Thanks for all the comments. No troll, be assured - I felt it would be seen as a potential troll, hence the purposely added statement.
For nearly all of you, .025mm is probably in a day's work, but to me, it's fine!
I am currently working on a prototype tool to assist with the removal of data platters from hard drives.
It needs to consist of a circular (10cm dia.), flat head (2cm thick), to which I need to attach three "fingers" in the form of (probably) titanium, of about 3-4mm in width, and 1.5mm thick. However, due to the design of hard drive housings being fairly random, the positioning of these fingers has to be adaptable to a number of places around the main head, in order to provide maximum compatibility.
I therefore need to be able to mill this head (which needs to be from solid brass) to fine (in my mind) tolerances with the idea that the titanium fingers will slot in from below, to be secured in place by either a screw or a retention clip.
I also need to attach this assembly to a frame so that it can be held
*very* securely in place whilst the fingers are pressed against the edges of the platters and secured by friction, and then (as in a vertical mill) raised about 10cm, then slid across about 20cm to the receiving drive.
All this time, there must be no relational movement between the platters
- even .01mm would be disastrous, leaving a non-recoverable drive.
So I need to be able to mill the head, the arms, frame, and tap various threads in the parts that be brazed.
I've done some milling. Once in my life, when I was 12. I had a fishing reel, a component of which broke. Using a drill press and a brass screw, I managed to fashion a suitable replacement. Obviously I have a steep learning curve, but I don't particularly wish to share the actual design with an engineering firm, and would rather dabble in my free time.
Hence all these questions.
Again, thanks for the info. I am tempted to try the Axminster SIEG X1 for the prototype - I saw it mentioned recently on this forum. I'm aware that it is probably not going to be up to the job for the final production units, but rather than wade in at the deep end spend £000s on something eminently suitable, I'd rather test the water with a "throwaway" job.
If anyone has any comments on the possible suitability of the above milling machine, I'd appreciate them.
Many thanks
Odie
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