this post should help - rather on a technical level - users of the mini miller modela creating a small relief mold less than 5mm deep (depends on the bits...)
enjoy !
1.) milling a relief mold. STL file was prepared using Rhino. approx 16-24 MB in resolution of 0.01-0.02 mm model size approx 200/130/40mm.
2.) i decided to mill the positive shape, intend to cast silicone and reproduce in gipson or prepare for metall casting or for further production of soap or chokolde e.g. havent decided yet...
3.) software used: Modela Player 4 Vers. 2.01
4.) due to the extreme high amount of detail, theselection was based on the motto: the smaller the better, but still in a reasonable time frame... so we found a bit, measured it: the diameter was around 1.5-1.6mm -> 1.5875mm ( must be a 1/16 inch)
5.) due to time pressure we skipped finishing, only worked in roughing
6.) instead of estimated 24h the following parameters resulted in an estimation of 9h
- XY Speed: 10mm /s (pritty OK I guess) - Z Speed: 0.5mm/s (could have been faster) - Cutting In Amount: 1mm (although 0.5mm would have been more gentle, due to time pressure we went for 1mm steps, before simulation showed 0.5mm steps with 12mm/s XY speed resulting in 24h milling !!!) - Path Interval 0.8mm (approx half the diameter steps) - Finish margin was selected as 0.1mm (remeber this was Roughing) which is fine, doesnt really matter,,,
7.) Due to the time pressure the horizontal scan lines (selected in X direction) were chosen, although the machine stops often when it comes to Z jumps in the relief... bad luck i guess
8.) The first model came out too rough (nice horizontal digital lines...) so I made a 2nd this time with roughing 3mm diameter with 10mm/s XY speed and 1-2mm/s Z speed...and than finishing with 1/16mm ball bit and similiar speeds with a 0.2mm overlap. came out supersmooth !!
,,,,
9.) images see attachment, also with the silicon cast (www.formX.nl) I used 940smooth which suits for shocolate....
Have fun, thanks again for the machine hours
Best, sadfriday
PS Kind manager in charge was Bas. Model milled on 110707 at the waag in amsterdam
PS 2 if anyone knows where to get a PU block please let me know, i used MDF which is a little fuzzy and soft in the middle. a PU block would have been cleaner for creating the negative mold. with the MDf i had to use a wax spray for easy removal of the cast...
