Machining a Flexure Nutcracker

[@StefanGotteswinter]

Enjoyed it a lot! You know how much i love seeing benchwork done. Its its own art and i always appreciate seeing it done over tumble/media blast.

[@SELG88]

the man himself 😎

[@carltauber2939]

Spoken like a German craftsman!

[@j.dietrich]

You know you're a toolmaker when you call 17-4PH in H900 condition "a pleasant material to work with". Nice work, as always.

[@machinist7230]

I actually got an eye twitch when he said that - 90% of what I work with is 6061..🤣

[@JFettig111]

It really is a pleasant material to work with.

[@henryswan1374]

@@JFettig111 i agree, much nicer than aluminium for me, because it isn't gummy, and it surfaces well

[@Hawk013]

@@machinist7230 OMG same here, I did about 95% 6061 and a mix of 6AL4V and random superalloys. The one single 17-4 project I had was a nightmare from beginning to end.

[@D3nn1s]

Right. When he took the passes on the spring mechanism and went like 'eh, wouldve been faster on my other machine' i was like tf. I would have been scared of this thing breaking off already lol.

[@needleonthevinyl]

Apparently I now love household items that look like Lockheed Martin would have charged the military six figures for. The idea of a some kind of helicopter part hanging out in a kitchen drawer is just hilarious. In all seriousness I'm really really curious what a reasonable price would be for a one-off tool like this would be. It's an expensive material, seems like a bunch of operations, custom fixtures, and hand finishing. I know almost nothing about the machining industry so this is all magic to me.

[@AlexanderGee]

Absolutely beautiful design. This sitting on the shelf at a high end home goods boutique would make everything else look cheap.

[@adamthemachinist]

Thanks

[@gregeconomeier1476]

Never underestimate the ingenuity of a machinist with an engineer's mind. Great video.

[@daniellewis984]

"with an engineer's mind" - he's not putting toilets in the hallway OR cable tray through a steel I-beam.

[@harrisonhartley5021]

17-4 PH900 is probably my favorite stainless to work with. Made alot of gun parts out of it. Always loved the surface finishes i could get out of it. Excellent work!

[@jimmurphy454]

Fantastic -- I'm learning a ton from these videos. Your integration of 3D printers in your workflow is really interesting and inspiring; definitely making me see my FDM printer in a new light.

[@malachilandis9542]

"Play with flexures" is my New Year's Resolution now, thank you. Great work.

[@kovko69]

Flexures are very interesting and have the potential to be superior in overall performance, as in this example. In this context, it's essentially replacing a rotary bearing with a compression spring, so there are fewer parts, less friction, less wear, and no assembly required, all while the flexure operates well within the steel's fatigue limit so it practically lasts well over one's lifetime. Now imagine bearing systems that can be replaced with flexure components--the efficiency improvements will keep stacking with each replaced part. The downsides are that it's more difficult to manufacture and it'll cost more. But tools like this are worth it.

[@homemadetools]

Great job, it came out nice. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week.

[@adamthemachinist]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@rootvalue]

I like seeing your more artistic work (though it is undoubtedly a functional tool). Wonderful to have household items that are also engineering novelties. Thanks for spreading holiday cheer.

[@FCleff]

I thoroughly enjoyed this and all of your other videos. The demonstration of the utility of an engravers ball vice alone was worth the price of admission. That sweet little 3-D printed scissors jack was brilliant as well. A CNC mill is a bit beyond my budget though. I guess I'll just have to settle for shelled walnuts. ;-) Cheers and Happy New Years, F.C.

[@pyrobeav2005]

Popped down to the comments to find out what that vice was called, thanks!

[@624Dudley]

I’d say you bring together a blend of down-to-earth and downright magical. Well done! Happy New Year, Adam.

[@trumanhw]

Right..? I just cannot believe he doesn't have 3M subscribers ... and instead, I have the luxury of Adam occasionally even seeing my comments because there's less than 200 ... instead of what he deserves ... which is like 30,000 comments (as I'm sure his content will eventually have).

[@omarbrokeit]

Thanks for the videos Adam, as a beginner the details you include are incredibly helpful.

[@ronhuffman7973]

I’m a huge fan of hand finished tools and parts. A rare skill that shows talent that few people have today. Nice workmanship!

[@Wizradical]

Thank you for explaining the Z-axis ripple.

[@IstasPumaNevada]

That's really sharp looking. Nicely done.

[@kb2bsc]

Hey Adam. What FDM printer do you use? And what coolamt is that on the HAS? Thanks for your videos and knowledge you share .

[@cedi98]

the coolant is called Synergy 735 from Blaser Swisslube edit: not synergy 735 but neat oil gt15.

[@kwaaaa]

Always a pleasure to see a master of his craft at work.

[@SevroAuBarca04]

Always learn a ton from your videos! Happy new year and thanks for all the work you put into sharing your knowledge.

[@Ujeb08]

Very cool little project! I was really surprised you milled out the flexures and profile - I thought for sur this was going to be done on a wire EDM. thanks for sharing!

[@risengdesign]

Beautiful work! Really like the videos.

[@rexmundi8154]

Awesome work as always! I’ve been doing this stuff for 35 years and I learn something every time. I’ve really went nuts with super glue over the years. I use it a lot. For parts like this that are delicate in the soft jaws, adding a few drops of glue can keep them from springing in. I also usually load the bottom of the jaws with some stacked up aluminum scrap that’s the same thickness as my part to keep the jaws from creeping in as top pressure is released.

[@naisbyw3276]

Absolutely stunning part, nice work😍

[@TheTacktishion]

great Idea....! Thanks for bringing us along....

[@sarveshlr110]

You are a good designer with manufacture ability as the base, I run a high precision machine shop and find a lot of gap between drawings and machining which if narrowed will reduce part cost.

[@MacMiskenn]

Nice! I really like the jack, totally gonna steal that.

[@phant0m739]

Man, that's nuts

[@tribaldragon19]

Is the STL available? I'd like to 3d print in in resine...Great Great piece of machining work!!

[@PackthatcameBack]

That is a wickedly awesome project. I wish I had the money to get a machine like that, and the space to put it in.

[@joell439]

Stunning kitchen tool from a machinist. Definitely inspiring design. Thanks for tickling the creativity…. 👍👍😎👍👍

[@Arthur-ue5vz]

This is also called a "compliant mechanism", which you probably already knew. Have you seen the Zenith Defy Labs wristwatch that eliminated about 20 or more parts by using a one piece component with a bunch of flexures? I never would have thought of a nutcracker. That is soooo cool! 🙂

[@harindugamlath]

That is incredible work to be honest. Can you kindly explain more on that lack of "tensioned z axis screw"? you mean like a pre-loaded double ball nut arrangement? or like a counterweight?

[@alasdairhamilton1574]

Adam, The nutcracker is not only functional but a beautiful work of art too. Can I be your brother in law so I can get one 😊 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@SquidIndustriesco]

Hey Adam, what coolant are you using in your Haas? It looks like Blaser Synergy 735 since it's clear. -Lucas

[@adamthemachinist]

Neat oil , gt 15

[@PaulBigginsMinus]

Any chance you'll share CAD for this?

[@ashpalmer1365]

Always excited to see a fresh video from you!

[@johnrobholmes]

What a nice project! Love your use of the scissor jack

[@phatpat6667]

At 7:20 when you refer to cuspping, is that a slight indent where the fillet transitions to a flat? I'm currently trying to prevent this in my own work.

[@jobkneppers]

Awesome work! Awesome nutcracker! Thank you! Best, Job

[@HolosunGodOdin]

Thanks for sharing, Adam!

[@JustinAlexanderBell]

Wow that belt grinder is pretty cool.

[@Psyrecx]

*Would something like this have a high risk of metal fatigue?*

[@wings808]

Great content, really enjoyed it a lot! Also really envy the way your work/life style. As a CNC guy myself, I truly wished that one day I can be like you, working in my own home shop and appreciating creating something in machining at last.

[@perrypark8485]

Your videos are awesome, always enjoy your content. Thanks for posting.

[@anglerfishcreativelighting6494]

this is really cool. really enjoyed this video

[@lawmate]

Awesome work, love the design

[@omicron0mega]

The belt sander is adorable.

[@vincenzozinfollino5330]

Beautiful work! Please, can you explain what is the process you have used to design and develop the flexible design ?

[@TheUnrealPownament]

Also cool for print-in-place metal SLS manufacturing. I wonder how strong the hinge is at torsional stress. Using additive manufacturing the strength could probably be increased.

[@BlueF350]

I really love watching your channel. My passion in life is machining, and I have been a mill CNC programmer for a very long time. Foundry production tool and mold work is my favorite. Right now I work in a job shop which is more lucrative (you wouldn't think) but it is. Thanks for the great content!!!

[@marcofornari2431]

Hi Adam, i love your work and as a fellow hobby/work machinist i truly appreciate this craft you share. I have a question: i'm tired of the relatively poor rust inhibiting performance of my BLASER coolant, what is that transparent coolant you use??

[@adamthemachinist]

That’s oil not coolant, blade gt15

[@asdfghjkl1aff196]

Nice work, i want to ask how much electricity and overall cost of making the part is. I love the concept of 3D printing and CNC but i always assume it's way too inefficient to make novelty parts like toys or nutcracker in this case. I'm really just curious if it is a viable solution to buying new gadgets or is it just done for fun?

[@adamthemachinist]

The electricity might have only been a few dollars to machine this. The Shop Generally has a 200 dollar month power bill with all 3 cnc machines running . The raw material would be rather expensive at around 50 dollars to buy, but I had it left over from another paying project. In general , its not cot effective to machine something that you can go and buy. 3d printing is different, much cheaper to get a part. Ultimately , the real power of machining and 3d printing isn't making things cheaper than what you can buy them for , but making things that don't exist in the market place

[@StephenBoyd21]

Most probably the nicest set / pair (what is the term?) of nutcrackers I've ever seen.

[@MrTad99]

Appreciate the effort that goes into the videos Adam thanks so much for sharing! Happy new year.

[@adamthemachinist]

Thank you

[@jmeleika1]

This is my first time seeing your channel. You’re very skilled. Great work, I subscribed

[@dan4653]

I sometimes use a pink block pencil eraser to wrap the paper around. Lets the paper push into the block on the high spots, and smooths out the finish some.

[@adamthemachinist]

That’s a good tip

[@bluejayfabrications2216]

I am but a fabricator But I too use 3d printed parts for welding fixtures like that little jack Between my welding table and printed fixtures it can really speed up workflow as well as increase accuracy

[@zachmiller9175]

I wish I had one of those sized for hazelnuts, I crush the meat and send bits of shell across the room almost every time I open one and a nutcracker with a hard stop to it's range of motion would be perfect. I don't have a cnc so the best I could probably do is put a tapped hole in a regular nutcracker with a machine screw to limit travel.

[@philipp594]

I bent / broke so many nutcrackers cracking macadamia. I would recommend that for torture testing.

[@DuyTran-pt1bw]

Which cad/cam software were you using?

[@robertwatsonbath]

Thanks Adam, Happy New Year.

[@jimmyp6443]

That was nuts

[@motormaker]

Great video. Thanks for posting.

[@465maltbie]

When hand polishing with a dowel I put rubber hose on the outside of it, like fuel line. Lets you still push and guide where you want the pressure but also has some resilience. Charles

[@colehawkins6623]

As always an excellent video Adam. Really enjoy the tool maker refinements. Please keep the videos coming. Happy new year from AK.

[@465maltbie]

looks like an Erowa base on the 4rth, have a great New Year. Charles

[@kevinrblodgett]

Love it, thanks for sharing. Good level of detail as well.

[@2dividedby3equals666]

Lovely bit of work as always. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Happy New Year!! Take care!!

[@soko45]

I am a security specialist and don't even understand half of it. Still very soothing video

[@TheMetalButcher]

Subscribed! You're a very impressive machinist. I like flexures, and I like your Nakanishi micro motor. We have a few at work. Very pricey, but worth it.

[@bdot02]

Awesome content as always, thanks Adam

[@jimsvideos7201]

Very well done indeed. Happy new year, too.

[@Bob_Adkins]

Superb, but it's expected from Adam. Happy New Year!

[@AgentWest]

Curious project. I find it interesting how one half of the flexture acts as a hinge and the other- as a spring. But what is that smaller "set of jaws" for? Really tight marker caps? Superglue bottles? lol Also, what coolant are you using? I commonly see that milky stuff, but clear would be more useful in many cases. Thought that was just water for a bit, but it looks thicker. Besides, water would just rust everything.

[@adamthemachinist]

The smaller set is for almonds, a stubborn pistachio, or also the seed in peach pits. The coolant is actually cutting oil , blaser gt15

[@AgentWest]

@@adamthemachinist Ah, did not even think about pistachios and such. Be careful with peach seeds though, they contain cyanide.

[@BenNawrath]

You said there’s “cusping” on the fillets. Is that the tangent point between the radius of the fillet and the flat face?

[@beachboardfan9544]

Forget that belt grinder, I'd take a media blaster or tumbler over that any day! No hand work for me!

[@besenyeim]

Not just the work. The finish from both of these is more pleasant for me. This nutcracker, with a silky sheen from bead blast would be gorgeous.

[@StefanGotteswinter]

Thats the difference between something that looks like a medical instrument finishing wise (the nutcracker) or something that looks like mass production EDC items with the media blast/tumbled finish.

[@harrisonaero]

@@StefanGotteswinter best alternative IMO is to tumble/bead-blast and then apply hand brushed finish...

[@ikbendusan]

just scrape it /s

[@cooperised]

@@besenyeim Got to disagree with you there. Aesthetics are subjective for sure, but for me that brushed finish screams "quality" in a way that a flat matte tumbled finish could never do.

[@Engineerd3d]

Happy new year. Wonderful work! That certainly looks like a medical grade but cracker!

[@thomasvmanning]

This is awesome. Does 17-4 need passivation to stay rust free?

[@adamthemachinist]

Passivation Certainly improves its rust resistance. I’ve built many 17-4 jigs/fixtures for use in a light duty indoor environment that never had rust issues without passivation . If this was going outside or to be used near acidic foods I would reconsider or change alloys.

[@Lomitatawa]

Very nice design ... but two parts connected with an insert of spring steel would make milling a little easier and give you completely new design choice.

[@stevensmart8868]

That nutcracker is da bomb

[@giorgiocanal1659]

Great, great job.

[@dontfeelcold]

@2:13 you talk about the mark that the tool leaves due the machine not having a tensioned Z axis screw. How does tensioning the Z axis screw eliminate it?

[@adamthemachinist]

There’s less vibrations and more stiffness . Most mold class machines at a minimum do that or have even more sophisticated approaches to get really smooth motion

[@dontfeelcold]

@@adamthemachinist could you give some pointers in the direction of more information on this subject? I'm not sure of what search terms I should use.

[@johnnason7019]

What belts are you using for your NSK? I have a foredom belt sander and the overlap where the belt is joined makes it exasperating to use.

[@lawmate]

Trizact are good belts, from 3M. Most dealers will cut and tape them to the size you require and they are great for polishing stainless.

[@adamthemachinist]

These are nsk belts , the overlapped area is hardly noticeable

[@hawkprecision7878]

Smart looking project looks the part, Adam. Would your Haas handle 3d profile machining on small dies like in plastics dies (accuracy over speed)? I have seen a Doosan (DEM 4000) with a Mitsubishi controller that has thermal compensate and wanted to know your thoughts? Happy New Year and hope to see more of these videos.

[@adamthemachinist]

As long as you stick with contour or waterline strategies , where the z axis doesn’t move . I’ve gotten very good results in the past . Now the Mori seiki handles the small 3D work

[@hawkprecision7878]

Good to hear. How do you find using cutting oil instead of cutting fluid mixed with water? Here in Western Australia, it gets hot so maybe an option. Thanks for the feedback.

[@adamthemachinist]

It gives very good performance in small tool work and hole making. It’s not ideal for high volumes of metal removal as its capacity to cool is no where near as good as water based options . Maintenance and top offs is nonexistent though

[@hawkprecision7878]

Does the haas make much noise in your work space with toolchange and air? I saw your neat workshop in a NYCNC video. I am looking to do similar. Thanks

[@adamthemachinist]

@@hawkprecision7878 the machine itself isn’t to bad , it doesn’t use much air to do a tool change and use no air when operating. It’s a little noisey at 10k rpm but most my work in this machine is much slower . The Actual air compressor is the loud part of the shop . If I had the space I would have a dedicated sound deadened area for it

[@johanness6545]

Do you plan on making the scissor jack available on thingiverse?

[@cruch9]

Love the videos! What brand serrated jaws are you using in your mill vise? What is the part number is that NSK belt sander system?

[@osianleahycnc]

Beautiful as always! Out of curiosity, do you jave the 10k (or perhaps 12k, i can't remember the upgrade they sell) spindle in your mini mill?

[@adamthemachinist]

Mine is a 10k , I think the super mini can go to 15?

[@Goff100]

Could you share the information about the 2mm endmill? What corner radius, depth of cut, feed rate and rpm? I have struggled with 1/8" endmills and deep slots in 15-5 H1025. Thank you.

[@travistucker7317]

I would imagine with a 2mm or .08" tool, he can get 250sfm or so if he has a 12k spindle. He might not even be running it that fast. Maybe 180sfm. Feed is based on desired chipload and how many flutes the tool has, but here he is going real easy on it, he says so. Don't want chatter. Feed rate somewhere between 5-10 ipm i would guess. Stepover looks like it's slotting then stepping over 20% maybe, leaving .002-.005 for his finish pass, adoc stepdown maybe .04 maybe l less. Corner rad is probably. 01 or .015 relatively. .2mm maybe

[@cnxunuo]

Happy new year! Would you mind sharing the model? Pardon my to laziness figure out flexure thickness etc, would love to make one myself as a leaning piece!

[@Isaacmantx]

holy crap, I want one of these!!!

[@Isaacmantx]

any decent machinists out there want to toss me a quote...?

[@saf3ty3rd]

What coolant is being run? It appears crystal clear in the video.

[@adamthemachinist]

It’s neat oil , blaser gt15

[@keemao1]

Thats very cool,

[@edpopelas2844]

Brilliant!

[@judelarkin2883]

Very cool.

[@TrPrecisionMachining]

good job adam

[@therealme613]

Omg that little belt grinder is Super f-in sweet!!! What is the brand and model??? I gotta have one… great job BTW

[@adamthemachinist]

Nsk evolution system

[@Anthony-cz2it]

wht coolant you run sir? and you scanned this with what?

[@adamthemachinist]

It’s gt15 from blaser, neat oil . Not sure what you mean by scan

[@Anthony-cz2it]

@@adamthemachinist you designed this part from scratch? or did you scan it with a 3d scanner

[@adamthemachinist]

@@Anthony-cz2it I modeled it from scratch

[@davidmott2090]

Nice work

[@weyers17]

That polishing tool to orient your part would be incredibly helpful where I work. Care to share the brand/model?

[@adamthemachinist]

Grs brand engravers vise