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Anyone interested in my Roland MDX-40 milling machine story?
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CrazyFool
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Joined: 07 May 2008
Posts: 203

PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wish I could show you an example buddy, but so far I have only milled two test pieces. Crying or Very sad I have not done a rubber mold and I have not poured any final, plastic parts. But maybe this weekend I can find a few photos from guys who have done all the steps.
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ahillworks
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Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Posts: 308
Location: Orlando FL

PostPosted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cool that would be great. Man don't you hate it when you got all these cool things and no time to play or work with them. I havent used my poor vacuum former in months now =(
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CrazyFool
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Joined: 07 May 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Totally. What's really frustrating is when you finally get a big block of free time... but find that you're so thrashed from working that you just veg out instead.
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jegner
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Joined: 30 May 2003
Posts: 2144
Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

CrazyFool wrote:
Totally. What's really frustrating is when you finally get a big block of free time... but find that you're so thrashed from working that you just veg out instead.


Happens to me all the time. LOL.
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CrazyFool
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Joined: 07 May 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jegner wrote:
CrazyFool wrote:
Totally. What's really frustrating is when you finally get a big block of free time... but find that you're so thrashed from working that you just veg out instead.


Happens to me all the time. LOL.


Glad I'm not the only one. Now, how to get over the guilt I feel when I cave in and veg out... hmm. Rolling Eyes Laughing
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ahillworks
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Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Posts: 308
Location: Orlando FL

PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CrazyFool wrote:
jegner wrote:
CrazyFool wrote:
Totally. What's really frustrating is when you finally get a big block of free time... but find that you're so thrashed from working that you just veg out instead.


Happens to me all the time. LOL.


Glad I'm not the only one. Now, how to get over the guilt I feel when I cave in and veg out... hmm. Rolling Eyes Laughing


LMAO Drink a Beer and say to your wife hey would'nt it be cool if I made some Trays for the Spoons and stuff in the kitchen lol J/K I may just do that now lol

Been working allot on the Car Audio Stuff. Getting a Astro Van soon and ordered all the magnet signs and stuff I need to turn it into a Mobile Office. Thinking about converting the former to fit in it as well. Keep you posted.
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gsentineld



Joined: 20 Feb 2009
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 4:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is a nice post, thanx, man.

I have been looking for something like this for a long time, although I don't own a prototyping maching of any kind.

MDX-40 has been around for a long time, I just never had the time to really make good use of it until now.

Where would you suggest for me to purchase an used or pre-owned one?

There are several types and like you have mentioned, they are all quite expensive and/or use proprietary material. MDX-40 sounds like a good choice, but I've always wondered about it's fine detail capabilities.

I've read the spec, but just never used one or seen how fine it could do.

What do you think?

your opinion is greatly appreciated.
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CrazyFool
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Joined: 07 May 2008
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gsentineld,

Which milling machine (Roland or another brand) you should buy is a difficult question for me to answer because of my limited experience. On the negative side I will say that the MDX-40 will not cut metal. So that is something to consider. On the positive side you do not need to buy the accessories avaiable for the MDX-40, like the rotary axis unit that spins your workpiece so that you can mill more than one side in a single pass. The rotary axis is nice, but it is not necessary. You can get along without it. It is also small and limits the size of your workpiece so you would need to break larger projects into smaller pieces.

As far as the detail possible, the MDX-40 can do amazingly fine detail as you can see in the photos below (not my photos). But if you want to do extremely fine detail like jewelry then you probably want the jewelry machine that Roland sells.

I purchased my MDX-40 on eBay for $8,000 ($8,500 after shipping costs). It did come with the rotary axis unit and a larger work surface table so I saved several thousand dollars. You may want to check the Yahoo Group 'mdx_users' to ask more questions and see if anyone has a machine for sale. The guys there are really cool. You may also want to try starting with a smaller, less expensive machine like the MDX-20. It can do nearly everything that an MDX-40 (that does not have a rotary axis unit) can do. The only real difference is that the maximum workpiece size is smaller and the potential detail might be a bit less.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/mdx_users/

That's all I can think of to say at the moment. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask and I will try to answer them.





CF
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gsentineld



Joined: 20 Feb 2009
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thank you for the reply, the pictures were quite helpful.

I'm not in the US, so it might be kinda hard to buy from ebay.

However, I do appreciate what you've advised.

How is your project coming along?

The detail on the prototype depends on the raw material used, and I know Roland basically can mill anything but metal and wood.

The MDX-20 is not viable, like you said, the detail is a bit limited.

But thanx. I will check out the yahoo mdx user group.

Your mdx-40 is not under warranty, still, is it?
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CrazyFool
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Joined: 07 May 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

gsentineld,

Your welcome. My machine is no longer under warranty. I bought it slightly used. The owner had it about 18 months and now I have owned it nearly two years. But the machines are very solidly built. I don't anticipate having any maintenance issues for a long time.

How is my project coming along? Well, basically I am at the point where I have everything I need. I understand how to use the machine. I understand how to use my 3D modeling software. I have several very defined ideas for projects. Now comes the intimidating part... actually completing a real project as opposed to simply learning and practicing. I'm one of those people who is either all or nothing and I'm coiling like a spring at this point. Not really doing much other than thinking, but I hope to have my first item for sale on eBay by the end of April.

Of course, if you coil too long you might compress your spring and damage it!

CF
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gsentineld



Joined: 20 Feb 2009
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

true.. so don't coil too long...

I have joined the Yahoo group like you had suggested. It's interesting to see what others have done with their machine.

One website which caught my attention, it's a fourth axis addon for mdx-15/20, it costs about 1500 USD.

Other than the size, they claim that the 15/20/40 are basically the same machine, which I somewhat doubt.

Thank you for pointing me to the right direction, it's been very useful.

If you do manage to finish or complete one of your projects, please do share, maybe what you sell on ebay is something we could use, too.

good luck.
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Hirgon
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Joined: 15 Jul 2007
Posts: 20
Location: Edmonton Alberta Canada

PostPosted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is awsome work your doing. I looked into these machines once i saw the "Behind the Scenes" building of the ROTS Vader....way too much money for me (as it would also cost me a divorce Very Happy )

Once you get the feel for it i have a few projects that i would love to commission you to do.

Please keep us updated.
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CrazyFool
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Joined: 07 May 2008
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 3:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey guys. Just wanted to let you know I am still around. Spent the last week (my vacation) going over all the receipts for the big vacuum forming job I did over the summer. The client is still trying to catch up with me ($$$) and wanted itemized invoices. Turns out over 600 items were purchased for that project - everything from little screws to big sheets of plastic. Almost done with the paperwork. After it's done I hope to devote all of April to this MDX-40 milling machine stuff. Cool
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CrazyFool
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow. I can't believe it's been 3 years since I posted my last MDX-40 'update'. Crazy is as crazy does! Today I just finished digging my milling machine out from under a pile of boxes and paperwork. Now I can actually walk up and touch the thing. Before I could not reach that far. I installed a nice shelf above the machine with a fancy LED light strip. One thing the machine did not come with was a light. In a dimly lit room you can hardly see the thing working. Anyway, now you can! Also bought an l-cheapo laptop at Staples for use as the milling machine's dedicated computer. You really need a dedicated computer with a milling machine. As cutting can take many hours you can't afford the job to be interrupted because your PC crashed while you were surfing the web, chatting and playing music. So... today was a good day. Smile
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TK161
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Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't been on the site in a while and was looking thru and saw Lightwave 3D. I use Lightwave 3D too. I did the same tutorials. I actually won 4th place in a national 3D magazine contest. I've been learning Zbrush lately. If you need any help with modeling anything let me know.
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