“But Chris, what happened to your milling videos?”

“Well, the same thing that happens to lots of projects, they got re-prioritized!”

I really enjoy working with my new mill! It’s awesome and I’ve learned a ton. I didn’t post it to this site as a separate blog post on this site, but I did post two new videos to my YouTube channel. Both were failures…but that’s ok! A large part of the decision to get the mill was the learning process. The first was figuring out problems in using a half inch cutter and the second in doing profile cuts. But since then, I took a break.

So I finally got my new end mills in the mail and got to the store to buy some 6061 aluminum (good prices on the clearance rack at The Metal Store!)

Anyway, here is my super simple first cut. As I said on Twitter, it feels much like the first time I made a PCB. Nothing even remotely special about this cut, just that I was the one to do it. Guess that’s the power of making.

This is the first time I try cutting anything on the new mill. It’s also the first time I have a full beard on camera (and last!).

The result was mediocre but acceptable for a first try. Stay tuned to see more cuts!

If it hasn’t already been painfully obvious, I’m trying to learn mechanical stuff. Odd for a site that’s supposed to be about electronics, but I’ll get back to that on here eventually. Hopefully you’ll stick around until then. I’ve found that working with the mill has me looking at mechanical problems in a completely different light and has made me a better system designer overall.

I’m pretty good at stressing myself out. Not for any particular reason; normally just because I find it’s more productive than watching TV. How, you ask?

Well, starting podcasts could be one. While they are exciting at the beginning, there is invariably some work that needs to be done. I’ll want to figure out how to get the recording setup to work or make the website more reliable or try and find some kind of funding for it. In the end, it’s driven by my desire to put my voice on the internet, but at the base of it all, there’s no reason I need to be doing this stuff.

I got the mill out of the box and bolted together. No calibration or leveling yet, but that will come in subsequent videos. Enjoy!

This video is showing all of the gear I purchased in preparation for getting my CNC mill up and running. This video shows just about everything except the mill, which will arrive tomorrow. Check out the links below to see all of the stuff I bought, in the event you’d like to purchase some or all of the same gear.

• Accessories and measurement devices
  • Vernier Calipers
  • Dial Indicator
  • Dial Indicator Magnetic Base
  • Feeler Gauges
  • Machinst Square Set
• Controller and Motors
  • Soigeneris STDR-4C Controller which contains:
    • Gecko G540
    • Warp9 USB Smooth Stepper
    • MeanWell power supplies
    • E-stop
  • 166 oz-in Stepper Motors
• Software
  • Mach3
  • CamBam
  • ViaCAD
• Mill
  • Taig 2019CR-ER bought from Carter Tools

Many thanks to everyone who helped me along so far! I really appreciate it, even though I can’t take everyone’s advice all at once. I hope things continue to get more exciting!

Other podcasts:

• Check out TheAmpHour.com sidebar to see other podcasts we like.

Hardware I use:

• The Audio Technica AT2020USB microphone.
• Dave uses the Samson C01U.
• I use a the Nady MPF-6 pop filter to block air getting to the microphone.
• I use the Samson SP01 shock mount to reduce vibration in the microphone.
• And I have the On Stage DS720 mic stand to hold the shock mount on my desk.
• When I’m out and about or need to record multiple people at once, I use the Zoom H1 handheld.
• While recording this video, I had my Olympus ME-15 lapel mic plugged into the H1, which was acting as a USB mic.
• If I’m in a pinch, I use the microphone on my Logitech 9000 USB WebCam

Software I use:

I often find myself worried about where my job might be in the future.

It’s not that I worry that my current job will evaporate overnight (though that is a possibility for any and all of us). But it’s more of a general concern, because globalization continues its march onward. In general, I find that globalization continues to be a thrilling enterprise because I see what changes it is made in my own life and my own career; electronics really have gotten more exciting since expanding to the worldwide marketplace. The trend is most often notice is the one of general consolidation of duties of an engineer. What this means from an analog electronics perspective, is that my job as an engineer is shrinking. Many of my favorite companies (analog electronics companies) continue to make highly integrated components that I love talking about. In fact, this is why I started ChipReport.TV. I saw it is a general trend that engineers are expected to know more and more about parts without; no allowance is given for being told about them…they just need to know. So I sought to be the one to tell engineers about the parts.

So I’ve continued to keep myself busy lately. I have a new project called ChipReport.tv. I’ll be reviewing the newest released parts so you don’t have to work so hard to find them.

Here’s the intro video:

And here’s the first installment!

Around here, I hope to do a site refresh soon, since this blog has gotten a little stale. I think I’d like to transition it to more of a traditional “home page” for all the things I’m working on. Comments welcome on any of the above.