Finished up all the skateboard parts today and got to try out sandblasting for the first time!
These axle truck parts required quite a bit of cleanup to get them ready for shipping, mostly due to how I went about machining them and got impatient with the machine's speed. Taking them right off the machine, I had to deburr the edges quickly, then lap the axle with the truck using a grit compound to ensure they fit together perfectly. The downside to lapping the two parts together is that now they are made for one another and won't have that same fit on the other parts. One way of removing this issue is to randomly mix and match the parts and lap them on one another, thus creating a "general fit" that matches each other.
I also made a mistake when drilling these parts, and that was I should have added an extra toolpath to add a radius to the corners, which would have saved me a ton of time later as I had to do that part by hand.
Once all the parts fitted nicely together and cleaned them all up with light sandpaper and some scotch bright, I then moved over to sandblasting them. It wasn't necessary at all, but we had a machine in the shop, and I wanted to learn how to use it and see the outcome of doing so. Sandblasting basically blows very light sand using compressed air and gives your material finish a satin look to it.
I'm actually quite pleased with the results, and I wasn't quite expecting it to reveal as much as it did; you can pretty clearly see some of my mistakes in the project in some areas, and others it conceals bits. Overall though, it was super easy to finish off all the parts and get them looking real nice!
It's been a long, drawn-out project lasting two and a half weeks, but I've learned so much at this time. I'm thrilled for the experience, and it's helped me overcome quite a few misconceptions I had about 5-axis programming and setup.