Uploads from USSJoin, tagged sphere

Mold Open

nobody@flickr.com (USSJoin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:32:10 -0800

USSJoin posted a photo:

The finished ice mold, with one half off the rails so you can see both halves. Note that no smoothing was done post-milling on the inside of the spheres; that's the level of detail we got from the mill.

Sphere in Martini

nobody@flickr.com (USSJoin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:33:34 -0800

USSJoin posted a photo:

The finished sphere, in a martini glass.

Sphere in Hand

nobody@flickr.com (USSJoin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:30:56 -0800

USSJoin posted a photo:

Holding a finished sphere.

Mold Closed

nobody@flickr.com (USSJoin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:32:36 -0800

USSJoin posted a photo:

The finished ice mold on its rails and closed.

Aluminum Shavings

nobody@flickr.com (USSJoin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:30:26 -0800

USSJoin posted a photo:

Turns out that a CNC mill produces a *lot* of waste aluminum, which when combined with the lubricant/coolant mixture, produces pointy goop.

Mold on Rails

nobody@flickr.com (USSJoin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:31:35 -0800

USSJoin posted a photo:

The finished ice mold, on its rails; you just heat, stick a block of ice in, and watch it work.

Half There

nobody@flickr.com (USSJoin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:29:42 -0800

USSJoin posted a photo:

This was the first half of the mold, which we heated and applied to a block of junk ice in the back of the freezer. Imagine our surprise at how well it turned out.

Milling

nobody@flickr.com (USSJoin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:28:33 -0800

USSJoin posted a photo:

This is the CNC working with its 1/8" ball mill. The evil-looking pool in the middle is a mixture of lubricant and sand-size aluminum powder the mill took off while making very small cuts.

Final Milling

nobody@flickr.com (USSJoin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:29:02 -0800

USSJoin posted a photo:

You can see the CNC mill working here to take the rough cuts it made on its first pass (with a 1/4" square end mill) and turn them into a nice sphere (with a 1/8" ball end mill).