My chip milling/labeling journey (2 Viewers)

I find it very hard, if near impossible, to tell between the LCV and SCV. Is there something obvious that I'm not perceiving?
Side by side I think it’s noticable also I’ve heard, LCV have raised centers and SCVs don’t.
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This was from a "Chipology 101" document that I recently stumbled across through Google, but it was from the ccgtcc.com website. (Casino & gaming collectors club)

Best way I can describe it is for LCV chips, the angle of the cane is very slightly more horizontal, the cane is a little longer, and there is a bigger gap between the cane and the bottom rim of the hat on the left side of the symbol. Also, there is a slightly thicker border from chip edge to the first ring.

Is funny, I first started out not noticing the difference myself, but after knowing what to look for, I can't NOT see the difference now.

(And some more recent THC casino chips like Flamingo $1s, Horseshoe Baltimore $1s have SCV on one side, and LCV on the other.)
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This might be splitting hairs, but I've also noticed the distance from the edge of the chip to where the mold begins is slightly thicker with the LCV vs SCV.

Edit: Looks like @AWenger touched on this already in his above post.
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Update on your CNC milling progress please! :D

Ok.

Well I did it and bought a CNC machine! Took awhile but I finally pulled the trigger. Got it 2 weeks ago. Assembly took hours.

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First test you do is with a Sharpie taped to the router. Kinda cool, huh?

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But of course I needed to cut something. Asked my kids what I should cut and this is what they came up with...

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Wanted to see how small I could cut letters...

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So I've just been trying things out - getting things all ready to start milling chips. I had to make a threaded waste board (all 240 holes) so I could attach the clamps and brackets I also made.

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Above is the test jig I made on the library's CNC with 11 chips. I have one designed that will hold a rack of chips at a time. Not sure I'm going to make it or just make a smaller one that hold a barrel or 2. 100 chips at a time would be nice, but we'll see.


Did some other playing with it too. Took this image...

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And created a vector from it and cut this...

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Not the best, but I'm still learning. Want to get to where I can relief cut the inlay image of any chip. Could make some cool signs and plaques!


Then it was time to move on to the chips. Just ran a quick test on a single chip. You can check it out here. (lower your volume) WINNAH!


Then I got ahead of myself and tried to mill a shape, but forgot to re-center the router before starting. Doh!

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Hope to get the barrel/rack jog cut this weekend and try are a full run of chips! So excited.


Here is a link to a few more photos, building the bench, CNC assembly, and some first cuts, if you are interested.
 
Thanks for the update! That is awesome progress! That circle mill with the larger bit went by fast! You could easily do a rack at a time....;)

That relief being cut is super cool, I bet you could fill it in with enamel or something and get some great looking images to pop.
Thanks for linking the photos too!
 
Thanks for the update! That is awesome progress! That circle mill with the larger bit went by fast! You could easily do a rack at a time....;)

Hehe - yeah, way faster than the one at the local library. But it's not the time as much as the possibility for something to go wrong. I did my best to square the machine but not sure what the tolerances are the further away from the 0,0 point is? When I'm milling 24.5mm diameter circles .3mm deep, any little bit off is noticeable. Don't get me wrong, I'm making that rack sized jig, but I may start out with just a barrel at a time. Baby steps. :D Plus the rack-sized jig is almost as large as the machine itself. Not very manageable, but it still has to be done.
 
That's awesome @arch3r! I've been wanting to get a cnc setup for a while now. Looks like fun. Which size shapeoko is that?
 
That's awesome @arch3r! I've been wanting to get a cnc setup for a while now. Looks like fun. Which size shapeoko is that?
Thanks! It's fun. I went big and got the XXL. The standard was just too small and the difference between the XL and the XXL was only $200. But you need a lot of room. That work bench I built is 4' x 4'.
 
Ok, it's been a while so here's the update.

Well I have learned alot over the last month or so. Learned that I don't know nearly as much as I think I do. And that watching you tube video's and reading blogs does not make you an expert an anything.

I have had many trials and errors trying to make the right jig and setup to mill efficiently and consistently.

First I created a jig that would hold 49 chips (7x7).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/H4wLhewZRdHRuM9q6

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Toss some chips in and give it a whirl.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yu6zNm7En4kjWj4m8

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If you watch the video, you'll see the the second chip that gets milled moves a bit. That is a no-no and I need to correct that. Also you'll see that the last two chips don't get milled at all. This is because not all chips are the same depth and my CNC is only so accurate. And when we are talking 0.25mm, any little bit off is a lot.


So I took some time off from the CNC, ordered some more toys for it. I got an air compressor to help blow out the dust created.

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And I got a dust boot for the CNC, so help collect the dust as its milling.

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With the new toys I went back to making another smaller jig ( 4x5 ) with a top plate to help hold the chips in pace and keep them from spinning.

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That worked fine, but making it out of MFD was always only for a prototype. Plus, the layout was inefficient.

I could fit 5x5 in a smaller foot print. Which is what I did, but this time I was using HDPE ( think plastic cutting board material ).

The screw holes between each chip lines up exactly with the holes in my wasteboard so I can lock the jig down from any position.

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And the cap with the same screw holes. Allows me to make sure it on and tight against each and every chip. No popping out and no spinning.

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Problem is, look at the bottom row. Milling depth is off and not level. Did some testing and across the distance of my CNC, I'm off about 1-1.5mm. No big deal if I'm milling a sigh of something like that. But when my tolerances are 0.25mm, that difference is 400%-600% off. So now I'm in the process to try and level and square the machine yet again. If not, then I'll need to make a smaller jig and mill less at a time to reduce that discrepancy.

So there you have it. Still zeroing in on the optimal milling setup. But it's getting there.
 
Get a scrap board the size of your jig plus a little bigger for clamping your jig.. Attach it to your table. Mill the top of the board flat with the CNC. Attach the jig to the board. You should be pretty darn good with your depths then.
 
Get a scrap board the size of your jig plus a little bigger for clamping your jig.. Attach it to your table. Mill the top of the board flat with the CNC. Attach the jig to the board. You should be pretty darn good with your depths then.
But it's not just the waste board being off. But the chips are also off. Milling used chips when they are all not the exact same height just adds to the possibility of your mill depth being off.
 
I wish I would have seen this thread sooner.... I have a CNC in my shop/air conditioned garage. I admire your courage buying a cnc in order to mill chips. As confident as I am operating my setup I have never considered milling chips because I know how easy it is to screw up.... I have a pile of wood and plastic scraps from failed projects. Even building jigs to hold multiple chips the chances of perfection are not guaranteed. The machines you guys are using are hobby machines ( as well as mine 1000 X carve with all bells and whistles) and require constant tuning. Assembling the kits are time consuming and you may not have the ability to assemble perfectly and will be chasing a simple problem for months ( happened to me). Good Luck trying to find the center of those chips. If I were you I would have a pile of junk chips to practice with. Build a perfect jig and drill a hole where your touch point hits the top of the jig. This will allow you to easily repeat .... finding the touch point is the trick.
 
But it's not just the waste board being off. But the chips are also off. Milling used chips when they are all not the exact same height just adds to the possibility of your mill depth being off.
He said that his table is 1 - 1.5mm off. This will take care of his machine table being off. Without a good foundation any milling to a decent depth is hopeless. Then he can measure the chips and sort them according to the thickness. Easy enough to do and then he should have very little problem getting good results.
 
He said that his table is 1 - 1.5mm off. This will take care of his machine table being off. Without a good foundation any milling to a decent depth is hopeless. Then he can measure the chips and sort them according to the thickness. Easy enough to do and then he should have very little problem getting good results.
He already milled the HDPE pocket for each chip, so he should have the same effect that way. The waste board also looks milled on the close up pictures
 
And i don't know why the base is off. After squaring and leveling the shit out of it, i milled flat the entire waste board. Even if the rails are not exactly level from side to side, after leveling the water board, it should be the exact height relative to the spindle across the entire thing, right? But still nope, still a bit off. Annoys the fuck out of me. Can't seem to figure out where the error is coming from??
 
He already milled the HDPE pocket for each chip, so he should have the same effect that way. The waste board also looks milled on the close up pictures
I saw that but I wasn't sure if he milled it in place or not. If it was milled in place and not moved, then the depth differences might just be due to the resolution on the servos, but that wouldn't account for the taper in the milled pockets. That's why I assumed that the fixture was milled and then moved. I suggested using a scrap piece so that you can make it parallel to the machine movement each time you want to mill some chips. I guess we'll have to wait for Arch3r to chime in.
 
Got a d
And i don't know why the base is off. After squaring and leveling the shit out of it, i milled flat the entire waste board. Even if the rails are not exactly level from side to side, after leveling the water board, it should be the exact height relative to the spindle across the entire thing, right? But still nope, still a bit off. Annoys the fuck out of me. Can't seem to figure out where the error is coming from??
got a dial test indicator? HDPE is a bit softer than I would personally use but you can check the pocket depths with a DTI attached to your spindle
 
And i don't know why the base is off. After squaring and leveling the shit out of it, i milled flat the entire waste board. Even if the rails are not exactly level from side to side, after leveling the water board, it should be the exact height relative to the spindle across the entire thing, right? But still nope, still a bit off. Annoys the fuck out of me. Can't seem to figure out where the error is coming from??
You're right - if you milled the entire surface, it should be parallel to your machine movement. I've never seen one of these machines in person so I can't really tell you where to look. Most often error like this is in the accuracy of the servos or the tightness/looseness of the ways.
Check to see if there is any wiggle as you move the x and y axis to different positions. Any looseness will affect your accuracy.

I did find a way to dial in the positional accuracy and while it might help, I'm not sure that this is your problem.
https://docs.carbide3d.com/shapeoko-faq/how-to-calibrate-the-machine-for-belt-stretch/
 
Ok, it's been a while so here's the update.

Well I have learned alot over the last month or so. Learned that I don't know nearly as much as I think I do. And that watching you tube video's and reading blogs does not make you an expert an anything.

I have had many trials and errors trying to make the right jig and setup to mill efficiently and consistently.

First I created a jig that would hold 49 chips (7x7).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/H4wLhewZRdHRuM9q6

View attachment 299259


Toss some chips in and give it a whirl.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yu6zNm7En4kjWj4m8

View attachment 299260


If you watch the video, you'll see the the second chip that gets milled moves a bit. That is a no-no and I need to correct that. Also you'll see that the last two chips don't get milled at all. This is because not all chips are the same depth and my CNC is only so accurate. And when we are talking 0.25mm, any little bit off is a lot.


So I took some time off from the CNC, ordered some more toys for it. I got an air compressor to help blow out the dust created.

View attachment 299268


And I got a dust boot for the CNC, so help collect the dust as its milling.

View attachment 299269


With the new toys I went back to making another smaller jig ( 4x5 ) with a top plate to help hold the chips in pace and keep them from spinning.

View attachment 299270

View attachment 299271

That worked fine, but making it out of MFD was always only for a prototype. Plus, the layout was inefficient.

I could fit 5x5 in a smaller foot print. Which is what I did, but this time I was using HDPE ( think plastic cutting board material ).

The screw holes between each chip lines up exactly with the holes in my wasteboard so I can lock the jig down from any position.

View attachment 299272

And the cap with the same screw holes. Allows me to make sure it on and tight against each and every chip. No popping out and no spinning.

View attachment 299273

Problem is, look at the bottom row. Milling depth is off and not level. Did some testing and across the distance of my CNC, I'm off about 1-1.5mm. No big deal if I'm milling a sigh of something like that. But when my tolerances are 0.25mm, that difference is 400%-600% off. So now I'm in the process to try and level and square the machine yet again. If not, then I'll need to make a smaller jig and mill less at a time to reduce that discrepancy.

So there you have it. Still zeroing in on the optimal milling setup. But it's getting there.

I'm pretty sure you could collect all that Paulson dust and sell it here. There have got to be people here who would pay good money to do a line of THC.
 

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