Porting Intake Manifold with CNC mill
 

Hey guys,

I just read through Dre 2000's thread on porting your manifold, (so no flaming!!) I don't mind doing this manually, but has anyone used or bought one from someone who has used a CNC mill?

I have access to several CNC mills and lathes and thought this might be easier usin one. I'm writing up a program now, but I don't have any extra manifolds layin around, so if it doesn't work right I'm kinda up a creek... I'll probably use a ball end mill to keep the radius of the mani so I don't have to file it too much. I was just wondering if this is possible before I slap it up on the ways. Pictures would be nice if you have some!

If you guys can think of any other work done through a CNC let me know please. (While my engine is apart) I'm a machinist, so I am always looking for something to mod out on my 7. My supervisor has a turbo grand prix and I've made many part for him, including an inter cooler housing and I bored out his throttle body and made new brass throttle plate things, so it's time to hook myself up!! I have some 3" SS tube on order so I can make a custom exhaust, and some AL tubing for a CAI (thanks CWSTTU) but that's gonna be after I get my engine working properly again!

If I get it to work properly I'll defiantly post some pics of the final product. Thanks for the help :D

-Rob


(sorry about double post, my internet went retarded, and wouldn't load)

I just can't see it being worth the programming and set up time. I you really want to increase them by a large amount making one out of tubing would be easier wouldn't it?

yeah i agree..it wouldnt be worth ur while to make a program for it

could you dimension it and use Mastercam surface toolpaths to port it? That would be more accurite... and you could do it over and over again. (do one for me?)




i just noticed the hairs on both of my arms are thicker and longer than i remember...

is than a word? wierd. than than than... sounds foriegn.

I still don't understand how you can port out the center of the manifold piping, I mean its at a 90degree angle and no tool is gonna fit in there. The most you can mill out is just the openings on the ends of the manifold... am i missing something here?

They make flexible shafts.

flexible shafts dont work in milling operations... you need maximum regidity.

but i see what you mean... 90 degree angles upper and lower intake... maybe hes doing as much material removal as he can with the mill and then going in there with something else (die grinder w/ flexible shaft)

I was planning on just doing the ends, so it'll have a machined surface (don't have to worry about pits and crap). I already have the program drawn up on FeatureCAM so all I have to do is slap it up, indicate the holes, and run the thing. I'll try to sneek it into work this week sometime and take some pictures of the final product.

I'm pretty good at programming stuff on FeatureCAM, I'm on leave right now because I just had another baby so I have a lot of free time! That's why I was wondering of other stuff you guys might of heard/done with CNC mills or lathes.

Thanks for the input
-Rob

Are you on drugs???

You are on drugs.

becuase of the 90degree bends, i dont see how cnc could offer much of an advantage over a well done manual job with a drememel or a die-grinder. you can actualy get to MORE of the manifolds with hand grinders anyway, and thats still not as much as you realy need.

extrude hone is the only effective way to get to those areas of the stock manifolds.

i can realy only see cnc being applied to precision port matching, since thats kinda a PITA done manualy, and you can never have too good of a port match:)

a little more ambitous project might be to design a whole set of billet manifolds that would bolt up in place of the stockers but be superior in design (tapper, surrace smoothness, volume, etc)
but this would almost certainly present the samfe problem of trying to mill out tappered cylinders, YIKES!

theres a reason baisically EVERY production intake manifold is cast......

what if you use one of those cyl hones attached to a flexible shaft? that would def get around the bend, and you'd be able to get a consistant abrasion action on the whole circumerence of the intake...

just my $.02 worth.
~suds

I would simply fab up a set from some mandrel bent stainless tubing. If you have a ported motor you want to shorten the intakes anyway. There's a huge write up on calc. the runner lengths. If you're set on cnc you could use it to port you're intake and exhaust. Now that would be worthwhile.(just my opinion) In case you're wondering, I do deal with cnc all the time, I'm a tool and die maker.(don't want you to think I'm putting in my 2 cents for nothing)Also if you're going to use a flex shaft there's really no reason to set it up on the cnc.

I thought about that last night, so I'm also thinking about ways to fab those up. I'll take the intake into work and measure the radi of the intake and try to bend some material up for it.

This seems to be the only problem I might have is hookin this thing up, not sure what it is. But I'll try to craft something up!

http://myrx7.myphotoalbum.com/view_p..._11_4_2004_052

I hope this link works, never put a picture in before!

-Rob

let me know what you come up with. if it's the location for the fuel injectors you're worried about build the tubing and flanges first then mount a couple small block for the injectors and set it up on the mill and machine them. I've been thinking about doing the intakes for a while but I have way too many other things to finish on the car first.good luck

Yea, i posted a while back about making my own as well.

what I was thinking about last night was to fab up just the LIM for the NA, it would include making two flanges from a gasket as a trace, then welding pipe in and connecting the two. Sounds simple but of course it'll take some practice, but im pretty confident that I can try it out, and after a few trial/errors I could get it.

The purpose would be so that I don't have to go through all the work of making UIM piping, just leave the stock, but to allow more room so that you can avoid the turbo spacer flange for NA upgraders!
I think the only thing that worries me is the water jacket plugs that are in the LIM, maybe if I just pluged them up completley so that I didn't need the o-rings, just gotta make sure the water never freezes..

small circles= injectors.
big circle= sub zero start bullshit. you dont need it at all. in fact, it was recalled by mazda.
if i were doing it, it would be with cnc'd end plates and mandrel bent tubing welded together. you need 4 injector holes, and variuosly sized vac nipples. other than taht, it would be simple. unfortunately, i cant get my paws on a CNC mill, so no go for me.

pat

All you need is someone that can use cad key or a shop that's willing to do the program from a gasket and laser cut the flanges from whatever material you decide to use. You'd be suprised how cheap it is. That's how I do mount kits and headers. I have a shop at my house and I do a fair bit of fabrication. I'll post some pics when I get a chance. If anyone needs something fabbed up they can pm me I just don't know if its worth the shipping cost for most of you guys since I'm in canada. If enough people order the flanges I'll get them cut,