HackerTube.dev

5Axis Machine Cutting HELMET / DAISHIN SEIKI CORPORATION

DAISHIN SEIKI大槇精機 · 5.4M views · 2009-09-28 · 2:32

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

A short promotional video of a 5-axis CNC machine milling an elaborate helmet, made by DAISHIN SEIKI with a DMG machine and hyperMILL CAM software. It shows what 5-axis machining can produce.

On Hacker News

HN uses it as a go-to example of impressive 5-axis machining and CAM-controlled toolpaths.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2015–2022

Topics

Search by tags

What people said

pen2l · 2022-10 · Reference

[LINK] specifically mentions a high-resolution jig. I wouldn't be surprised if in some cases just the tooling bits are around $5000, leaving aside the whole machine. For high-resolution machining, e.g. for lens fabrication, there's a whole science to drill bits, where special processes allow for achieving up to sub-nanometer surface roughness in parts. If they're making holes in hard metals they might be using titanium, diamond, or carbide drill bits that have crazy physical properties and cost a pretty penny. In some sense CNC machining is also a WWII era technology, but CNC machines from that era couldn't touch what modern-day machines can do and the repeatable precision with which they can do them: [VIDEO] While on the subject, this really is a fascinating field and it rules the world more than people might think. Consider that TSMC's core machines are made by ASML. Among the most important and specialized-IP parts in ASML machines are the huge lens which are made by Zeiss. Zeiss makes the lens with some next level machining equipment from companies around Heidelberg and Karlsruhe area. High-resolution machining isn't super known to the general public but it is so fascinating once you get to see the things they can pull off.

Read the original HN comment ↗
wlesieutre · 2021-08 · Reference

There's also machining a piece of metal in an incredibly complex way, but with the right automation can be turned into a comparatively simple process. If you showed someone 100 years ago what we could do with a block of metal and a 5-axis CNC machine it would blow their mind. That's the type of area where automation can do great things. Look for places where "simple for a machine" and "simple for a human" diverge. I could do the job of every logic gate in my computer, but I wouldn't want to try and boot a copy of Windows with a pad of paper and a pencil. As an example, not something you'd want to make on a hand operated milling machine: [VIDEO] But to look at something that's easy to do for people and think "That's easy, a machine could do it!" It's always going to depend on why it's easy. Handling situations that differ from one job to the next is a pretty strong point for humans, especially when those differences are handled by grabbing and moving things. But then, five years ago we would've put "playing Go" on there with grabbing and moving things, so you never know.

Read the original HN comment ↗
LeifCarrotson · 2017-10 · Reference

It's definitely possible to use a CNC machine to mill the shape of a rocket engine. You can do some pretty crazy internal milling with a 5-axis machine: [VIDEO] But the problem isn't the shape of the bell at all. It's that the wall of the bell is not solid, but hollow, filled with plumbing. [LINK] The fuel actually flows through the pipes and voids in the red-hot engine, where it absorbs the heat that would otherwise melt the engine. It then flows back up to be burned. You'd need an endoscope, not a robot arm, to mill that out! And neither an endoscope (obviously) nor a robot arm would likely be rigid enough to mill in these materials. Robot arms are typically only used when milling wood, plastic, or soft modeling materials. A CNC mill in metals like the exotic Nobium alloys used in these engines needs incredible rigidity which robot arms just don't have. Consider the hardened tool-steel shafts of the end mills used in the first video - and those are easily broken, while just cutting aluminum!

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by DAISHIN SEIKI大槇精機, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources