iModela results. All cut with a $3 0.8mm end mill. Largest piece is 40mm diameter

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Permalink Reply by Julian Chatt on June 22, 2012 at 11:02pm

The 0.8mm bit was £2 ($3) from eBay

Bokeh said:

I was surprised it could do the heart shape pendent, how high is the 'z path' (probably not the right term..)

Is 0.8 for the 3mm shaft the finest you can get and was it one of those really expensive ones?

As you once said, put it in the shop window and let it work it's charm, it will really draw customers I sure

Do you what cream with your humble pie, Pat ?

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Permalink Reply by Julian Chatt on June 23, 2012 at 12:08am

Spindle modification done and seems to be o.k. the amount of metal to be removed is very little.

Yes the software is very similar. The new version of Modela 4 is downloadable from Roland's website.

I just followed the software installation from the included CD and everything was o.k.

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Permalink Reply by pat schmidt on June 23, 2012 at 12:29am

I and alot of us guys have used and still us the ball bits (busch for years) they cut fine and are sharp remember they are made for cutting metal so they cut wax with ease...the mill... I never said it couldn't cut after all it's a roland...but when you compare it to it's 'bigger brothers it still falls way short, and into the 'beginners' 'hobbyist mill to me (and roland that's what they say)... which is nothing wrong with that only for my needs it's much too slow, too small, and too weak a motor, and I could probably figure out some other things if I had one around ..but I'm not going to buy one to find out... it might be good to get your feet wet..or totaly discourage you because it's taking forever to mill ...either way you would probably want to upgrade to a bigger model and then spend more money ..so back to my original thought instead of spending $1000 and have to replace the mill spend it the first time $3500 for the mdx15 or when you upgrade you will have now spent $4500...it all depends on where you want to go, how you want to get there, and how long it takes you to get there....I like to fly..beats walking....just messin with you!!

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Permalink Reply by pat schmidt on June 23, 2012 at 12:45am

I'll eat my pie after you find out what I'm talking about ..or when your crying cause the motor burned out in the middle of a long intricate milling job that has been taking 3 hours to mill and still not done, and you have to start all over when on the 'non' hobbist or should I say the 'pro' model mill would have only takin 30 min. yum yum time?....(all in good fun)

anyway it's a roland so I won't knock the quality I own roland equiptment kinda like their keyboards sure you can get a cheap one and it will sound good but not as good as their exspensive ones ....it is what it is....

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Permalink Reply by Julian Chatt on June 23, 2012 at 12:47am

The iModela and MDX 15 are COMPLETELY different machines.

I personally think that the iModela is an affordable introduction to milling which CAN produce decent results.

Not all beginners can afford the extra money that the MDX 15 will cost so that means that they will never have the fun that owning their own mill can bring.

Should the lack of cash condemn a person to be cast into the pit of despair to await the delivery of a budget 3D printer ?

NO ! Let them buy an iModela so they can reduce slabs of wax to worthless dust and cry on the shoulders of their loved ones.

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Permalink Reply by khayreyah amani wahaab on June 23, 2012 at 1:38am

hmm interesting, that actually did a surprisingly good job on those pieces - I wanted to ask, are those 'stepping' lines i can see on one of those pieces because of the bit or because of the machine? will i get that sort of stepping from my MDX?

(which by the way, is chillin' in a holding bay at customs waiting for them to get their fat @sses into gear. I want my friggin mill!!)

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Permalink Reply by Julian Chatt on June 23, 2012 at 1:54am

The lines are because I didn't allow as much 'overlap' on each pass of the cutter as maybe I should.

It is possible to adjust the amount of overlap in the software. The more overlap you select, the smoother the surface finish on the edges.

By the time the pieces are cast and polished I don't think it will pose a problem.

I hope you get your mill soon.

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Permalink Reply by pat schmidt on June 23, 2012 at 3:32am

when we say toy we mean the motor power, milling speed, plastic drive gears, life of the motors ,cutting speeds, feed rates ,how deep a pass you can cut, that's what we mean I never questioned the cutting quality just the rest.. you know the important stuff you look at when buying a mill ..for beginners it's a good way to start but you should also know the pitfalls of the mill as speed is important.... for the money you can make it back in a few jobs.... it's nice to know it works on the tin..I'll save you a piece of pie for later (when your ready for the upgrade) in a couple weeks? keep us posted ....

Bokeh said:

It does what it says on the tin !!! It's a hobbyist machine, clearly states that... no more, no less. Before the test run by Julian, I knew most of it's limitations but felt it prudent to reserve any public judgement based on youtube clips and self-proclaimed imodela experts.

If someone had one, used it and said it was not good, there's a review worth listening to.

It's a fair point, that if someone is serious about their jewellery business, they will have to upgrade soon but you are not going to lose money on the imodela. And as said before a great demo display for a shop. For me, I can test pieces before sending them off as well

I think you need an extra helping of pie

pat schmidt said:

I'll eat my pie after you find out what I'm talking about ..or when your crying cause the motor burned out in the middle of a long intricate milling job that has been taking 3 hours to mill and still not done, and you have to start all over when on the 'non' hobbist or should I say the 'pro' model mill would have only takin 30 min. yum yum time?....(all in good fun)

anyway it's a roland so I won't knock the quality I own roland equiptment kinda like their keyboards sure you can get a cheap one and it will sound good but not as good as their exspensive ones ....it is what it is....

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Permalink Reply by khayreyah amani wahaab on June 23, 2012 at 3:46am

lol i think i will stick to my MDX. if my 14 year old sister suddenly decides she wants to follow in my footsteps then I may consider the imodela and a copy of RG for a birthday present.