WEEK 7
Computer Controlled Maching
Assignment:
- Test runout, alignment, speeds, feeds and toolpaths for your machine (group project)
- Make something big (on a CNC machine)
Software(s):
- SolidWorks
- Vcarve
Skill(s):
- CNC Machining
- 3D-Aided Design
- Wood Joinery
This week I wante to exlpore creating my own furniture
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
The inspiration for this week’s project comes from me watching countless videos of Japanese joinery on Youtube. There is this great Youtube Channel called Ishitani Furniture that has extremely detailed and well shot videos of the process of creating wood furniture. After watching a few videos on there, I felt ready to create my start creating my own project. Originally, I wanted to create a chair. I felt like making a chair would be an interesting challenge. Figuring out how to connect function, comfortability and aesthetics was an appealing challenge to me. The first step I took was sketching out chair designs. After creating a few I found one that I was happy with.
SOLIDWORKS AND PROTOTYPING
It was now time to convert my sketch into vector form. I decided to use SolidWorks to achieve this. With SolidWorks open, I created a new part file and used the sketch tool to create 2D sketches of my design. Create the sketches was straight forward. The hard part was creating the back of the chair. I had imagined using living hinges to make the back piece have some curvature to it instead of being a flat piece. After reading a few articles I was able to do some calculation and figure out the exact number of kerfs needed to have my wood arc the correct amount.
Once the SolidWorks files were done, I moved on to prototyping my design with a laser cutter. For my prototype I used 3mm Marine (Dark) Ply wood and the Epliog Laser Mini. Running the laser cutter was pretty simple but I did run into a hiccup. The back piece for my chair did not come out as I liked. I miscalculated the kerf and the piece did not curve to my liking. This was a bummer. Fortunately for me it was a blessing in disguise. I was planning to redesign the back rest for my chair but when I put together the bottom piece of the chair it actually looked quite amazing. It then hit me instead of making a chair why not make a table. So I did! The change in direction was a great because it also charged me up creatively. I made a second table prototype, this time including dove tails to add more structure and aesthetics to my table.
MAKING THE FINAL PRODUCT
The next step is to make a life size version of my prototypes. In order to do this I first had to update my laser cut files to Shopbot standards. To do this I basically scaled everything up and adjusted the clearances at places where joinery techniques were used. I also added a box of 1220mm x 915mm around my design. This box resembled the dimensions of the wood piece I plan to use. With my Solidworks updated, I was ready to start setting up the Shopbot form y piece. The first step I took was opening the Vcarve program and importing my files. Setting up Vcarve was easy, Luciano gave the group a great walk through on how to do this earlier in the week.
After setting up the Vcarve file , I then loaded my piece of wood onto the Shopbot and secured the piece of wood onto the bed.
Once everything was set up I ran my cut. The Pieces came out really well. I was able to successfully cut out my pieces without any major hiccups. Now the next step is assembling my table.
The table assembly went well!
Im happy with the final project. I do wish I used different and had a bigger variety of wood at my disposal. Aesthetically since the wood is one toned, it becomes hard to see the details.