When first moving into the world of CNC, many machinists simply continue to machine material the same way that they always did on manual machinery. There is nothing wrong with this; however, one of the benefits to cutting work on a CNC is the ability to achieve unattended machining. Planning for hands-off machining sometimes requires a slightly different approach to tasks than what is standard on a manual machine.
Let’s take an example of squaring a steel block on a mill. The typical process would involve flipping a block around in order to face off all six sides. An angle plate or a vise, along with a machinist’s square, will allow the block to be squared fairly quickly and accurately. This is a fairly labor-intensive process though, even if done in a CNC. There are six setups required, as well as a fair amount of measuring, which will keep you tied to the machine during the entire process.
A method that I have used successfully in the past takes a little longer to complete, but allows the machine to run unattended, thus allowing you to concentrate on other tasks. Let the machine take care of the mundane task of squaring while you work on the programming for the rest of the project.
The first thing to do is set the block on parallels in the vise so that it is clamped by 1/8″ to 3/16″. If the sides to be clamped are not parallel, take a few minutes to clean them up to allow for more even clamp pressure. We are not holding on by much here, and launching the block out of the vise can ruin your whole day. Now we can face off the top of the block, just enough to clean it up.
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