Holy crap! Can't drill holes correctly!

[wizard69]

For those interested on how a machinist would handle manually drilling very small holes, in this case on a lathe, look up Joe Pieczynski on YouTube.   He just started a series on building a model lathe and is doing so on a manual machines.   This involves drilling holes in a bunch of very small parts.

Machinery is only part of the equation, technique can be a huge factor in success.   I've mentioned sensitve drilling attachments here but never gave any details, here is an example of one such device: https://www.sherline.com/product/1012-532-sensitive-drilling-attachment/.    There are many approaches of course but the general goal is to allow the driller (machinist) the ability to feel what is going on at the cutting edge.

[beanflying]

That would be really bad for feel when using very small drill bits.   It is very easy to break the small drills commonly used in electronics, so you would be back to needing a sensitive drilling attachment.

As far as quill...

Isn't the big wheel the only thing that make anything go up and down?
Doesn't it move the entire housing/motor/chuck?
The chuck doesn't move relative to the housing, does it?

Correct. It is effectively a complete drill driven up and down by the wheel/pinion acting on the fixed steel rack.

Not my experience at all. If by 'sensitive' you mean smooth or balanced Rack/Wheel/Spring combo tension against the weight of the head then it is very good.

I fail to see how this drill is better or worse than a conventional Pedestal drill and I have owned and used both on small drills over decades. The majority of small drill I have broken over that time is from either Dremel or Hand held drill use where sideways or to much pressure is really easy to make happen.

[Renate]

I have written a number of small programs that write very efficient G-code...

I like writing G code too. Usually a profile multi-pass routine and some cut/paste.
If you are using somebody else's machine it allows you to maximize your cutting time.
I like putting in lots of comments so that I know what I'm doing, "Bottom U cut pass #2".
There are online and other G code visualizers so that you can check your work.

The worst I hate is that old style graphic design on the mill (like the old Mill-Rite).

[Electro Fan]

CNC doesn't require CAD!   CAD might make it a thousand times easier but you can make use of a CNC without a CAD/CAM package.    The interesting thing about CNC is that it can actually be cheaper these days to go CNC than to buy or make, all the fixtures required to do everything manually.    That said a manual mill is still a very useful tool.

Yes, I have a CNC mill, and while I do have a CAD program, I rarely use it.  I have written a number of small programs that write very efficient G-code for
common operations like drilling a list of holes by XY coordinates, boring holes of arbitrary diameter, cutting rectangular openings, etc.  These are very fast to use.

Jon

What mill are you using?  What types of materials are you milling?  What is the software that you use for the fast/common operations?   Thx

[exe]

I have the same problem, and I bought a drill press. Now my holes are (almost) perfect.

What size / model press made that nice hole in that narrow rod?  Thx

I think it is proxxon tbm 115 (it was a gift) . Tbh, I'm not big fan or proxxon, their tools are too micro. Like, this drill press has only 3cm of vertical travel of chuck. For me this is on the border of being  useful. They are also expensive, and quality is not always up to expectations. Overal, I like my drill press, but disappointed with their vices (quality is bad, rubber jaws are easy to fall off) and their mitre saw (it is big, heavy, but it can cut only very tiny things, angle set is not precise due too much slack).

[Ground_Loop]

I use split point drill bits. I don't have a problem with them walking, even on a 1-2 degree surface that are on aluminum enclosures.

This and a little Tap Magic for aluminum. You'll get perfect round holes with no exit grab or walk.