Most of you already know that CNC machining has been a hobby of mine for several years now. Few things are more mesmerizing to me than watching shards of metal fly off a block until the part I designed emerges at the end. I got a new project last week that I thought would be fun to share and in case you’re curious, I actually run the mill in my home garage so I can work into the evening without sacrificing too much time with my wife and kids.

The first and second generation D8 XRD systems came with a very large octagonal housing. These are very useful when you need lots of space for extended optics, accessories or anything else you might need to store. They are particularly hard to ship though. The factory method calls for lots of bracing and crating to keep the large glass panels safe, but when one of these is shipped to us, it rarely gets this treatment. As long as the handlers are careful, this isn’t a problem, but we’ve still seen many of them with the handles broken off the bottom of the doors. Replacements are available directly from Bruker, but I’m not one to pass up a chance to run the milling machine and 3D printer.

These new Al handles are beautiful and were a great project for me to get familiar with the new mill. I’ve made several extra sets just in case the need arises in the future too.