Edge Pro Slide Guide

All I have is about 3/4s of the tooling done for the bench stones and nothing else. I am doing them separate from EP since it has nothing to do with guided sharpening.

My Kitamura is in a weird position. It has a 15k spindle and 2000 ipm rapids but is an 8,000 lb box way machine with large fine pitch ball screws. My machine is special, the spindle is ready for a rebuild so the previous owner set the spindle drive to max at 6k to prolong it's life. The meter still reads programmed speed so it took me awhile to figure out what was going on. Even though it is a 30 taper is will run chip loads any other machine I have ran would complain about, I do love box ways! Even with a max of 6k for the spindle I can get it to run parts as fast as I can swap them out in the pallet.
 
I have spent the last few days doing all the programming and have about a10 more days before I have to do other production so hopefully I can get the parts done before then. The first items on the list are to finish machining all of the fixtures. Here is the photo of what they look like now,

Raw-Fixtures.jpg


how they are held to machine,
Machine-Setup.jpg


and the cad model showing the tool paths and what one of them will look like when I am done.
Pro%203%20Point%20Guide%20Body%20Op1%20v2.jpg

To be continued...
 
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Here are the fixutres roughed to +.004" then left overnight in case they move at all. The aluminum bar is stress relieved but they can move some after machining. Being fixtures I try to make them as accurate as possible.

Roughed-Fixtures.jpg
 
Here are the almost finished fixtures. While double checking things for about the 90th time I caught some radiuses that did not update before I machined the second op body fixtures. The red lines on the two fixtures point to the radiuses than I have to fix. Since they should be larger I have to remove material. In fact for the fixtures they should be clearanced anyway so this gives me that chance to fix another missed detail that I just caught. It's amazing how many details are involved in stuff like this. So the fixtures,

The almost finished fixtures with all the stops and clamps installed. I made all of those too, every detail about them is exactly what I want to hold parts like I am holding.
Finished-Fixtures.jpg


Close up view of one of the first op fixtures with a loose clamp shell and stop. The first op clamps and stops have teeth to bite into the aluminum so I need much less clamping force to hold the parts. They are also hardened to 54hrc so they should last.
1st-op-fixture.jpg


The second op fixture has the clamping surfaces cut right into the fixture body both for accuracy and so it is nice and smooth so the parts don't get marked up. The clamp shells are a smooth aluminum surface so they don't mark the parts when clamping. I can't machine as agressively when holding the parts this way.
2nd-op-fixture.jpg


Forgot to mention so far that the fixutres are double sided so they hold parts on both sides. Because of the wedging action of the clamps if I don't do this it can bend the fixture bodies and I get to make twice as many parts per cycle. I am set up to make 4 bodies and 8 centers per cycle.
 
I have been making the Slide Guide centers since Sunday so I made a video of both operations on my cnc mill to make finished parts. This program still has some fat in it and will speed up quite a bit over the next couple of batches I run. I will keep posting videos of each part as I start making them. Unfortunately I will have to drop this for over a week at the end of this week to do production on some other parts.

 
Finally got back to the slide guides today. I started making bodies for a day for the Apex version around 5-24 but had to shelve it to do some production so I was pretty much set to go. I did half a days worth of these things today and hopefully will get the bodies done before I have to do small knife attachment knobs, then hopefully slide guide knobs before I lose another 6 weeks to production needs. Anyway here is a video I did today of both ops. There are a bunch of little things that need changed and then the cycle time should be getting where I want it, until then at least I am making parts.


Well 2 steps forward, 1 step back. The Pro version model has a design flaw, one dimension that should be identical with the Apex version is .1" off. I am going to have to add metal to my op2 fixture which means an extra day.
 
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Got the fixtures modified and back to making parts yesterday. The Pro versions are all made and I will have about 40 minutes of the Apex versions left to finish tomorrow. Yee haw going to the pub tonight to celebrate! Here is a more recent video making the same part but with some of the fat trimmed out, saving about 2-1/2 minutes.

 
I really dont even know what these are making but I get suckered into watching all the videos...simple minds are simply amused....
 
The parts were dropped off at the anodizer on the 2nd with a 7-10 day lead time, but the quote calls out .001" anodize thickness and the print calls out .002" so I am waiting to hear back from them about this. They do have a sample part showing the color we want and they have done a few batches of polishing tape holders so I am not too worried they will screw up. It is a smaller outfit that is fairly easy to communicate with, but they are pretty busy. Not sure when the lead time begins but if I don't get an email back from them by tomorrow morning I will call. Starting work on the knobs this morning so they will be done by the time the bodies and centers come back from the anodizer. After that they will be for sale but I don't know when they will be on their website, and come to think of it I don't have a clue what EP will be selling them for. I will try to get a few photos today showing what they look like. Now that EP is adding magnets to both the Apex and Pro these new blade guides will make a lot more sense.

Glad you like the videos, they show the part of it that I like. I have far more interest in developing and making the parts than using them, go figure. Now that I almost have the slide guides out of the way I get to work on some of my own projects, like the bench stones and holders, Sharpmaker knockoff that uses EP style stones and a holder for using EP stones freehand. Oh and wedge clamps, production vises and vacuum fixturing components, but I don't think anyone here would be interested in those but they make me giddy with excitement!


I just got off the phone with the anodizer. The lead time started on the 3rd so the parts should be done the 10th-13th.
 
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The last part is now done!!! Wow, I first got the goahead, think verbal purchase order, last August. The anodizer will be done with the parts on Monday so EP may be picking them up on Tuesday, the anodizer is about 60 miles from them. I will be dropping the knobs off on Monday so they will be for sale early next week if you call. I asked Cody if he had the price figured out last Thursday and he didn't so he better get it figured out. It may be awhile before they are on their website. I will be cracking a good beer open once I get the polishing tape holders set up and running, yipee! Here is a photo of the prototype I made 1-1/2 years ago with the knobs I just made. The production version will be a little better finished and no cutter marks where the tips thin out. Sorry but I sent all the production parts to EP but they were not anodized yet anyway so not nearly as pretty. They are aluminum but have a .002" thick hard anodize, or proper term would be Type III anodize, so they should hold up. The one EP has been using all this time shows zero wear, mine has a little silver showing where I hit it with the diamond stone by accident.
Now that both the Apex and Pro have the option of magnets this blade guide will really compliment them.

SlideGuide.jpg


And a video showing the knobs getting made.

 
When I dropped the knobs off at EP this afternoon Cody said the anodizer is now saying they will be ready to pick up on Wednesday. When I know he has them in hand I will update, just in case anyone is itching to get one.
 
Speaking of Cody, I couldn't resist calling this afternoon and ordering one of the Slide Guides for my Apex. (And a magnet while I was at it.)

Gotta support the good guys in this hobby. I count David and Cody among them.

(The slide guides are up on the site now, for those who might be wondering.)
 
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