# Machining a titanium ring, a work of art



## LEDobsession (Nov 18, 2013)

When it comes to men's jewelry, I haven't really ever seen anything that would have made me want to wear a ring or anything else besides my watch, but then I came across Rogue DZN, and found some pretty cool stuff. I was particularly drawn to the Revolver. That's a ring I'd wear for sure. But it's a little bit more than a poor college student could afford, so I thought of making my own.

I collaborated with Matt Tremblay of Rogue DZN and was given special permission to create my own version of his Revolver Ring. I found and was inspired by the Revolver on the internet close to a year ago and have gone through extensive processes with multiple different softwares in an attempt to better my CNC machining skills as well as 3D Solid design skills. Being a machinist and having access to the CNC machines necessary to create such a work of art, I was motivated to build instead of buy my own ring. Matt has been very helpful and encouraging of my work as I have spoken with him throughout the year. This is not a finished product yet, but it is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of where I was in March of this year.

I have some more fine tuning to do in order to better blend the surfaces, but the more I contemplate it, the more I like the finishes I've created so far. They give it a little bit more of a unique look in that each surface is visible, although this view is quite magnified and those blends are less noticeable without being so close. Titanium pieces are to follow to create the final assembly.

One of the conditions I was given upon starting this project was that I cannot sell my finished product or the solids, programs, tool paths, etc.. This is a ring that will serve to be my wedding band, so don't ask to buy. 





Piece 1 of 6 by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr



Aluminum Prototype by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Aluminum Prototype by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr


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## TranquillityBase (Nov 18, 2013)

Pretty awesome!

Can't wait to see the completed ring!


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## PEU (Nov 19, 2013)

Looks nice but unconfortable to the hand


Pablo


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## precisionworks (Nov 19, 2013)

From the website:



> Finish: Zero hand finishing / Calculated tool-paths ... over 48 machine hours to complete ...
> Price: $4,300.00 US



Parts are probably run on a done-in-one mill/turn machining center. It's really hard to imagine that each of the 6 parts requires 480 minutes of unattended machine time (2880 minutes total for 6 parts). It would seem that the most efficient way to machine this by making one solid ring that contains all the final features & then waterjet that ring into the 6 pieces. Even then I can't imagine that the entire process would take more than 10% of the stated time. 

I've been wrong before.


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## PEU (Nov 19, 2013)

I agree with you Barry, once you have the CAM right (this is the really hard part), there is no way a high end machine capable of 5 axis machining can take that long for a piece this small.


Pablo


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## precisionworks (Nov 19, 2013)

Four hours seems about right but giving the operator time for lunch & a break might stretch that out to five. Even if you made only five each week that's over twenty grand minus $50 in materials & $375 for the operator. The machine would pay off in well under twelve months.

Good design combined with rock star marketing.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk


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## LEDobsession (Nov 19, 2013)

precisionworks said:


> Parts are probably run on a done-in-one mill/turn machining center. It's really hard to imagine that each of the 6 parts requires 480 minutes of unattended machine time (2880 minutes total for 6 parts).



His video shows a vertical 5 axis mill, and I'm sure that requires a second op for the back side in a fixture or contoured vise jaws. I'm not really supposed to give out my methods, but you know I already asked about tapping an m1.6 thread in titanium in am Okuma Mill/Turn 5ax.

Having got into this myself, I can see how the time could really add up to near 6-8 hours. I'm not there myself, but I have some different finishing techniques, too.



> It would seem that the most efficient way to machine this by making one solid ring that contains all the final features & then waterjet that ring into the 6 pieces. Even then I can't imagine that the entire process would take more than 10% of the stated time.
> 
> I've been wrong before.



Everyone I work with mentioned making one ring and then EDM cutting it into its separate pieces, however, Rogue DZN wasn't going for the quickest, most efficient, or what most machinists would consider for the process. The reason I undertook this and part of why I had so much respect for this jewelry is that I completely understand his perspective of single-directional surfaced toolpaths, tight tolerances, and the ability to pull the part out of the machine and place it directly in a box to ship with no hand finish work whatsoever. This is intended to be seen as a work of art, not as another deadline production run to punched out before friday. I was quite skeptical of the time and costs initially, but having done the work myself, (and I'm just a basic beginning machinist with 4 years experience, tops, and this is the first 5 axis programming attempt I've ever made), I can say there is some definite time demand in this project, design-wise as well as programming and machining-wise too. 



PEU said:


> I agree with you Barry, once you have the CAM right (this is the really hard part), there is no way a high end machine capable of 5 axis machining can take that long for a piece this small.
> 
> Pablo



Well, the more you put into it, the more it can take. Think about surfacing with .00001" stepover. That really takes a long time and when there are 70+ compound surfaces on the thing, it really adds up.



precisionworks said:


> Four hours seems about right but giving the operator time for lunch & a break might stretch that out to five. Even if you made only five each week that's over twenty grand minus $50 in materials & $375 for the operator. The machine would pay off in well under twelve months.
> 
> Good design combined with rock star marketing.



My program is right around 3 hours, and I still have some surface blending to add in, which could add in another 30-40 minutes. If I really wanted to cover the entire thing with a .00001" stepover for blending, that might add another 2 hours.

It would be nice to make that money off of selling them and pay off a machine, but Matt did limited runs to keep an extra value in how rare the pieces are and I'm not sure, but I'd imagine it's not all that easy to sell them. They do cost a pretty penny.



I hope I haven't taken too defensive a tone in my replies. I just wanted to show off a cool project that I started. I really did this just to better my machining skills. I have worked part time for a really nice shop for a few years while in school, but because I'm a college student, they unfortunately don't really feel like putting a lot into my training so I usually end up pushing the green button and twiddling my thumbs or setting up a few odds and ends on some of our 3 axis mills, so this was all done outside of my pay scale (I've taken a lot of crap from guys around the shop about spending so much time at work when I'm not being paid to be) and by my own means. But like I said, I've never programmed 5 axis before this and I did it all on my own. I guess it's not all that different from 3 axis, but it does have some different catches to it. I also wanted to be better at 3D design and was learning SolidWorks on my own as well, though I did have some help from a friend in generating this whole solid.

As for the comfort of the ring, I've been told it's not quite what you'd think and is quite a bit more comfortable than it looks. My issue was trying to work with a decent "comfort fit" for the ID, being that it's near half an inch wide, you could not have one solid inner diameter and get the thing on your finger. I've tried. It has to have a convex surface in there otherwise it might go on, but your finger would turn purple and it might be a pain to come off (on the bright side, I could always unbolt it :ironic.

Thanks for the replies, guys! :thumbsup:


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## gadget_lover (Nov 20, 2013)

No offense meant to anyone, but the Roguedzn web site reminds me of an artistic friend who can make very simple things using very complicated methods and describe them in such a way that the wasteful design is a virtue. He's discovered Steampunk and just loves the way he can sell very silly things for very silly prices if he describes them correctly. I have little respect for an artist that uses overly complex and time consuming machining so that the ring does not need 60 seconds on a buffer to cleanly blend all the pieces. After all, the artist's contribution is his skill, not the lack of his interaction. 

The 6 piece ring is a neat tour de force, showing off your programming skills. Congrats on being able to do it.

Dan


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## stevenkelby (Nov 21, 2013)

gadget_lover said:


> No offense meant to anyone, but the Roguedzn web site reminds me of an artistic friend who can make very simple things using very complicated methods and describe them in such a way that the wasteful design is a virtue. He's discovered Steampunk and just loves the way he can sell very silly things for very silly prices if he describes them correctly. I have little respect for an artist that uses overly complex and time consuming machining so that the ring does not need 60 seconds on a buffer to cleanly blend all the pieces. After all, the artist's contribution is his skill, not the lack of his interaction.
> 
> The 6 piece ring is a neat tour de force, showing off your programming skills. Congrats on being able to do it.
> 
> Dan



I agree with you about selling silly things for silly prices with silly marketing, I don't like that either.

I disagree about not respecting complex machining in order to not need any finishing, I think that the programming requires huge skill and is an art in itself


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## precisionworks (Nov 21, 2013)

Machine the part/parts to a 32 micro inch finish, tumble for a 16 or better end finish. IMO this is a wonderful display of the capabilities of a high precision multi-axis machining center being run in a highly ineffective way.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk


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## stevenkelby (Nov 21, 2013)

precisionworks said:


> IMO this is a wonderful display of the capabilities of a high precision multi-axis machining center being run in a highly ineffective way.



Ineffective or just inefficient?

Seems to me it effectively achieves the goal of not requiring any finishing.


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## gadget_lover (Nov 21, 2013)

Re: Ineffective or just inefficient?...

I'm probably in a funk. I'm just not impressed. For instance, on the web page it mentions a very high "suicide rate" per segment. I took that to mean rejects. Maybe it's just marketing hype. It also says "Due to subtle harmonics in machining, each Rogue DZN piece has its own unique fingerprint". Doesn't that sound like making excuses for chatter? 

Then it claims... "Born through a 5-axis machining process that's known as one of the most labor intensive and difficult methods on the planet". Really? CAD/CAM design is more labor intensive than digging a ditch? More labor intensive than using manual mills, lathes and hand tools?

Works of art are easy to create, since there is no redefined outcome. If you make a mistake the extra line becomes a feature. Even a portrait's deviate quite a bit from reality. 

In my opinion, what LEDobsession has done is much more impressive than the original since he's recreating processes to duplicate an existing design. He has a very definite end product that has to be perfect. Mistakes are not features in his project.

Hmmm. Sorry about the grumpy.... Artistes... Bah. I'll take master craftsmen any time. 

Dan


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## precisionworks (Nov 21, 2013)

stevenkelby said:


> Seems to me it effectively achieves the goal of not requiring any finishing.


It does that at a great cost in cycle time. Figure 3.33 cents/second ($2/minute) for machine + operator cost & the tumble (or bead blast) finish is much more effective.



> "Born through a 5-axis machining process that's known as one of the most labor intensive and difficult methods on the planet"



I saw that as well. I've never seen an operator break a sweat & they often tend four machines at one time (depends on cycle timer per machine). OK, they do break a sweat when the shop manager catches them playing Angry Birds Star Wars II on their iPhone but that's about it. Imagine tending four machines for eight hours & this has to be the least labor intensive, least difficult and most boring jobs on the planet. It does however require an 8th grade education & that eliminates most of the slackers.

It's sort of funny to watch the operators at break time as one goes on break & the other tends eight machines for (supposedly) 15 minutes. Sometimes that stretches out to 30 or 45 minutes, especially on 2nd or 3rd shift. Never did see blood drawn but have seen the tardy operator get half a dozen fault codes, purely by coincidence. 

I worked in a shop that ran both manual & NC machines. There was always friendly (???) animosity between the two camps. We named the operators (& they were not machinists) PhD ... push here dummy.

There's usually one setup person for X-many machines. He or she starts up the machine using code generated in the office & sent to the machine. The code is tweaked during startup to optimize every parameter. On small parts a 5 second diff in cycle means either profit or loss. On huge parts that run three shifts & take most all of a week the setup person will stop by every few hours to monitor & fine tune. On a part that sells for $100,000 there's a lot of profit to gain by eliminating a second here or there.


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## LEDobsession (Nov 25, 2013)

gadget_lover said:


> No offense meant to anyone, but the Roguedzn web site reminds me of an artistic friend who can make very simple things using very complicated methods and describe them in such a way that the wasteful design is a virtue. He's discovered Steampunk and just loves the way he can sell very silly things for very silly prices if he describes them correctly. I have little respect for an artist that uses overly complex and time consuming machining so that the ring does not need 60 seconds on a buffer to cleanly blend all the pieces. After all, the artist's contribution is his skill, not the lack of his interaction.
> 
> The 6 piece ring is a neat tour de force, showing off your programming skills. Congrats on being able to do it.
> 
> Dan



Don't mix me in with Steampunk though. That's a different kind of...whatever it is. Art, I guess. I don't see that being all that intense to create some of that stuff, although, I've no experience with it, so I can't really say too much on it.

As to the finish, 60 seconds on a buffer isn't what we're after here. Anyone can do that. It takes a lot of time to program this thing and you might say skill plays in as well. 



stevenkelby said:


> I disagree about not respecting complex machining in order to not need any finishing, I think that the programming requires huge skill and is an art in itself



Bingo.



precisionworks said:


> Machine the part/parts to a 32 micro inch finish, tumble for a 16 or better end finish. IMO this is a wonderful display of the capabilities of a high precision multi-axis machining center being run in a highly ineffective way.



If you can see 5 axis tool paths and surfacing finishes as a form of art, then you will understand that throwing the parts in the tumbler would be the equivalent of taking a jack-hammer to Michaelangelo's David. 

It might be inefficient in that it requires more run time, but I want a surfaced finish. When I first learned how to machine, it was on a bridgeport knee mill, like probably many of us started. But the thing is, it's about as interesting as an Etch-A-Sketch. If you're really good, maybe you could get a diagonal line, or some sort of sad looking oval shape in attempt at a circle. Computer Numerical Control blew my mind when I learned how to surface things. It's just freakin cool, like those incredible guys that can just so happen to draw rounded works of art on the Etch-A-Sketch.




gadget_lover said:


> Re: Ineffective or just inefficient?...
> 
> I'm probably in a funk. I'm just not impressed. For instance, on the web page it mentions a very high "suicide rate" per segment. I took that to mean rejects. Maybe it's just marketing hype. It also says "Due to subtle harmonics in machining, each Rogue DZN piece has its own unique fingerprint". Doesn't that sound like making excuses for chatter?
> 
> ...



The "suicide rate" refers to the amount of pieces made in a limited production before the solid/program/set-up is destroyed to be no more. So, that means there will only be 60 (10 per size offered) Revolvers ever produced. Plus my one. 

As for the "subtle harmonics in machining," I could laugh with you as well, because I've seen how mine has some chatter on one section of the ID. But hey, if you can't find a way to fix it, what better word choice would you use? Hahaha!

Labor intensive? Certainly not physically, but you probably know some of the stresses that come from cranking out a job faster than you think possible because the shop manager is on you back all the time. There are quite a few ways that it can be looked at as labor intensive. I usually loose track of my hours on my personal projects because they take me months to complete. 

For the mistakes, I've definitely made some. I knew I would. This is the first time I've ever programmed a 5 axis job. With or without help. But that's what has taught me so much. I wouldn't trade those little oopsies because I learned a lot from them. (And no, I didn't crash the mill/turn at all either.)



precisionworks said:


> It does that at a great cost in cycle time. Figure 3.33 cents/second ($2/minute) for machine + operator cost & the tumble (or bead blast) finish is much more effective.
> 
> I saw that as well. I've never seen an operator break a sweat & they often tend four machines at one time (depends on cycle timer per machine). OK, they do break a sweat when the shop manager catches them playing Angry Birds Star Wars II on their iPhone but that's about it. Imagine tending four machines for eight hours & this has to be the least labor intensive, least difficult and most boring jobs on the planet. It does however require an 8th grade education & that eliminates most of the slackers.
> 
> ...



For those "phd's," no, it is not labor intensive. At least, not until they have to use the over head crane, and (heaven forbid) put on gloves to load/unload parts. We do both at our shop, that is, I program, and then I sit and run x amount of parts. We occasionally hire some younger kids that just hit the green go button and sweep, etc., but that's different. I work at a fairly small shop, less than 100 employees, so everyone gets a chance to get dirty, even our CEO/owner likes to get out of the office and help out around the shop sometimes. But like I said earlier, there certainly are some labor intensive parts of machining, maybe just not digging-a-ditch-with-a-shovel intensive.
:thumbsup:


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## KC2IXE (Nov 25, 2013)

Where I learned to run a lathe an mill, you know what we made? Those overhead cranes, then went and installed them. THAT could get kinda labor intensive. Install a 20 ton capacity bridge crane in a shop where you can't bring in a mobile crane. LOTS of roustabouts, and hanging "stuff" to hang stuff, to take down the original stuff, to finally get the final crane in place, sometimes in really miserable places. (why oh why, are you always working OUTSIDE between 2 buildings the funnel the wind trying to do fiddly stuff that requires you take your gloves off when the temp is in the single digits, and inside, up against the uninsulated roof, holding a 50+ lb chipping hammer over your head on the 95 deg days?

Even when you weren't in the field. The "fun" of getting 10 tons of steel delivered that go to soak outdoors in the single digits for a few days - open the shop doors, back in the truck (ensuring that the whole shop was now down to ambient), drop off the steel, open the door again, truck leaves, and now you get to work with this nice 5 deg pile of I beams while the shop heaters ATTEMPT for the next 2-3 days to warm the place (and the pile of I-Beams) back up. Was GLAD I used to get to work in the machine shop area on days like that. There the stock was at least nominal room temp


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## precisionworks (Nov 26, 2013)

LEDobsession said:


> It might be inefficient in that it requires more run time, but I want a surfaced finish. When I first learned how to machine it was on a bridgeport knee mill, like probably many of us started.



The thing that cracks me up about both a Bpt & a manual lathe is that they're both cheap to buy (relative to any auto machine), pay back fast & can make well over shop rate if you pick & choose the work that you accept. A 1.5 person shop that I deal with is a good example, owner grossed $90k in 2012 (net after expenses but before taxes) and his half time helper earns an average of $30/hour (more if he cranks the Bpt handles faster, talks less & doesn't spend so much time on the cell). Most of his runs are 10 parts but he'll sometimes stretch to 20-25 parts if the job is worth the extra effort. High precision stuff, everything is in-house heat treated & surface ground or centerless ground. 



> But the thing is, it's about as interesting as an Etch-A-Sketch.


The over riding goal of all shops is to make enough profit today so we can still be in business tomorrow. I find few machines that are interesting with the exception of my Harley.



> If you're really good, maybe you could get a diagonal line, or some sort of sad looking oval shape in attempt at a circle.


That pretty much tells me you've never worked with a machinist who uses trig functions to calculate X-Y offsets. 

When a "good machinist" trigs out a circle, ellipse, oval or any other shape the identical function is performed by the trig program in an automatic machine. The auto machine moves the handles (if there are any) to the X-Y position in exactly the same fashion as a manual machinist. The auto machine interpolates a circle using identical trig & identical X-Y movements. 

Diagonal lines are a short chip shot. Bolt hole patterns are a piece of cake. Circles aren't any more difficult except that more X-Y movements are required to produce a good looking circle without a pixelated edge. 

CNC is identical to manual, the only difference being speed of axial movements. It is no more nor no less accurate, only quicker. That it doesn't get tired & needs no restroom break/lunch break/smoke break/sick leave or vacation is a benefit.

More interesting ... it's as interesting as watching grass grow or seeing paint dry.


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## LEDobsession (Nov 26, 2013)

precisionworks said:


> The thing that cracks me up about both a Bpt & a manual lathe is that they're both cheap to buy (relative to any auto machine), pay back fast & can make well over shop rate if you pick & choose the work that you accept. A 1.5 person shop that I deal with is a good example, owner grossed $90k in 2012 (net after expenses but before taxes) and his half time helper earns an average of $30/hour (more if he cranks the Bpt handles faster, talks less & doesn't spend so much time on the cell). Most of his runs are 10 parts but he'll sometimes stretch to 20-25 parts if the job is worth the extra effort. High precision stuff, everything is in-house heat treated & surface ground or centerless ground.



I definitely believe that. 




> The over riding goal of all shops is to make enough profit today so we can still be in business tomorrow. I find few machines that are interesting with the exception of my Harley.



That's what we're all shooting for. I wasn't paying anyone to make this or trying to see how fast I could do it. Most of my projects take a long time in the development, but once I know what I'm doing, I could do it over again a lot faster. Our shop just had some slow time and when that happens, not every machine is always running and I decided to take advantage of it while I could. It doesn't happen often.



> That pretty much tells me you've never worked with a machinist who uses trig functions to calculate X-Y offsets.
> 
> When a "good machinist" trigs out a circle, ellipse, oval or any other shape the identical function is performed by the trig program in an automatic machine. The auto machine moves the handles (if there are any) to the X-Y position in exactly the same fashion as a manual machinist. The auto machine interpolates a circle using identical trig & identical X-Y movements.
> 
> ...



I was simply referring to the ability to turn both the X feed handle and the Y feed handle (on a knee mill, or an Etch-A-Sketch for that matter) at the same time to make cuts such as a interpolating a hole. Without some sort of NC, that would be quite the challenge, no? I have never used trigonometric calculations for x-y offsets in my own work, but I have heard of it and learned a little bit about it in my trade school, so I do know it to be possible, or maybe I'm just completely missing the mark of what you're talking about. I just stick with the computer side of it.


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## LEDobsession (Dec 4, 2013)

Here are a few raw (and one tone mapped) images of my proofed out aluminum version.




DSC_1660 by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




DSC_1661 by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Tonemapped Aluminum Revolver by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr


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## Tofty (Dec 4, 2013)

That looks really nice. I notice that your design is slightly different from the RogueDZN version with the raised sections on yours being more substantial.
What size of screw are you using?


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## TranquillityBase (Dec 4, 2013)

That is one beautiful piece! I can't wait to see the Ti version.


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## calflash (Dec 4, 2013)

Very nice!!


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## LEDobsession (Dec 6, 2013)

Thanks guys!



Tofty said:


> That looks really nice. I notice that your design is slightly different from the RogueDZN version with the raised sections on yours being more substantial.
> What size of screw are you using?



The raised sections of the bolt revolves aren't all that more substantial. I tried to keep their axis of rotation as close to a smaller outer diameter as I could, but the thing that makes them appear to be more substantial is the fillet around them. I made that bigger to give it a smoother look for the revolves. 

The bolt I am using is an M1.6x.35. A tiny little bugger.


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## wquiles (Dec 7, 2013)

That came out very nice - good job


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## Tofty (Dec 11, 2013)

LEDobsession said:


> The raised sections of the bolt revolves aren't all that more substantial. I tried to keep their axis of rotation as close to a smaller outer diameter as I could, but the thing that makes them appear to be more substantial is the fillet around them. I made that bigger to give it a smoother look for the revolves.
> The bolt I am using is an M1.6x.35. A tiny little bugger.



I didn't mean that they stick out any more, just that they are a little longer and each raised screw shroud passes across three body sections when the Rogue's ones don't. I think your design looks nicer as it uses more of the ring's surface.

I remember reading your thread about tapping M1.6 threads in titanium so i should have worked that out.

This thread has inspired me to start looking at rings again as an interesting exercise in design.


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## LEDobsession (Dec 12, 2013)

Tofty said:


> I didn't mean that they stick out any more, just that they are a little longer and each raised screw shroud passes across three body sections when the Rogue's ones don't. I think your design looks nicer as it uses more of the ring's surface.
> 
> I remember reading your thread about tapping M1.6 threads in titanium so i should have worked that out.
> 
> This thread has inspired me to start looking at rings again as an interesting exercise in design.



Oh, I see what you're saying. Yes, I wanted them to be drawn out a little bit more and so I placed them across three sections instead of just two. I think Rogue's might look a little bit more smooth, especially under a scope, but my titanium one is coming along quite nicely, much better than the aluminum one. I used a different method of tool path generation across the face than he used, but the way I did it, it still catches the light on one piece at a time as you turn it, so it sort of highlights where you're looking at it. I have one more piece to finish tonight and I'll put up some pictures.
My next step is to design my own ring that I could possibly market.


You have some pretty cool stuff yourself, Tofty. 3D printing is a very cool process too.


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## Tofty (Dec 13, 2013)

Looking forward to seeing the titanium version finished and assembled.

Thanks, i really enjoy using 3D printing, especially when trying to create objects that couldn't really be made in any other way.
There are already a huge number of ring designs on Shapeways but i noticed one recently which rang a bell:
https://www.shapeways.com/model/246579/six-bolt-ring.html?li=search-results&materialId=23
Looks familiar but it perhaps misses the point a bit.

On the ring front i've been struggling to come up with anything that could be considered new or interesting, i hope you have better luck


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## wquiles (Dec 14, 2013)

LEDobsession said:


> You have some pretty cool stuff yourself, Tofty. 3D printing is a very cool process too.



+1

Those 3D printed parts Tofty makes are pretty awesome :bow:


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## precisionworks (Dec 14, 2013)

wquiles said:


> +1
> 
> Those 3D printed parts Tofty makes are pretty awesome


Yes they are ... but how does one go about ordering his items?


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## Tofty (Dec 14, 2013)

Thanks guys,
I've just put a pinned comment on my facebook page which should clarify things a bit (i should have done that ages ago).
Fortuitously i have a big Shapeways order of Tritium Lanterns arriving on Monday, which will have vials installed and be available on the CPFMarketplace for the first time.
Do look out for what might possibly be the largest tritium fob ever made.
Also i should have some 10A+ reverse clicky switches for Solarforce tailcaps available on the forum soon.
Sorry, hijack over.


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## precisionworks (Dec 14, 2013)

Tofty, 

A lot of people would read & participate if you start a new thread in this section on 3D printing. Just sayin


Barry Milton
Precision-Gunsmithing.com
iPhone5 voice recognition


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## LEDobsession (Dec 14, 2013)

Tofty said:


> Looking forward to seeing the titanium version finished and assembled.
> 
> Thanks, i really enjoy using 3D printing, especially when trying to create objects that couldn't really be made in any other way.
> There are already a huge number of ring designs on Shapeways but i noticed one recently which rang a bell:
> ...



I have a few things I've come up with that I should have 3d printed too. When I had my solid finished and before I started machining, I wanted to 3d print this, but I didn't want to let any 3d files out of my control. 

Yeah, I found that one a while back and ordered a stainless one, before I was too far into my project. It was cool, but not quite what I was looking for.

I've been playing around with some more ring designs on SolidWorks and have one in mind that I have yet to finish. It would be one that I would try to market, on the web, at least, and maybe give away to a select few close friends/family members.



precisionworks said:


> Tofty,
> A lot of people would read & participate if you start a new thread in this section on 3D printing. Just sayin



Yeah, I'd like to see that too.



Now, I have some pictures for you all. I was playing around with the idea of heat coloring some of the ring, as titanium takes on a nice blue color in its heat treating spectrum and seeing how I had a few pieces with broken taps and reamers to practice on, I decided to try the bad pieces. (The one finished piece that I colored looks fine, but has a broken reamer in it, unfortunately.)




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr






Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr


The titanium version picks up the light really well and it sort of highlights one piece at a time. I'll have to take some better pictures later with my D90 and proper lighting, but this is what my iPhone got. It really needs to be seen in person though.



Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr


I picked up a box to keep it in until I get to use it. You would not find one of these at the Shane Co. 



Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr


Oh, I got engaged friday too. Mine and hers.



Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr


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## Tofty (Dec 15, 2013)

Congratulations on your engagement Trev.




LEDobsession said:


> precisionworks said:
> 
> 
> > Tofty, A lot of people would read & participate if you start a new thread in this section on 3D printing. Just sayin
> ...



A very sensible suggestion and one i shall certainly act upon in the next couple of days.



I highly doubt that any 3D printing company would do anything nefarious with the models given to them but perhaps it's better to be safe than sorry, especially so as not to breach any non-disclosure agreements made.

I'm looking forward to seeing other rings you make becoming available, i'm sure they'll be very impressive if your first one is anything to go by.
Since i couldn't think of anything else to do i had a go at reinterpreting a tool ring design i saw on Shapeways: https://www.shapeways.com/model/208108/toolringb.html?li=search-results&materialId=54 which looks to have been abandoned as a project by it's originator. I have tried to contact the designer with with no success and without an agreement being made i can't really take this any further.









The couple of changes i've made to the original design are the addition of the 1/4" hex driver as well as plastic washers and bushings between the stainless steel tool arms and the brass covers to stop the tool arms rotating against screw threads.
Although now shown my final colour scheme for the stainless steel parts was to be a black coating. All parts except for the screws, plastic washers and bushings are designed to be 3D printed with only a small bit of thread tapping needed on the brass covers. The washers and bushings could be 3D printed but a machined bushing made of nylon is preferable due to it's smoother finish and lower friction.




Your titanium ring looks amazing, the machining channels really catch the light perfectly, looking forward to the DSLR pictures that will really show it off.
Electrolysis anodising is a much more controlled way to colour titanium and is relatively simple to do, at least compared to aluminium. However i would suggest not anodising the ring (using electrolysis or heat) as it is very thin and will wear off quickly leaving a messy finish which can't be easily removed.


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## precisionworks (Dec 15, 2013)

Tofty said:


> ... I would suggest not anodising the ring (using electrolysis or heat) as it is very thin and will wear off quickly leaving a messy finish which can't be easily removed.


+1

Ti color ano (Type III) is about 5 millionths of an inch thick (0.000005") and all the colors in the spectrum are within that thickness band.

Type II provides an anti-galling finish but is an ugly gray color.


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## Tiresius (Dec 16, 2013)

Now that's the type of ring a man would like on his finger(s) 

Excellent and gorgeous work


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## LEDobsession (Dec 24, 2013)

Thanks guys!

That's a pretty cool idea, Tofty! 

I guess I won't color any of my pieces as I don't have any extras to swap out with. Mr. Tremblay actually had some anodized and will throw in a red or blue piece every now and then until it wears out and then throws in another piece, but he's the one that can make as many as he wants. It does look pretty cool to have a different colored piece in there though. 

I don't know that my DSLR pictures will be any better than my iPhone 5S's, but I took some anyways. I don't have the best Macro gear for my D90, so these are what they are. Taken with the Nikkor 55-200mm 1:4-5.6G lens.




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Revolver Front Tonemapped by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Revolver Side Tonemapped by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr

Here's a few pics with the blue piece (scrapped due to broken reamer in it) in place.




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr




Untitled by Trev Hirschi, on Flickr

Trevor


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## HarryN (Jan 6, 2014)

Congratulations on your engagement, and the cnc learning experience. 

I totally get the concept of wanting a part to come off of the machine "finish complete" without manual intervention. Over time, I learned that I like this because frankly I am not at all a craftsman, and it was likely that those finishing touches I would put on a piece would just mess it up.

I could not but help notice that you spent a lot of time making "your ring" while your fiancé was more traditional.  If you want to pull off something impressive, try cnc machining an Al version of her ring, or a necklace. 

You didn't say which Al alloy you are using, but I find 7050 and 7075 much easier to work with than the 6000 series.


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## Tofty (Jan 8, 2014)

The blue section looks so good in the right light that i'm starting to question my advise not to anodise it. But it does look really good anyway, thanks for putting up more pictures.

I've heard that because titanium is so resistant to corrosion; a part with a broken steel screw or tap can be immersed in a strong acid, which will completely dissolve the steel while leaving the titanium untouched.
I can't remember what the acid was or whether it had to be a pure grade of titanium but perhaps it's possible to salvage your anodised section with the broken reamer in it.


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## precisionworks (Jan 10, 2014)

RE: reamers, everyone has their own favorite formula for hole sizing. When boring a light I take the hole to about .735" with the boring bar & follow that with a .744" reamer ... that's 98.6% of hole size with the boring bar & 1.4% with the reamer. All the experts recommend boring to a smaller size to leave more for the reamer to remove & that works in some situations. Because of the way I fixture the light (Delrin collet) I want the bored hole as big as possible so the reamer has not very much to take off. 

In titanium, drilling & tapping aren't so bad if the tools are designed with geometry suitable for the material. Reaming is the most challenging, especially in smaller holes. Drill size should produce a hole that's 92%-95% of desired size so the reamer is removing 5%-8% of final hole diameter. 



> scrapped due to broken reamer


BTDT. There are three ops that often cause problems in titanium: drilling / tapping / reaming, with reaming the most challenging. 

Excellent article from 2009 CTE with lots of info: http://www.ctemag.com/aa_pages/2009/0906_Reaming.html


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## wquiles (Jan 11, 2014)

precisionworks said:


> Excellent article from 2009 CTE with lots of info: http://www.ctemag.com/aa_pages/2009/0906_Reaming.html


+1

Indeed, a great article, not just on the difficulties of reaming Ti, but on the properties/challenges of machining Titanium :bow:


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## precisionworks (Jan 11, 2014)

wquiles said:


> ... properties/challenges of machining Titanium



Just a few important principals to remember ...

Ti-6-4 is as flexible as overcooked linguini so keep setups as short as possible.

Use the largest toolholder consistent with each particular op.

Slow SFPM with as much DOC & feed as the machine or part will handle.

It's impossible to apply too much flood lubricant but it's easy to run with too little. Short tool life normally results from inadequate lubricant & excessive SFPM. If flood coolant isn't being used expect to go through a bunch of inserts.

Drills-taps-reamers designed for titanium do better than ordinary tooling. Cost is higher but they pay for themselves in reduced cycle time, improved surface finish & much longer tool life.


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## LEDobsession (Jan 13, 2014)

HarryN said:


> Congratulations on your engagement, and the cnc learning experience.
> 
> I totally get the concept of wanting a part to come off of the machine "finish complete" without manual intervention. Over time, I learned that I like this because frankly I am not at all a craftsman, and it was likely that those finishing touches I would put on a piece would just mess it up.
> 
> ...



Thanks! I could definitely come up with something neat for her that she would appreciate. I've actually been tying to think of something for a while now. 



Tofty said:


> The blue section looks so good in the right light that i'm starting to question my advise not to anodise it. But it does look really good anyway, thanks for putting up more pictures.
> 
> I've heard that because titanium is so resistant to corrosion; a part with a broken steel screw or tap can be immersed in a strong acid, which will completely dissolve the steel while leaving the titanium untouched.
> I can't remember what the acid was or whether it had to be a pure grade of titanium but perhaps it's possible to salvage your anodised section with the broken reamer in it.



I'm with you. I really like the look of a blue piece in the mix. 
The acid trick is an interesting idea. I actually thought of Coke. I remember dissolving a nail in it back in a shop class when I was young. I don't know what it would do to the titanium, but I have a few other scrap pieces I could try before trying it on the blue piece with the reamer in it. 

Anyone have any thoughts on the broken-reamer-in-titanium in Coke idea? 




precisionworks said:


> RE: reamers, everyone has their own favorite formula for hole sizing. When boring a light I take the hole to about .735" with the boring bar & follow that with a .744" reamer ... that's 98.6% of hole size with the boring bar & 1.4% with the reamer. All the experts recommend boring to a smaller size to leave more for the reamer to remove & that works in some situations. Because of the way I fixture the light (Delrin collet) I want the bored hole as big as possible so the reamer has not very much to take off.
> 
> In titanium, drilling & tapping aren't so bad if the tools are designed with geometry suitable for the material. Reaming is the most challenging, especially in smaller holes. Drill size should produce a hole that's 92%-95% of desired size so the reamer is removing 5%-8% of final hole diameter.
> 
> ...



Yeah, I never knew that reaming would be that difficult in titanium. I drilled with a .0468" drill (which I used a HSS drill and it surprisingly ran beautifully. I must've had my feeds & speeds just right.  ) and was only reaming it to .052", so I guess about 90%, but in that size, I probably should have drilled bigger. Anyway, I ended up scrapping the reamer idea and just drilling it out and then interpolating to size with a .032" end mill. I remember thinking the coolant wasn't quite on the reamer when I noticed it had broken. Oh well. I've learned some things about machining titanium though. That article is also quite informative. :thumbsup:


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## Tofty (Jan 27, 2014)

I don't expect Coke to be active enough to have much of an affect on tool steel, as mild steel corrodes much more easily, but i can't hurt to find out.


Got my plastic prototypes back a short while ago.













Seems to work well so it's probably time for the metal version (when i can afford it).

I was also naughty and printed a revolver-ish ring.


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## LEDobsession (Jan 31, 2014)

Tofty said:


> I don't expect Coke to be active enough to have much of an affect on tool steel, as mild steel corrodes much more easily, but i can't hurt to find out.
> 
> 
> Got my plastic prototypes back a short while ago.
> ...



That looks very cool Tofty! I like the red and blue too!

I came up with a new design, but I'm probably not going to show it off, because this will be one I'd maybe like to make and sell. I don't know what the market is like for expensive 5 axis men's titanium bands, but I figured that if I were to make and sell them, it would be in the $2000 range, due to the cost of 5 axis machine time. I'd just need to start a Kickstarter campaign to get it going.

Oh, and coke didn't even touch titanium or tool steel after 4 days.


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## Tofty (Jan 31, 2014)

Here's an article that mentions removing steel from titanium.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/919610-Broken-tap-in-titanium
Looks like Ferric Chloride is the stuff to get and the thread gives some useful tips.

I look forward to seeing your new design when you come to sell it, you've got me even more intrigued now.

Here's another concept i'm playing around with:


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## wquiles (Jan 31, 2014)

WOW!

Tofty - that looks awesome :bow:


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## LEDobsession (Feb 18, 2014)

I like that new concept you're playing with, Tofty. It looks awesome!

The Ferric Chloride worked fabulously. I left my "bad" piece in it for 6 days and would clear out the oxidation around the reamer as best as I could every day and put it back. I was hesitant to tap it by hand, but was able to do so very carefully and now I have a spare piece I can swap out when I feel like it. The blue piece looks really cool in there and it seems to catch people's eyes a bit more.


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## LEDobsession (Mar 19, 2015)

Hey guys!

I have played around a lot with the idea of designing, making, and selling 5 axis CNC Milled multi-piece assembly titanium wedding rings for a while now and am now on course to do so. I have a few designs I've been working on for about 6 months and one is in production at the Machine Shop I work at currently, so it will be ready for sale soon. 

I'm not trying to advertise here (I'm not ready to sell yet anyways); that will be in the new CPF Kiosk under the WTS section of the General MarketPlace (which, you need to check out as it gets rolling, but so far there's nothing there), but I thought I might try to catch people's interest by resurrecting this old thread with what I have done before. 

Watch for me on the CPF Kiosk soon for more details!

Have your wallets ready!

titanringdesigns.com


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## precisionworks (Mar 19, 2015)

Very clean design.


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## oneinthaair (Mar 19, 2015)

I'm in for one!!!


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## wquiles (Mar 20, 2015)

Wow, love the design!


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## PEU (Mar 20, 2015)

Very nice, you need a new program for the triangles for every ring size right? I can't help it but I see the ring thru my CNC knowledge 


Pablo


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## LEDobsession (Mar 20, 2015)

Thanks guys! 



PEU said:


> Very nice, you need a new program for the triangles for every ring size right? I can't help it but I see the ring thru my CNC knowledge
> 
> 
> Pablo



Correct. Every triangle and band are a different solid and assembly for every single ring size, and therefore a different program is required for every triangle size and band size specification. I can copy a lot of toolpaths over but there's still a lot of work in that.


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## D2000 (Apr 2, 2015)

I'm also watching avidly for updates. Will be getting one in size 12 as soon as I can. I do plenty of CAD work in my spare time and uni degree so this is something I can appreciate. Very slick.


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## LEDobsession (Apr 5, 2015)

I also just posted a new thread in the CPF Kiosks section here, so check it out.



D2000 said:


> Very slick.



Thanks!



D2000 said:


> I do plenty of CAD work in my spare time and uni degree so this is something I can appreciate.



I'm always glad to see those that can fully understand what is that I do. There is a lot that goes into these. 



D2000 said:


> I'm also watching avidly for updates. Will be getting one in size 12 as soon as I can.



Awesome! I'll be posting updates as soon as I have progress to post. I have a size 12 solid already drawn up, so I'll just need to get working on the program for it. :naughty:


Feel free to contact me via email, [email protected]


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