Fab Academy 2014

Jeff Opichka

Home                    Course Outline Project Management Project proposal Computer-aided design Computer-controlled cutting Electronic production 3D scanning and printing Electronics design Computer-controlled machining Embedded programming Molding and casting Input devices Composites Interface and application programming Mechanical design & machine design Output devices Networking and communications Applications and implications Invention, intellectual property, & income Project development Project Presentation

Computer Controlled Machining This week I designed and built a computer station for our CNC router.   The computer station now sits on a table and is very unattractive.  I would like to have a cart that is can be mobile, organized and dust free for the computer.   Below are two working drawings that I used during construction.   The workstation will be constructed using 3/4 inch MDF plywood with dado joints and wood glue with no mechanical fasteners.  Following the sketches above, I used Mastercam cnc software to draw individual parts for the computer workstation.  Our router has a 4 x 4 bed so I needed to make the parts from two pieces of plywood 4 x 4 MDF. MDF plywood is not the ideal material to used for cabinets but is is very easy to machine.  After making the first two side pieces I noticed the router didn't cut all the way through the plywood.  The depth of cut was set at 3/4 inch, for the next cut I made I set the depth of cut to .760 of an inch and it cut fine.   The rabbet cuts were a little small as well.  As you can see from the picture below the dado does not fit.  To make the dado fit I had to set the width to .507 of an inch to fit properly. With the proper settings as mentioned above, the top assembly fit much better.  With some extra time I cut doors out of 1/2 inch MDF. Below is the finished product.