Introducing Mockbug: The story of my first flashlight build.

[easilyled]

When you say that you don't have the capability to machine Ti, is that due to the difficulty of machining Ti or because you can't justify the expense?

If its due to the difficulty (ie. threads that have a tendency to gall with Ti, wear and tear of machining parts etc.) most folks here seem to start with Aluminium first and then progress on to Ti once they've gained experience and confidence. However judging by your results with steel (which I think has a similar hardness and strength to Ti), I would have thought that it wouldn't take you long to master Ti.

 

[Ken_McE]

If it was me, I'd be quite well pleased with that first light.

 

[AER-Lights]

Thanks guys.
I know i say that a lot but i really appreciate your input

So.. your all pretty much confirming what i suspected. TI is the way to go. Hmmm… this will complicate things
But hey. That's why i asked.

@ Easilyled.
Thank you for your confidence in me!
It is simply due to the difficulty. I never actually tried machining Titanium but from what i can tell my major problem would be drilling the body and head.
For steel i can "cheat" pecking and waiting for things to cool down but (again this is from what i can pickup from others who actually do this) that doesn't work for titanium. It'll work harden in an instant ruining both the part and drill bit so you have to push it hard and then we're back to the size of the machine. There's a good number of additional parameters/issues that make me "fear" this but as this is not in the machining section i'll leave that out. Suffice to say that Titanium has a machine ability index of somewhere between 6 – 19 whereas the steel i'm using is about 100 - 130. And just for reference Aluminium is in the 300-400 range if i remember correctly.

@ Archimedes
That's great input.

@ Ken_Mce
Thank you.
It might not sound like it but i actually am.
It started out as me making one for myself. That goal has been achieved and I'm actually quite proud. Then i had to go and complicate things

So… Conclusion on this…
Back to the original idea. I'll be doing the batch in steel and we'll see how that goes.
If that turns out with some measure of success we'll switch to exotics
In the meantime i could get some Titanium and start practicing… This should make my life interesting. (wow! That sounds like i actually have no life )

 

[wosser]

I don't really understand the Titanium craze. From a machinist point of view it's a major PITA for several reasons:

• Galling (instantaneous, unwanted surface welding) seems to be Titanium's national sport.
• $$$
• Difficult to obtain in tubular stock of a useful size (Jason Prometheus mentions this on his website)
• ... consequently there's a large amount of wasted material in swarf and chips which is problematic to recycle economically in certain parts of the world.
• Super-fussy about "speeds and feeds" and thermal dissipation in both workpiece and tooling during the cutting process.

If someone wants to change my mind please send me a titanium Alpha for permanent review, thanks .

 

[archimedes]

I don't mind steel in a small flashlight, but I do prefer titanium

 

[AER-Lights]

First-off. Thank you guys to responding to the question regarding material.
I heard the message loud and clear
Unfortunately I'm not in a position to deliver on that quite yet so for now the "plan" remains unchanged.

So… i figured it was time for a progress report even though there's not that much to tell.

I received my new batch of stock and i'm in the process of cutting and cleaning it up to prepare for machining.

Since it's the weekend i found the time to tinker and fiddle a bit and have managed to get the threading sorted. It was one of the things on the to-do list.
It's hard to make out in the picture but the progress is shown from left to right. Fixing is was just basic stuff. Feeds, speeds DOC etc.
Now it's time to update the code.

I also received some bits and pieces like o-rings and the initial/test LED drivers.

Last but not least i've been looking into the Titanium thing and if i'm right i might have found a "loophole" that will allow me to do it. It will require some testing and i've yet to find a suitable piece of stock.
(I need to get it from within Europe or the import and customs declaration fees will kill me )
I'll let you guys know the results as soon as i do but it will be a while.

 

[Nimitz68]

Looking forward to your progress and updates!

 

[TailoredEDC]

Very impressive first build! I hope that my first will at least look half as good :thumbsup:
Keep up the good work and keep the great pics coming!

 

[AER-Lights]

@ TailoredEDC
Thank you. And i do hope you make one better/more impressive than mine

@ Nimitz68, Wosser and the rest of you following along.
Knowing you are following the progress and might even be looking forward a bit to the updates is an incredible inspiration to me.

So without further ado.
Progress report.

I must admit that during the week days I'm not really getting any work done on the project. Daytime work simply takes up to much time. (I guess this goes for most or us.)
But as this is the weekend i got the chance to move forwards and got into a bit of a rhythm which i guess series production is all about.
I got 7 body blanks done. 3 more to go before moving on to dimpling.

Drilling is an issue and will remain one indefinitely on this lathe i suspect.
I believe it's pretty much as good as it's going to get for now but the results vary a bit and i don't like that . I attached a picture showing worst to best.
(Unless off-cause i do something crazy like introducing pressure through drill coolant but that's a project in itself not to mention the cost or the drills
but then again i might at some point if for no other reason than it annoys me.)

Until next time.

 

[ninemm]

Thanks for sharing your journey in this build! Incredible and inspiring results so far. Even for those of us who simply dream of having the tools/skill/dedication to do it! I really appreciate your philosophy towards the project as well. Keeping it fun and not overwhelming yourself, but still pursuing better and better results. Looking forward to seeing it progress! Cheers!

 

[TailoredEDC]

I hope you are right. time will show :naughty:

Is the drilling your final Op or do you use a boring bar to finish it?
I have had great results with Sandvik Silent boring bars. the price will bring tears to your eyes, but you can bore amazing deep holes with them completely without chatter.
A carbide silent bar can do up to 14xD !
Another solution is to ream them by hand. that will give you a very nice finish, but you need to leave a little stock for the reamer.

Very nice to see your progress! Hope to be able to share some pics soon

 

[AER-Lights]

@ninemm
Thank you and i'm happy to share

@ TailoredEDC
Nooooo!!!! Please dont!
I'm pulled towards fancy tools like insects to light.
Which is hardly a surprise
Yes.. you made me look at the silent tools… aw!

I'm drilling as the first operation to get every last bit of rigidity out of the system
Going 16.5mm and then basically reaming with a 17mm drill. And they're YG Cobalt drills.
I don't have a 17mm reamer and i'm kinda out of money for tools at this point.
Having said that. Yes… you're right. And thank you for the input.

Now go do something fabulous.

 

[AER-Lights]

Damn you TailoredEDC :laughing:
I just ordered a what i believe to be suitable reamer.
I don't have the money to go for the fancy Sandvik Silent tools boring bar at this point.
But yes… You're right. "It must be better"

I'll post a status report as soon as i have a result.

 

[wosser]

@ Nimitz68, Wosser and the rest of you following along.
Knowing you are following the progress and might even be looking forward a bit to the updates is an incredible inspiration to me.

To see the development of a machining project like this from scratch to a finished product is a rare thing and is fascinating to watch. I've been subscribed to this thread since day 1.

Please don't feel rushed, this is first and foremost your hobby and we are merely spectators.

I think your choice to go with a reamer is absolutely the right thing to do in this situation. A boring bar will probably not solve chatter issues, because the entire machine needs to be super-rigid and the speeds and feeds need to be sympathetic to it. Getting 99% of the work done with a chattery drill is totally valid now because the reamer (used VERY slowly and carefully with lots of lubricant) will get you that vital last 1%. Used right a good quality reamer will last you a lifetime, so that is a brilliant investment.

I look forward to living vicariously through your project. Now I just need some popcorn

 

[Nimitz68]

To see the development of a machining project like this from scratch to a finished product is a rare thing and is fascinating to watch. I've been subscribed to this thread since day 1.

Please don't feel rushed, this is first and foremost your hobby and we are merely spectators.

I think your choice to go with a reamer is absolutely the right thing to do in this situation. A boring bar will probably not solve chatter issues, because the entire machine needs to be super-rigid and the speeds and feeds need to be sympathetic to it. Getting 99% of the work done with a chattery drill is totally valid now because the reamer (used VERY slowly and carefully with lots of lubricant) will get you that vital last 1%. Used right a good quality reamer will last you a lifetime, so that is a brilliant investment.

I look forward to living vicariously through your project. Now I just need some popcorn

Well put. I'm just excited to see the tremendous progress made and looking very much forward to the completed lights. We done, AER-Lights!

 

[TailoredEDC]

Im sorry that I woke the desire for expensive tooling

Are you located in Europe? Sieg machines are normally not sold under the original brand in hte US

 

[AER-Lights]

Thank you guys!
I'm repeating myself here but… You guys and this forum is amazing.

@ TailoredEDC
Haaahhh… Don't worry about it. My "shortcomings" can never become your problem
Yes. I'm located in Northern Europe. Not too far from you in fact.
But looking at the prices the Sieg machinery goes for around here i opted to import it myself. It was certainly a hassle but it came out at somewhere between half and two thirds the cost of buying it locally.

 

[AER-Lights]

Update time…
Got the reamer and put it to work today. Thank you guys for showing me in the right direction on this.
I'll go as far as to say problem solved.

In addition i had the time so i sneaked another body in there. Eight done two to go

I'm crossing my fingers i don't lose any of them during the dimpling operation and i hope the head and tail cap requires less adjustment than the body has turned out to need.
In addition the rejected parts bin is filling up but i figure i'll wait until the series is done before i show that

 

[TailoredEDC]

That turned out great! Looks like the reamer tid the trick.

A friend was the importer of Sieg in Norway. They are nice machines for the price!

You should consider to make a mandrel fixing the bodies.
Thst will insure that the body does not come loose and if you desire you can machine dimples on the full length of the body. It will also make sure you dont get toolmarks on the body.
Make it with a slight taper one end and make a cone that slides on the shaft on the other end. Thread the end and use a locknut to tighten it together.

Happy machining

 

[AER-Lights]

@ TailoredEDC
Thank you for the suggestion. (This has been mentioned earlier as well)
Any chance you could post a link or share a picture of how you "see" this mandrel? Or are you thinking of a generic one?

A quick status for the end of the weekend
Got eleven body blanks done in total and the bore quality is fixed.
No pictures on this one. Sorry guys.

Next up.
I need to mount a stepper to my rotary table.
There's no way i'm doing 198 rotations by hand (one for for each row of dimples).

Until next time.