Hi Michael,

Yes, I got a Roland MDX-15 mill that's originally designed only as a 3 axis unit.
With the rotary attachment from Fourth Axis, it gives the little mill a 4th axis.
I've only had this rotary attachment up & working for about a month, so I'm still learning to use it.
So I've been designing my rotary test pieces in MoI & outputting as STL to the cutting software.
Everything seems to be working really well together.

regards Colin

That's very interesting, I never knew that there were upgrades like this available to juice up those little machines.

What steps do you do after you have milled your model? I mean does that become the basis for a mold or something like that?

- Michael

Hi Colin,

The waxes look very good. I noticed that the finger holes are cut to size and you have support tabs holding the models.
Do you first mill the ring size from the side and then reposition it on the rotary axis to cut the outer circumference?

Jesse

Hi Michael & Jesse,

Michael, once the wax has been milled it's then "lost wax cast".
In basic terms the wax is has a sprue added, put into a flask to be covered in plaster, then heated in a kiln.
The wax runs out via the sprue hole leaving a cavity the exact shape of the wax design.
With the flask at the right temperature, it's loaded into a centrifugal or vacuum casting machine.
The molten metal is then either centrifugally forced in or pulled in via vacuum to fill that cavity.
Once the flask has cooled a bit, the flask is quenched, breaking the plaster & releasing the metal ring.
After cleaning up the ring you can then use the ring as a Master Pattern for moulding for production use.
Or set stones in it, engrave, etc; to be the finished piece for the customer.

Jesse, for these kind of designs I size my waxes prior to milling them, using a Matt Reamer.
The rotary jig that I'm mainly using has a central shaft with tapered cone clamps to hold each side of the wax.
That's the reason for the outer rings, the tapered cones grip them, the bridges then support the model allowing the ring edges to be milled.
This also allows the wax tube to be centred to the rotary via the finger size ID & produces mostly good results.
Of course all of this milling setup will depend on the type & style of design.
For the more complex designs, I'll then use the 3 sided milling approach.

regards Colin

Hi Colin,

I'm flattered that you milled my signet ring (or one that looks like it)...;-)

I might be overly frugal about wasting wax, but I can see that you give the model
a margin of extra material to support it in the wax blank, using the cone system.

When I mill rings right off a hollow tube, I can space them a few millimeters apart
and just run a wax blade between them to slice off each ring as it's done, and then core out the finger hole.
I leave a few mm of material on each side, which serves as a guideline to the finger size.
I have a tool similar to the Matt Reamer, but prefer to use a large barrel burr. Some people also use a lathe.

Aside from using the extra wax, the cone system looks like it works pretty well.
I may mill some cone shaped clamps out of some nylon I have here and improvise a system like that for small rings
In the past, if a ring's inside diameter is smaller that a size 4.5 (smaller the opening of the hollow wax tubes)
I've used a bold, lock washers and nuts from the hardware store to fixture solid cylinders of
wax in the 4th-axis clamp of my Model Master mill. It's also possible to cut some three sided rings straight off
the 4th axis clamp without needing to use special fixtures. Here's an example-
http://tinyurl.com/yp8bvx/yp8bvx/yp8bvx/yp8bvx
http://tinyurl.com/2du7g8/2du7g8/2du7g8/2du7g8
Jesse

Hi Jesse,

Yes, I used your Signet ring as a guide to make my own version for milling, so Thanks goes to you.
As part of my tests for the rotary, I wanted to see how a Signet style ring would actually come out.
Here's my Signet ring version that I used for the test.

I allow a 2mm margin on each side, this guards against the cutters coming into contact with the cones.
I figure the wax is cheaper than the cutters, so it's a cheap form of insurance against cutter damage.

Thanks for the links, that's something I'll have to try out.

Here's a photo of the rotary with the Cone Clamps holding a wax.

regards Colin

Hi Colin,

No problem at all as far as using the signet as a guide, I
uploaded the tutorial so that other MoI jewelers could experiment
with the design technique.

You have a good point about taking precautions to prevent the breakage
of tools. After I load a tool path, I tend to jog the tool to the edges of the
pattern so as to be sure it's centered on the material, but it's easy to
get distracted when you're in a hurry and break off a tool tip!

Thanks for the image of the Cone Clamps and links to the 4th axis tools.
It's always interesting to see new approaches to fixturing.

Jesse

Hey Colin, just a quick question... Your Roland, what tolerances can it handle, and what maximum sizes and materials?
It's made for just wax work in small scale for jewelry, right?

Looks like the product page is here: http://www.rolanddg.com/product/3d/3d/mdx-20_15/application.html

"The MDX-20/15 mills ABS, acrylic, woods, plaster, styrene foam, chemical wood, modeling wax, and light metals such as aluminum and brass."

Hi Elf,

The MDX-15's mechanical tolerance is 0.00625 mm/step, maximum table area is 152.4 (X) x 101.6 (Y) x 60.5 (Z) mm.
The scanner tolerance is 0.05mm.
You can mill a variety of materials on it, even soft metals like aluminium & brass, but you wouldn't do metals on a regular basis.
The Spindle motor just hasn't got the power to mill metal on a continuous basis.

It's a great little 3 axis mill as an entry point if you're only just starting out into CAD/CAM with a limited budget or a hobbyist interested in CAD/CAM.
By adding the various attachments from Fourth Axis, you can then move up a level, as your knowledge or budget improves.

Hope this helps, Colin

WOW that sounds great, how much do you have to pay for all that nice equipment?

Hi hep,

I not sure of the current prices for the Roland MDX-15, but last I seen they were about $3000.00 US.
Best to check if there's a Roland Distributor in your area or country & get the current price.
http://www.rolanddg.com/company/d-list.html
I think the Fourth Axis rotary attachment is around $1500.00 to $1600.00 US, but you'd need to check with Fourth Axis for their price.
http://www.fourth-axis.com/

regards Colin

I will check in my area, but it gave me an idea about the price, so thanks anyway.
regards Hep

Hi Everyone,

HOG (Harley Owners Group) Rally 2007 badge.
Model designed in MoI, wax milled with MDX-15, finished piece measures 38mm in length.

regards Colin

Hi Colin, ...nice vintage look.... remember to post a casting after lost-wax casting will be finished :) -Petr

Hi Petr,

This wax was milled for another Jeweller, so not sure I'll actually get to see the finished piece?
If I do, I'll post a photo of it.

regards Colin

Very nice result Colin! I love seeing these milled pieces, thanks for sharing it.

- Michael

@ Colin - Thanks for the link to Fourth Axis. I was thinking of getting a small milling system, the MX-20 plus 4th Axis might be perfect for me. I just have one question about the noise when operating. How loud is this thing? Is it reasonable to operate next to your PC and still have a telephone conversation? What about when milling aluminum or brass? I am thinking to operate in my apartment or perhaps in my office...

Thanks,
jonah

Hi Jonah,

I have an MDX-20 in my workshop, and with the original motor it was quite loud. Fourth Axis do a conversion to use a Proxxon motor which is much faster , more powerful and quieter. I still would not like to work with it right next to me if I was doing something I had to concentrate on, but a soundproof box should help.
There is an MDX users foum on Yahoo, I hope it is OK for me to put in a link.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/mdx_users/

If you go back over past postings it will tell you a lot about the machines and hints about Roland's future plans for the machines.

regards Tim.

Thanks Tim. Will check it out...
jonah