Modern Machine Shop

JUN 2014

Modern Machine Shop is focused on all aspects of metalworking technology - Providing the new product technologies; process solutions; supplier listings; business management; networking; and event information that companies need to be competitive.

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mmsonline.com June 2014 MMS 99 feature T en years ago, Dan Rosenthal retired from a successful engineering career and started a math tutoring business that continues to this day. His interests also turned to model aircraft as well as translucent artwork called lithophanes, which ultimately spurred him to purchase an industrial benchtop CNC mill two years ago to use at his Los Altos, California, home. The problem was, he had no machining experience whatsoever. Today, Mr. Rosenthal's skills have matured from basic 2D work in plastic sheet to parts having complex 3D contours. However, the prime driver of his improving skillset isn't his hobby work. Rathe r, it is his sole custome r, for whom he machines plastic prototypes. The customer has asked him to perform increasingly complex work, and this has enabled him to become more profi- cient at machining over the past couple of years. That said, Mr. Rosenthal's goal isn't necessar- ily to establish a thriving machine shop business. Instead, he wants to establish a level of machin- ing acumen that will enable him to create virtually any component his customer might request or he might need for his own projects. Put aside the fact that Mr. Rosenthal uses a benchtop mill and might be considered a "hobby" machinist. His story is interesting in that it dem- onstrates how new machining technology—CAM i n p a r t i c u l a r—i s b e c o m i n g m o r e c a p a b l e and easier to pick up and apply. So while his cur- rent goals might be different than that of a pro- duction-oriented shop, those shops can just as readily leverage the latest technology in the same way to grow the talent level of their existing work- force and bring new shopfloor hires up to speed more quickly. STarTing Machining The more Mr. Rosenthal learned about lithophanes, (Facing Page) The industrial benchtop CNC mill that Dan Rosenthal installed in his garage is no toy. It has a range of optional features, including a 10- station ATC, 60,000-rpm spindle, toolsetting probe, touch-trigger probe and fourth-axis rotary table (not installed in this photo). Mr. Rosenthal's early personal milling projects included Corian plastic lithophanes like the one below that come alive with backlighting. The other parts shown here demonstrate the progression of project complexity for his single customer, starting with flat sheet and then moving to prismatic parts and parts with contoured surfaces. Intelligence built into the iMachining CAM software he uses has helped him ramp up to more challenging work. 0614_MMS_retired.indd 99 5/14/2014 8:43:45 AM

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