{"id":2277,"date":"2009-08-19T13:15:57","date_gmt":"2009-08-19T20:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/?p=2277"},"modified":"2015-09-26T11:11:05","modified_gmt":"2015-09-26T18:11:05","slug":"tonys-diamond-chop-saw-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/tonys-diamond-chop-saw-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony’s Diamond Chop Saw (Part 3)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Part 3 of the Diamond Chop Saw build.\u00a0 In this installment I’m going to focus on the construction of the mechanical aspects of the saw structure, motor attachment, vacuum chuck, and splash guard.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a\u00a0 picture-heavy entry…<\/p>\n

After thinking for a while about how to build the saw, I decided that it would be best to have the blade move only in the vertical axis, and the workpiece move horizontally in two axes.\u00a0\u00a0 This led to the overall machine design which consists of a vertical column with pivoting cutting head assembly, and\u00a0a workpiece holder that has two axes of horizontal motion.<\/p>\n

\"Completed<\/a>
Completed Dicing Saw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I wanted to ensure the motor and blade had a rigid, heavy\u00a0mounting structure to reduce effects of vibration and flex on cutting performance.\u00a0 I decided to mount the motor using the original mounting flange from the hard drive enclosure since it was nicely machined to match the motor flange.\u00a0 I used a hacksaw to cut out the shape roughly to size, then straightened up the edges and machined a mounting recess on my milling machine<\/a>.\u00a0 The L-shaped piece of aluminum is 1\/2 inch thick which gives lots of weight and provides sufficient thickness for mounting the bearing while preventing motion orthogonal to the bearing axis.<\/p>\n

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<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n
\"Cutting
Cutting Head Assembly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another view of the cutting head assembly.\u00a0 In the upper left hand corner is the pivot bearing.\u00a0 The bearing is held in place with a set screw that goes through the L-shaped aluminum piece.\u00a0 Along the bottom edge of the black hard drive enclosure portion I attached a strip of white LEDs to help light the work area.\u00a0 RTV Silicone<\/a>is used to seal the electrical contacts from water that migt not be caught by the splash shield.\u00a0 At the lower left hand corner of the aluminum plate is a rounded off screw.\u00a0 The cutting depth adjustment micrometer pushes against this rounded off screw.\u00a0 Pushing against the aluminum would be less accurate (aluminum would become unevenly worn).<\/p>\n

\"892\"<\/a>
Cutting head assembly (rear view)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the top of the column on either side is a hole for the screws that hold the pivot bearing (also from a hard drive)\u00a0in place.\u00a0\u00a0 Luckily the one I used has 4-40 threaded holes\u00a0on either side.\u00a0 A screw on each column holds the bearing in place, and then the rest of the column assembly and adjustment plate are attached resulting in a good alignment of the column to the bearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Pivot<\/a>
Pivot bearing\/column mounting detail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Controlling the depth of the cut is critical, as my cuts will be as small as 5 thousandths of an inch deep!\u00a0 I mounted a micrometer head to a plate on the back of the column which controls the height of the cutting head assembly.<\/p>\n

\"Rear
Rear view of the column and depth adjustment control<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0Now for a little detail on the vacuum chuck… The chuck is made from two 1\/4 inch plates of aluminum.\u00a0 The top surface has a shallow set of trenches cut to distribute the suction across the bottom surface of the glass plate used for holding parts.\u00a0 The\u00a0lower plate has a deep trench cut in it to distribute the suction to the three small holes drilled on the top plate.\u00a0 The\u00a0whole thing is held together with screws and sealed with\u00a0silicone.\u00a0 I made a set of hose barbs (one is pictured below) so that I can use 1\/8 inch vinyl tubing to connect to my vacuum pump.\u00a0 The barbs were made by turning down 10-32 stainless steel screws on my lathe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lower<\/a>
Lower half of vacuum chuck with custom-made hose barb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0 The last major component of the saw is the splash guard.\u00a0 This actually took a fair amount of effort to make, as I broke pieces more than once and had to start over.\u00a0 Essentially it is a two-piece design with a thick piece screwed to the cutting head assembly, and a thinner piece which screws onto the first.\u00a0 I used a heat gun <\/a>to soften the plastic and carefully mold it to the shape of the face plates.\u00a0 I then glued the curved section and the outer face plate together using epoxy and while not very pretty, it holds together well.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Splash<\/a>
Splash guard on the saw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
That pretty much sums up the mechanical aspects of the saw construction.\u00a0 Next week I’ll post the 4th and final installment which will include alignment and attachment of the blade, and actual use of the saw!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Part 3 of the Diamond Chop Saw build.\u00a0 In this installment I’m going to focus on the construction of the mechanical aspects of the saw structure, motor attachment, vacuum chuck, and splash guard.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a\u00a0 picture-heavy entry… After thinking for a while about how to build the saw, I decided that it … Continue reading Tony’s Diamond Chop Saw (Part 3)<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,443],"tags":[36,501,215,265],"class_list":["post-2277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-electronics","category-projects-2","tag-diy","tag-electronics","tag-microwave","tag-tools"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pioCd-AJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2279,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2010\/01\/tonys-diamond-chop-saw-part-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":2277,"position":0},"title":"Tony’s Diamond Chop Saw (Part 4)","author":"Tony","date":"January 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Finally, I bring you the conclusion of my Diamond Chop Saw series! In this part I'll cover a few remaining issues, but mostly I'll report on my use of the machine in the construction of my 47 GHz radio, for which this project was intended.\u00a0 If you're not already familiar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Amateur Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Amateur Radio","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/amateur-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Method for centering the blade","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/blade_gluing1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2191,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/diamond-chop-saw-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2277,"position":1},"title":"Tony’s Diamond Chop Saw (Part 2)","author":"Tony","date":"August 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"In part 1 I gave an overview of what this project is all about. In this part I will describe the basics of the machine and some of the reasons I made the design choices I did. To start with, I wanted to do this on as small a budget\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electronics"","block_context":{"text":"Electronics","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/electronics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"5, 20, and 10 mil thick alumina substrates with 50 ohm transmission lines","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/SUBSTRATES.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2160,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/tonys-diamond-chop-saw-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":2277,"position":2},"title":"Tony’s Diamond Chop Saw (Part 1)","author":"Tony","date":"July 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This is guest blogger Tony reporting on my latest project, a very small, precise circular chop saw.\u00a0 Why would anyone\u00a0want to build such a saw you might ask?\u00a0 Well, to make parts for another project of course! So here's the background....I'm building a ham radio that operates at 47 GHz.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electronics"","block_context":{"text":"Electronics","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/electronics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"dicer_small","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/dicer_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3501,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/tgimboej\/","url_meta":{"origin":2277,"position":3},"title":"TGIMBOEJ","author":"Jeff","date":"December 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Oh look, it's a\u00a0TGIMBOEJ! \u00a0This one is box GRAY-R. \u00a0It made its last stop in Portland, OR. If the USPS ever opens this box for inspection, they will get a nice surprise... Lots of junk! This is what I took: A SAW voice recorder A Game Boy (with Dr. Mario!)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electronics"","block_context":{"text":"Electronics","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/electronics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"TGIMBOEJ GRAY-R","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/files\/flickr\/5261990962_4457043411.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5831,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/cool-tools-metcal-mx-5211-soldering-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":2277,"position":4},"title":"Cool Tools: Metcal MX-5211 Soldering Station","author":"Jeff","date":"January 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is it! This Metcal soldering station will make you put away your Weller or Hakko and never look back! The dual simultaneous iron feature means you no longer need to buy two Metcal base units in order to solder SMT components with both hands! At over $800, these cost\u00a0more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books and Resources"","block_context":{"text":"Books and Resources","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/books-and-resources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5435,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/bus-pirate-v4-oscillates-too-tantalum-cap-to-the-rescue\/","url_meta":{"origin":2277,"position":5},"title":"Bus Pirate v4 oscillates too. Tantalum cap to the rescue!","author":"Jeff","date":"March 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This week I finally received my Bus Pirate v4\u00a0from Seeed Studio. The first thing I did after opening the box was to probe the 3.3V rail with the BP internal power supply enabled. Here's what I saw: That looks familiar! \u00a0Except this time it's an oscillation at 5.9kHz and 400mVpp!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electronics"","block_context":{"text":"Electronics","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/electronics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bus Pirate v4 3.3V rail oscillation","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/files\/flickr\/8519611367_0e791f659c_o.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2277"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4999,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277\/revisions\/4999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}