An Order of Operation Question

I'm making a spring clip for my dividing head. It holds tension on the sector arms that rest against the indexing plate. I have the ID dialed in on a rotary table below my mill head. Here's the question: Would you remove the part & form the bevel before or after the side is cut away?

20181020 01.jpg

20181020 02.jpg
 
Sorry, my poor head can't picture what you need to do there. In general I try to do any work I can in a single setup, taking the part out and trying to get it set back up correctly is sometimes a challenge.
 
Jim, this is a picture showing the spring clip on a different dividing head. The part really doesn't need to be 'centered' to cut out the 1 side. It does have to be beveled to provide spring tension though. I think it easier to get a good even bevel formed (shaped) in what is just a modified washer before cutting out the side. But, I've never made a spring clip & the part is sitting there ready to cut out that 1 side. In hind site, beveling the thing 1st would have been the correct solution ..... yes, before I even set it up on the rotary table to dial in the center hole diameter. It is sure to grow a wider diameter during the beveling process. DOH. Time to start over.

1. Bevel, 2. Dial in center diameter, 3. Cut 1 side to fit around the shaft.

I'm glad we can have these discussions = I always learn something!


20170606 01 - Copy.jpg
 
A hit & a miss. Cold forming a bevel on a cheap fender washer resulted in 2 cracks. This is gonna take a torch ....

20181021 01.jpg
 
Having dismissed the 1st washer, why not practice beveling techniques on it, my little guinea pig? With a thinner cross section, it conformed readily. Chucked it back up on the rotary table & proceeded to make the slot. My 1st pass, if I understand correctly, was a climb. Toward the end of the cut it did grab & pull the piece into the cutter. It is hard to hold an angled piece though, so I retightened it & went for the other side. Well, since I started from the outside: this too was a climb. The part shifted again, but I was ready for it by not trying to cut to final dimension. Cleaned up the carnage on a grinder & home free! In the 1st pic, bevel height is being checked. Now knowing the high point on my hammer formed bevel, I knew which part to cut away.
20181021 02.jpg

It was easy chucking the washer back onto the rotary table, because no rotary motion would be required. I simply locked the X & the rotary table (Z) & made my 1st pass. Repositioning X, locking & making the final pass completed this operation. Part installed:

20181021 04.jpg

Never did this before & had no idea of what to expect beyond my needs. It is my hope that this 'bevel' styled spring clip will be better than the Brown & Sharpe, Van Norman versions that I have. Might just retrofit those somewhere along the way!
 
Ahh, now I understand. That one is a tough call, it might be easier to form the bevel after machining out the slot. Less metal to bend, and hanging on to a beveled washer in the mill might be a bit challenging.
 
I think i would have bored the center close to spec, then I would remove most of the metal from the sloted area but i would leave just enough metal intact at the outer edge of the slot to help keep the washer from deforming from its round shape while forming the bevel. After the bevel was satisfactory i would go back to clean up the inside diameter with a file or dremel/grind stone and then finally finish off the slot with a hacksaw.
 
Back
Top