valve for that air purge and you might get a little bit more pressure on that blast. It will help getting that stuff off your paper when you do a tool change.
01:18:42
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:18:46
jamie peacock
because I'm planning on using, so I don't have, or I'm not sure, I think I have through spindle air on the machine. I don't have any way to turn it on manually, but I know where the solenoid is and I know where the air line is.
01:19:01
jamie peacock
So what I'm thinking, I've got a, ah you've obviously seen the gimbal automation stuff.
01:19:07
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, of course.
01:19:08
jamie peacock
Yeah, I've got one of those grippers, just the, the, um the actual gripping cylinder.
01:19:15
2SM Performance
It's like a tool holder. Yeah, okay.
01:19:17
jamie peacock
I need to make the adapter for my tool holder and by through spindle coolants pull stud and then I should be able to trigger it by running my air purge.
01:19:20
2SM Performance
Okay.
01:19:27
2SM Performance
It's the full stem with the hole in it.
01:19:29
jamie peacock
Yeah, because I have some some dumb ideas kicking around in my brain of auto part loading using a effectively another CNC machine inside my LK.
01:19:30
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:19:42
2SM Performance
Okay. Is that kind of like the new five axis gimbal setup that they're doing similar?
01:19:43
jamie peacock
So yeah,
01:19:47
jamie peacock
ah Some something similar to that. So a material rack, but he's obviously using the main the main kinematics of the machine I can't go to the side with my spindle.
01:19:49
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:19:54
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:19:55
jamie peacock
So I was gonna make a Effectively a little gantry that can grab kind of like the like the Kerns tool changer Something to that effect that can go grab material bottom Have you not seen the Kern?
01:20:03
2SM Performance
Oh, I've never seen the curtains. Okay.
01:20:10
2SM Performance
Oh, I've seen the Kerns.
01:20:12
jamie peacock
Okay, yeah, so something
01:20:12
2SM Performance
Yeah, but i i they have different models and different tool changers.
01:20:17
jamie peacock
Yeah, theyre they the one that Grimsmo's got.
01:20:17
2SM Performance
I don't know.
01:20:20
jamie peacock
So building something like that, that sits inside the LK's enclosure, because there's lots of spare space, grabs my parts, or go grabs a blank off the rack, goes down to a load position, the table comes over, we drop it on there, then the table goes to the spindle, the spindle picks up the material and puts it in the vase.
01:20:38
jamie peacock
The problem there is a lot of the stuff I run is not high enough quantity to justify the the time investments or the money investments in automating the processes.
01:20:46
2SM Performance
It's a massive effort to do that, yeah.
01:20:49
jamie peacock
Yeah, because it is a massive effort to do that.
01:20:52
2SM Performance
Oh my gosh, yeah.
01:20:56
jamie peacock
Yeah, so we'll see our marks if they they pick up their production numbers for next year, I might look at doing something like that with the sensor housings that I make, because I'm gonna need to run 250 to 500 of them a month.
01:21:10
jamie peacock
In that case, it justifies the time and effort to get it automated. If I can let it run, yeah, if I can let it run for two hours or three hours unattended, then that's great.
01:21:14
2SM Performance
Totally worth it.
01:21:21
jamie peacock
I mean, I can run it in the evenings. but then I need to add a spindle probe and like it just, it it gets complicated very quickly because you can't assume things are where they supposed to be. You would then want to position it, come with the spindle probe, verify it's there and then carry on. So I'd have to then add a spindle probe. So like the the costs just start to balloon very quickly.
01:21:44
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, you got to check and make sure your blank is there before you send the g gripper over to grab it and then it has the
01:21:49
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:21:52
2SM Performance
There's a lot of checks with the probe. Make sure it knows where everything is before it moves and yeah.
01:21:57
jamie peacock
Yeah, there's a lot that, that automation, reliable automation is there's a lot that goes into it. Unreliable automation is easy. Where you tell it to do something and you hope for the best.
01:22:08
jamie peacock
Like that's pretty easy to achieve.
01:22:08
2SM Performance
Yeah. Who needs tool break check?
01:22:10
jamie peacock
Yeah, exactly.
01:22:11
2SM Performance
but Yeah.
01:22:11
jamie peacock
Well, I was running tool break check this week. I frigging love it. On those, on the mold.
01:22:15
2SM Performance
how's How's that going for you? Yeah.
01:22:17
jamie peacock
It works. The only problem I've got with it is the, So basically, I piggybacked on the cycle start button. So what I do is I tell it to go ah fourth out below where the tool brake detector is or the tool length offset is.
01:22:32
jamie peacock
So it'll always trigger.
01:22:33
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:22:34
jamie peacock
And it then pauses and waits for the start button to be pushed before continuing. But somewhere in that mix, my start button is picking up electrical noise.
01:22:44
jamie peacock
So I'll put it on tool break detect, I'll be loading a part and the cycle will start, which is a little bit dangerous.
Overcoming CNC Automation Challenges
01:22:52
jamie peacock
um So I've added to my code to ch turn on and off the chip conveyor, and I need to just bar 24 volt relay and put that in line. So basically when I do the tool break detect, before I probe for the for the actual tool setter, I turn on my chip conveyor, which will then enable the start button to be pressed. So just another layer of redundancy.
01:23:17
jamie peacock
or of disconnect and that'll help with the electrical noise because then I can disconnect right at the start switch.
01:23:17
2SM Performance
OK, that will help with the noise. OK.
01:23:25
jamie peacock
So I'll disconnect right there that there's less chance of electrical interference causing an erroneous start being pushed.
01:23:32
2SM Performance
OK.
01:23:33
jamie peacock
because i was I was actually loading my chuck, my lathe chuck onto the mill yesterday, and I'd been running the night before with tool break detect, had it still enabled, and was busy loading the chuck, and next thing the machine just took off to do the warmup cycle because that it got an erroneous start signal, which is just a little bit dangerous.
01:23:54
2SM Performance
Oh, that's scary.
01:23:56
jamie peacock
Yeah, it was terrifying.
01:23:57
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:23:57
jamie peacock
It was at 100% rapid. So it did that move at 48 meters a minute. or 1,900 inches a minute.
01:24:05
2SM Performance
That won't wake you up in the morning, for sure.
01:24:08
jamie peacock
I was very, very awake after that.
01:24:11
2SM Performance
As soon as that happened, he said, wow, I'm very awake now.
01:24:14
jamie peacock
Yeah, so I need to, I think I think i have a 24 volt relay kicking around, otherwise I need to just get one on order and then I'm gonna tie that into the into the machine in the near, very near future that I've got that safe disconnect enabled.
01:24:29
jamie peacock
but It's basically, yeah, it just, it disables my shenanigans that I've got going on, just to make the machine a little bit safer. But yeah, I was planning on running ah running a Linux CNC machine inside the side of my machine to do port loading.
01:24:38
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:24:46
jamie peacock
But yeah, it's a whole, a whole thing to make it work.
01:24:54
jamie peacock
Yeah, like Linux CNCs, yeah, it's easy. I love it. It's like, I'm good at setting it up. I think I'm well into the double digits on retrofits I've done, so I can really fay with it and the macro programming on it as well.
01:24:54
2SM Performance
i hear it
01:25:08
jamie peacock
So like the the example now for loading but those bars, I would just put them on a rack, go grab one, put it in the load position and let it put it in the machine. And writing that macro is not particularly complicated. Once you know where all the rack positions are, it's, okay, cool, it's run part one, it's now running part two, go pick up from part two. Once it's done with that, it's just, it's a bit of basic basic logic.
01:25:35
2SM Performance
Yeah, I bought a fanic macros book that I've been reading and it's really in-depth and and very interesting. It's kind of hard to read, but it's like, if this, then this, you know.
01:25:43
jamie peacock
ah Yeah.
01:25:47
jamie peacock
Yeah. No, it's like macro-programmings where it's at, I know Kurt's got in from Confound has got into the Siemens macro-programming and I need to have a chat with them because most of the work I do on the Siemens controller, I don't really need macro-programming, but if I'm going to start loading parts automatically, I'm going to need to get a little bit into it.
01:26:08
2SM Performance
Yay, screw Linux!
01:26:09
jamie peacock
like i've written I've written some subroutines like up till now. So I've got tool break detect and ah tool tool measurement position. So on the Siemens controller you literally just type in whatever the name of your subprogram is. So TMP is ah ah sorry, TMP, Tool Measurement Position. You type in TMP in MDR, hit cycle start, and the machine goes to above the toolsetter. If you type TBD, Tool Brake Detect, it will go there, do the Tool Brake Detect cycle, ah complete automatically.
01:26:46
2SM Performance
And that's the 4000 slower on top of the toolsetter and it beeps and it goes back up.
01:26:50
jamie peacock
yeah that's it and if you don't have the toggle switch set then it doesn't go back up it stays there but it works surprisingly well i actually haven't had a trigger since i've had it i haven't broken a tool because that's just how it goes but in practice if the
01:26:51
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:27:04
2SM Performance
You need to knock on wood right now.
01:27:05
jamie peacock
Yeah, like, yeah, there we go, knock on knock on cheap wood. ah But yeah, in practice it seems to work. um The reason I put it in is I was running a job and I was pausing after every every one of the small tools to make sure that the tool was still there.
01:27:21
jamie peacock
And then the job came around again and I'm like, no, time to integrate this thing because I can't be walking to the machine every minute to check that the tool is still there. Because I was running,
01:27:31
2SM Performance
Yeah, it's a time killer.
01:27:33
jamie peacock
Yeah, the the cycle time was an hour and a half. I was running 20 parts at a time. So allow me slicing them off, and then I'd have to walk up and check and check. So I've added a bit of automation to it. Like I even added an old enamel upside down that would do a contour pass just to knock the parts off in case they were still attached.
01:27:54
2SM Performance
Oh, that's a good redundancy right there.
01:27:56
jamie peacock
Yeah, so spin it backwards or spin it slowly, come like probably 20 thou above where the slitting saw ran and just run it slowly across.
01:27:56
2SM Performance
that's a good track very cool instead of the the Linux CNC on your new advanced tool changer Gantry style contraption I think you should be running Mach 3 man
01:28:06
jamie peacock
If the part's there, it's gonna knock it loose.
01:28:10
jamie peacock
Didn't need that either, but rather have it or not need it than need it or not have it.
01:28:24
jamie peacock
No, yeah. I haven't run Mach 3 in years for a good reason. I hate that software.
01:28:29
2SM Performance
ah
01:28:30
jamie peacock
Other than it the fact that it looks like it's from the 90s, I hate that software.
01:28:31
2SM Performance
ah
01:28:35
jamie peacock
It is horrid and unreliable.
01:28:38
2SM Performance
yeah
01:28:38
jamie peacock
I think the last time I ran that was probably in like 2014 on a machine that I put together at home before I went over to running an Arduino with GRBL.
01:28:39
2SM Performance
It's a joke man, calm down.
01:28:44
2SM Performance
but
01:28:47
2SM Performance
I don't even know what that is.
01:28:53
jamie peacock
Yeah, it's such a really, It's used everywhere, actually. and like All the laser cutters run it. It's a really good ah entry-level control software.
01:29:04
jamie peacock
it just yeah the interface There's a lot of optional interfaces, but it's by no means industrial. like It doesn't actually have a proper tool change or tool lamp offsets or any of that stuff.
01:29:16
jamie peacock
It's what my
01:29:17
2SM Performance
Do people build like 3D printers and use it?
01:29:20
jamie peacock
Well, 3D printers, they, well, the older ones, their G-code interpreter interpreter was based on GLBL. My laser cutter runs it, my slowio ran it for the first six months, then I moved over to Linux CNC.
01:29:35
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:29:35
jamie peacock
And like yeah, Linux CNC is way better. We were meant to talk about two numbers, but I think we're gonna save that for next week. About two libraries and two numbers and stuff.
01:29:42
2SM Performance
Oh, wow.
01:29:44
jamie peacock
Because we're at and we're on, yeah.
01:29:45
2SM Performance
Yeah, we got off topic.
01:29:47
jamie peacock
We got off topic hard. We're an hour and a half, so I think we need to to wrap it up.
01:29:50
2SM Performance
Yeah, I think well, yeah, my my headphones have died already.
01:29:53
jamie peacock
Oh, geez, okay.
01:29:54
2SM Performance
So I guess that's a sign.
01:29:55
jamie peacock
So let's let's let's quickly wrap it up. What are your plans for today and this week that's coming?
01:29:58
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:30:02
2SM Performance
ah Okay, well, for today and this week that's coming, let's see. Well, I'm going to get the coolant changed out in my old machine so I can start running the magnesium parts.
Preparing for Magnesium Machining
01:30:16
jamie peacock
Okay.
01:30:16
2SM Performance
I already have the customer supplied ah material. He shipped me supposed to be five pieces, but he was cool enough to send me an extra piece, which is nice in case I scrap one.
01:30:20
jamie peacock
thus
01:30:26
jamie peacock
That's always appreciated, yeah. ah Just quick question on that.
01:30:29
2SM Performance
um
01:30:30
jamie peacock
Do you have a fire extinguisher on hand?
01:30:33
2SM Performance
I'm going to have a fire extinguisher on on hand very soon.
01:30:38
jamie peacock
Okay, it might it might need to be a class D because it's potentially a metal fire. So just bear that in mind.
01:30:44
2SM Performance
Yeah, those are very expensive, right?
01:30:46
jamie peacock
I know, we had to buy one for the combat robotics stuff. It was $50 for a tiny little, like, looks like a spray paint can, but we had to have it.
01:30:55
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've looked into those. That's probably what I'm going to end up buying and we're also going to have a big pot full of sand in case I need to throw sand in my machine.
01:31:05
jamie peacock
Okay. yeah Hopefully not. Hopefully you can get the pot into the sand, not the sand into the pot.
01:31:12
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah, maybe we can unclamp it and throw the part into the sand.
01:31:13
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:31:17
jamie peacock
yeah
01:31:17
2SM Performance
That would be the goal.
01:31:18
jamie peacock
Yeah, hopefully you don't need to do any of this.
01:31:19
2SM Performance
Ideally.
01:31:22
2SM Performance
Yeah, I asked the customer, I said, man, are you really sure you want magnesium? Yes, it has to be magnesium. That's what I want. I said, okay. I've never machined magnesium before.
01:31:30
jamie peacock
Okay.
01:31:32
2SM Performance
um I know it's pretty sketchy in some aspects from some people I've talked to.
01:31:33
jamie peacock
Yeah. is it Is it a magnesium alloy, aluminum alloy that you're running?
01:31:38
2SM Performance
ah
01:31:43
2SM Performance
um It is a ZK60A,
01:31:45
jamie peacock
Because I doubt it's pure magnesium.
01:31:50
jamie peacock
Eh, one moment, because 60A.
01:31:51
2SM Performance
I believe.
01:31:54
jamie peacock
Let's see what comes up.
01:31:55
2SM Performance
Something like that.
01:31:56
jamie peacock
Ah, yeah, it's a magnesium alloy.
01:31:58
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:31:59
jamie peacock
Okay, yeah, that should be, shouldn't be too bad.
01:32:04
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah he the the customer, he used to own his own machine shop.
01:32:05
jamie peacock
Hopefully. Ooh. Ooh.
01:32:09
2SM Performance
He has served me, it's not that bad.
01:32:12
jamie peacock
Yeah, I'm looking at what's in this.
01:32:12
2SM Performance
So I'm gonna kind of have to take it for it better. Yeah.
01:32:14
jamie peacock
It's terrifying. It's magnesium, zinc, and zirconium.
01:32:20
2SM Performance
yeah
01:32:21
jamie peacock
That's gonna be fun. Well, yeah, let hope let's hope you don't need any other fire suppression stuff.
01:32:26
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah. So I will have plenty of those little $50 cans on hand.
01:32:31
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:32:31
2SM Performance
which of course I didn't quote put factor into the quote, so that might bite me in the ass, but hopefully I don't need one.
01:32:37
jamie peacock
ah Yeah, hopefully how hopefully hopefully you still have them when you're done with the job.
01:32:39
2SM Performance
That's the goal.
01:32:44
2SM Performance
Yeah, yeah.
01:32:45
jamie peacock
Yeah, okay.
01:32:46
2SM Performance
I hope I don't need them. And then I am going to be setting up another prototype for my product line on the new machine, which a customer is already waiting on because it's a revision and I'm really excited to do that.
01:32:55
jamie peacock
okay and okay nice
01:33:01
2SM Performance
And that's just my next two jobs that I have lined up. So it's going to be interesting.
01:33:07
jamie peacock
Yeah, no that sounds like the mag the magnesium is going to be really interesting.
Future CNC Projects and Production Plans
01:33:10
jamie peacock
But yeah, I've got what I have going on this week.
01:33:11
2SM Performance
Yeah.
01:33:12
jamie peacock
I need to do a CNC retrofit, which I mean but need to go and like finish this week because I kind of want to get paid for it. um And then I'm finishing up those rings in the molds I've been working on that'll be finished up this morning.
01:33:19
2SM Performance
ah huh
01:33:26
jamie peacock
And then hopefully we'll be getting an order for 4,000, no, what's it? Yeah, for a couple thousand components from it's array from the regular customer. And then we can get get into the swing of that, but I'm only gonna be able to get material next week because my cousin who organizes material for me is on holiday till next week.
01:33:47
jamie peacock
So, yeah, I'll just have to do all the prep work in the interim. And then, yeah, I think I'm gonna be running mag bases. I've got, I need to make stock just so that I have on the shelf that when I get orders, I can anodize and ship out.
01:33:59
2SM Performance
Well, those are the the firearms parts that extend the magazine.
01:34:00
jamie peacock
because Yeah, the the plus, so I do plus two shoes for the Glock 19 and 17, any of the double stacks. And then for the CZ P07 and P09 and P10.
01:34:11
jamie peacock
So those are the ones I actually need to run. But it's one of those things that I set it up and I'll run through 50 of them in the morning. Like it's with the LK, it's super, super easy and super efficient to run them.
01:34:18
2SM Performance
ah
01:34:22
jamie peacock
Like they used to take me 30, yeah, they like,
01:34:23
2SM Performance
I think those are one of my favorite products that you make is those Mac bases.
01:34:28
jamie peacock
Yeah, that that's what actually got us properly profitable is the mag basis.
01:34:33
jamie peacock
But yeah, I need to I need to basically just run a bunch of stock so that I've only got one or two customers that actually order them. And they order every, like two or three months, but I just order material when I do another order like when I didn't aluminium order i'll just order material because the material is not not high cost and then when i get a gap on the machine i just pump them through put them on the shelf and then as i get orders i tumble polish or tumble buff and anodize them yeah
01:34:33
2SM Performance
Yeah, those are cool.
01:35:02
2SM Performance
Okay, so you you do all the the after processing with the ah finishing and the anodizing too?
01:35:08
jamie peacock
Yeah, so that's why I have the Anno setup is actually for making mag bases.
01:35:11
2SM Performance
Yeah, very cool.
01:35:12
jamie peacock
So i will I'll machine them all. I might run them through tumble if I have capacity, then they sit on the shelf in little trays. When I get an order, I then ah scotch brats and anodize to order.
01:35:22
jamie peacock
That way I don't ah don't end up with dead stock.
01:35:27
2SM Performance
Okay, with the the thousand parts, is that a lathe job for Bertha or AMCO or is that all millwork?
01:35:28
jamie peacock
Yeah.
01:35:32
jamie peacock
um Yeah, that'll be a couple hundred pots on Bertha, then a couple thousand pots on the EMCO, and then the stuff that gets done on Bertha gets up in the LK, but that's like, ah I think it's like 15 seconds per pot.
01:35:51
2SM Performance
Mm-hmm.
01:35:51
jamie peacock
So that's, I use the pallets and I load nine at a time. And then one of the other components has to go into the slowio. I still use the slowio to slip the electrical connectors that I make.
01:36:02
2SM Performance
Very cool. So the Bertha is the one with the gang tool holders, right?
01:36:03
jamie peacock
So yeah, it's a harm mixed.
01:36:08
jamie peacock
Yes, that's the gang tool.
01:36:09
2SM Performance
Yeah. Yeah.
01:36:11
jamie peacock
and next tech length from two thousand and know's a gang It's a gang
01:36:12
2SM Performance
What what would you call that? A tool holder rack or set? I don't know.
01:36:17
jamie peacock
So yeah, gang lathe.
01:36:17
2SM Performance
ah Gang live.
01:36:21
jamie peacock
So it's got, yeah, it's got different gang blocks on it. And then, yeah, the EMCO is a little turret lathe.
01:36:27
2SM Performance
Damn, that lathe is a gangster.
01:36:29
jamie peacock
Yeah, I know that thing, it it is. Especially for what I paid for it. But yeah, anyway, let's ah we're gonna end the podcast here and then next week we need to remember to talk about two libraries and two numbers.
01:36:36
2SM Performance
Yeah. Okay.
01:36:40
jamie peacock
Yeah, sweet. Okay, let me and we play our outro.