Discussion

Last meeting, we did an exercise involving the milling machine. The milling

machine is used to drill, bore, cut gears, and produce slots on metal objects. The

milling machine is mainly used for working with metal objects but on that day, we

instead used a slightly moist block of wood as replacement for the metal object.

Using the block of wood provided by the assistant, he showed us the proper way of

using the milling machine. Things to remember before working on the object is to

plan beforehand what must the object look like after milling. For example is when

creating different kinds of gears. You need to know the proper amount of teeth the

gear needs. This is done by computation using the formulas taught to us by our prof

and the assistant. This way, errors that may occur while working on the object can

be avoided. After teaching us the computation of the number of teeth the gear needs,

the assistant then taught us how to operate the milling machine. The first step was to

turn on the machine. Some calibrations and setup was done before the milling was

executed. Next step was to adjust the teeth guide. Marking the position of the

indicator with a chalk or any marker is crucial because accidents might happen like

when the indicator gets hit and changes position. This could ruin the alignment of

the teeth of the gears. Next is to rotate the handle three times, for three times is the

number computed before the milling is done. Next is to position the teeth guide three

holes from the last. This rotates the object, moving the mill in line with the part
where it has not been cut yet. Next is to rotate the other handle to move the object

closer to the cutting blade to form the teeth. The process is then repeated until the

teeth of the gear is complete.

Analysis

The final result of what we have done are two gears, the spur gear and the bevel gear.

After using the milling machine to create the teeth of these gears, we tested them if

the teeth are in line. The spur gear fit perfectly with the bevel gear. The materials

and equipment that we used in this project were the milling machine, the block of

wood, and chalk. The chalk was used to mark the new position of the teeth indicator.

We noticed that many errors and accidents can be committed while using the milling

machine to create objects like gears. An example is not aligning the teeth indicator

properly. This will result the gear to not fit perfectly in the other gears, making it

useless. Another is when operating the machine. Slight wrong movements can cause

serious accidents. The cutting blade attached to the spinning rod of the milling

machine is very sharp and is dangerous for us humans. This is why before operating

the milling machine, or any dangerous machinery, you must first comply with the

safety regulations. Safety equipment must be always at hand and worn. We also

noticed that perfect alignment of the indicators in the machine is crucial for creating
objects like gears for the teeth in gears must be perfectly aligned to spin with other

gears perfectly and with ease.