Ford 300 Inline Six

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Terry:

Did you do any hand finishing before you bead blasted the part, or was it basically straight from the mill to the bead blaster?

At this scale, the bead blasted finish looks remarkably like a cast part. I think you said you are using glass beads that you got from HF several years ago?

Don
 
Terry,

I found that SC got much more user friendly around version 10 or so and has been getting better since. Or maybe I just learned to think more like they do.

Beautiful work on the Ford engine model - very inspirational.

Mike
 
I always appreciate your beautiful work and and your explanations of problems and solutions.
I have just 1 question, You use a lot of ball end mills. Do you have a favorite suppler / brand?
Thank you.

I use Atrax end mills from MSC.

Scott,
Did you have to upgrade your SC dongle for the current version of Windows or did the one you ran on XP continue to run with no changes?
My Solidworks 2010 won't even work on 64 bit Win7 and has been the main reason I continue with XP. I'm really surprised but glad to hear SC7 can run on current values of Windows.
 
Terry:

Did you do any hand finishing before you bead blasted the part, or was it basically straight from the mill to the bead blaster?

At this scale, the bead blasted finish looks remarkably like a cast part. I think you said you are using glass beads that you got from HF several years ago?

Don
Except for a couple areas between some too-close fillets that would have required a 1/16" end mill, the part went directly off the mill and into the bead blaster. - Terry
 
Hi Terry
It is the one I got with the original software back in the XP days. But the dongle only works with the original "Demo" disk I got from Tormach.
When I built my new computer I downloaded a legacy version of SC7 and my dongle would not work. I had to find my original disk that came with the mill and that was way back in 2007. I did find it and it installed on Win 10 without issue and the dongle was recognized.

Scott


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Scott,
I'm not sure I follow you. When you say 'demo disk' are you talking about the install disk you purchased from Tormach when you upgraded to SC-7? This one would have had a copy of SC7 and a small program that might have updated your dongle (which I think also contains a unique user i.d.) to use it with the new SC-7.

Have you ever tried to install a legacy copy of SC7 on another computer since then in order to see if it was your dongle that got changed in the process? - Terry
 
Beautiful work Terry. The bead blasted finish looks awesome. I have found the finish get dirty quickly even when being careful. Have you found anything that seals up the surface to stop this happening?
 
Beautiful work Terry. The bead blasted finish looks awesome. I have found the finish get dirty quickly even when being careful. Have you found anything that seals up the surface to stop this happening?
I brush scrub the part with water and dish soap right after bead blasting and then thoroughly blow dry it with compressed air while holding it in a paper towel. I then let it sit for a day before I touch it. - Terry
 
Hi Terry
Scott,
I'm not sure I follow you. When you say 'demo disk' are you talking about the install disk you purchased from Tormach when you upgraded to SC-7? This one would have had a copy of SC7 and a small program that might have updated your dongle (which I think also contains a unique user i.d.) to use it with the new SC-7.

Have you ever tried to install a legacy copy of SC7 on another computer since then in order to see if it was your dongle that got changed in the process? - Terry

They used to hand these out at events, I got this one at a "CNC Workshop" in Michigan in 2010.
This is the only version my dongle will activate.
I am pretty sure the dongle is version specific and not keyed or ID'd to my computer. I have installed it on each new computer over the years. But it will only work with this install disk.
After looking at the demo version I decided to buy it. They sent me the dongle, I plugged it in and it unlocked the "demo" version. As far as I know the dongle has not been written too. I have not installed any such program or manually updated it. As far as I know. I hope that explains it.
Scott

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Hi Terry


They used to hand these out at events, I got this one at a "CNC Workshop" in Michigan in 2010.
This is the only version my dongle will activate.
I am pretty sure the dongle is version specific and not keyed or ID'd to my computer. I have installed it on each new computer over the years. But it will only work with this install disk.
After looking at the demo version I decided to buy it. They sent me the dongle, I plugged it in and it unlocked the "demo" version. As far as I know the dongle has not been written too. I have not installed any such program or manually updated it. As far as I know. I hope that explains it.
Scott

View attachment 125872
It sounds like SC-7 was your first version then. I started out with SC-4 which was initially distributed by Alibre for Tormavh, and then I worked my way up over the years. Each time I upgraded to a new version, I had to run a small program that Tormach sent me to read my dongle and it created a file that that I had to send back to Tormach. They then sent me back a license file that I had to install myself in a directory created by the new SC version that I downloaded from zsprutcam and installed myself. On my very latest version, SC-7, instead of going thru the license install myself, after they received my dongle info, they sent me an install disk that did all this automatically. I've been afraid that if I tried to install the software on a Windows platform later than XP, the driver for the dongle would be different and it would get modified and screwed-up in the process somehow. But, your experience suggests it might not. - Terry
 
Yes, 7 was my first version.
Tormach is very good to their legacy users like you and I. My machine is SN#225 and I think your # is lower than mine. I think if something went wrong trying to install it on a new OS, Tormach would take care of it somehow.

Scott
 
Yes, 7 was my first version.
Tormach is very good to their legacy users like you and I. My machine is SN#225 and I think your # is lower than mine. I think if something went wrong trying to install it on a new OS, Tormach would take care of it somehow.

Scott
I think your right!
 
I think your right!
While they don't support old versions of software with help. I would expect Jacob @ tormach to help get the older version up and running for you. I have also noticed in past they work out upgrade deals if you want to move to current version. Still not cheap I bet. Anyway the current sprutcam mill post still has your name on it as a contributing author. Anyway your craftsmanship and detailed writeups make for some of the best reading, thanks for taking the time.
 
Terry,
This is really outstanding work. Congratulations!!!!
I also use Sprut Cam for my projects. I'm using the SC12
What strategy do you use for the 3D machining? Are you using Rough/Finish Water Line or you use 3D machining?

Tks,
Edi
 
It sounds like SC-7 was your first version then. I started out with SC-4 which was initially distributed by Alibre for Tormavh, and then I worked my way up over the years. Each time I upgraded to a new version, I had to run a small program that Tormach sent me to read my dongle and it created a file that that I had to send back to Tormach. They then sent me back a license file that I had to install myself in a directory created by the new SC version that I downloaded from zsprutcam and installed myself. On my very latest version, SC-7, instead of going thru the license install myself, after they received my dongle info, they sent me an install disk that did all this automatically. I've been afraid that if I tried to install the software on a Windows platform later than XP, the driver for the dongle would be different and it would get modified and screwed-up in the process somehow. But, your experience suggests it might not. - Terry

FWIW, I've run SC 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 on my Win 7 system with no special problems. I'm about to switch to a new Win 10 system and will try SC 14 on that. One advantage to SC is that you can usually run multiple versions on the same system. A few versions back they started using the same HASP key with each no version.
 
Terry,
This is really outstanding work. Congratulations!!!!
I also use Sprut Cam for my projects. I'm using the SC12
What strategy do you use for the 3D machining? Are you using Rough/Finish Water Line or you use 3D machining?

Tks,
Edi
I typically use waterline roughing and finishing operations followed by what they call 'rest' machining. I also use their flatline finishing. I also frequently use their 2-d contouring operation with a spiraling curve when I want a steep wall with minimum machining marks. - Terry
 
A block of 6061 was squared up for the oil pan's workpiece. Some changes were made to the original pan design to accommodate the outer round bearings. When used with a .015" thick mounting gasket, the new pan will provide the additional 180 degrees of metal-to-metal contact needed to support each outer bearing.

The front and rear ends were machined using essentially the same operations used on the ends of the block. Again, 4-5-6 blocks were used to help stabilize the portion of the workpiece sticking above the vise, and a paper towel bib kept them free of the sticky coolant. After finishing its ends, the workpiece was repositioned so the pan's interior could be hogged out and its drafted walls finished. My modeling showed uncomfortably close clearances between the heads of the rod bolts and the inside corners of the pan, and so I added an array of clearance notches. Rather than use a magnetic drain plug, the floor of the pan was bored with a shallow hole for an epoxied magnet.

The pan's mounting holes were initially drilled undersize and tapped for screws that attached it to the fixture plate made earlier. When the machining was completed, the holes were opened up for the pan bolts.

With the workpiece attached to the fixture plate and its interior packed with modeling clay, the assembly was clamped in the vise for access to the pan's bottom surfaces. At first glance the pan looks fairly simple, but two of its three bottom surface aren't flat, and the sides have three degree draft angles. After being roughed in, the bottom was finished using a waterline operation and a long reach 3/8" ball end mill. The tool path steps were compiled for .0003" high scallops which blended into the surface after bead blasting.

After attaching the workpiece, the sides of the fixture plate should have been skimmed to insure the sides of the workpiece would be truly parallel to the jaws of the vise. I forgot to do this, and the pan's machined sides wound up diagonally offset from the already machined ends by .004" and had to be manually blended.

The full-size engine's oil pan was drawn steel and factory painted either black or Ford Blue. A similar shade of blue is available in Gun Kote that I'll likely use on some of the model's parts when their machining is completed. - Terry

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