Eighth Week
COMPUTER CONTROLLED MACHINE
ASSESSESMENTS
| HAVE YOU | TASK COMPLETED |
|---|---|
| Explained how you made your files for machining (2D or 3D) | YES |
| Shown how you made something BIG (setting up the machine, using fixings, testing joints, adjusting feeds and speeds, depth of cut etc) | YES |
| Described problems and how you fixed them | YES |
| Included your design files and ‘hero shot’ photos of final object | YES |
GROUP PROJECT
| HAVE YOU | TASK COMPLETED |
|---|---|
| Test runout, alignment, speeds, feeds, and toolpaths for your machine | YES |
NEIL´S LESSON
Index
WEEK 8 : MAKE SOMETHING BIG
MY IDEAS
For this week´s assignment, the goal is to MAKE "Something Big" for learn the use of CNC Routers Machines and knows the design rules for works with them.
I haven´t previous experience with this machine or others so this assignment it´s really interesting for learn a lot new things. This is the unique experience i have, tiny works with my grandfather when i was a child, fabricating boats :
I loved pass the time doing tiny things i have little hands and he used them for help in task hahaha and this was my first handmade mechanism design, a box for store mini-mills, was a present that i made for him when i was 7.
Mechanisms, Tiny, Mills from Pilu Caballero on Vimeo.
I found a beautyful documentary about PlyWood on vimeo so i decided to share because it learned me a lot things for start with the material which i will use at the practice. I recommended to see it to all beginners like me.
Love Letter to Plywood. By Tom Sachs from Tom Sachs on Vimeo.
The first idea i had for make something BIG was readapt a design from Sine Lindholm and Mads-Ulrik Husum, the GrowRoom, a lovely concept which i would like to build some day. We just have a panel for work on it, i haven´t space in my house and discart it for future.
The second idea is based at the moments i spent with my dog at the beach and was thinnking about to make something for stop the sun. For this I drew basic shapes at AutoCad, making joints with the idea to practice stitches technniques.
As you can see at the pic bellow the "Faito´s Parasol" is an interesting design which play with the sun lights producing changes at the shapes shadows remembering you the sleeves moves.
For test the design and decided about joints i made it at the Laser Cut Machine. The results open my mind in differents ways :
DESIGN TIME
1st ATTEMP
The next i designed was a house for my Dog, but i discart the idea later because at the night i dreamed that i was fabricating is last box and woke up crying. But here are the things i made :
I used Rhino for the 2D and 3D design first a tolerance tester with the joint selected and later the house.
MY DOG DIED 4 DAYS LATER, SO FINNISH THIS ASSIGNMENT WAS A TASK BETWEEN TEARS....
2nd ATTEMP
TEST TOLERANCES
First exercise always recommended is to make a test tolerance for know how quantity of material the machine will to remove when mill so i decided to make my own test tolerance design.
1. First i made for that task was to measure my plywood panel 2440x1500 but also i noticed differents weights along the panel, so i decided to use a medium in my case 20.50mm. Why is important this ? The Test tolerances is for learn how to design correctly the joints.
2. I designed a simple piece with fusion 360º, but as always, Fusion miss some polylines when i exported the model to .dxf and we had to correctat Vcarve. software.
When test with the panel and as i was the last for make the week assignment, always i ´m present and participated in my classmates assignments so i learned the tolerance previously.
For that reason i decided test first the correct, 20.80mm and tell to my instructor but he suggested me to try in others and finally use 20.70mm.After this, i began with the design but during the night i was thinking in how hard or difficult should to be assembled the parts if the measures are wrong... As i explained i was working a lot in the rest classmates tolerance´s mistakes.
MY DESIGN
Finally, i decided to made an always useful and basic model about a shelve for store things, so i use Fusion 360º for that :
1. As you can see at the picture below, first i decided made something light, drawing a basics polylines for made the first model thinking in the horizontal structures :
2. Later i measure the horizontal model selecting the sketch that later i will to parametrize :
3. For the vertical structures where the horizontals structures must to hold on, i draw another simple model based in a rectangle :
4.Later i draw the other 2 structures where the horizontals structures must to hold on too :
5.The bext step was measure both structures, horizontals and verticals with the idea to respect the tolerances:
6.For made my design parametric, i use Parameters function at fusion 360º where i set first the name of my new parameters :
7. For finish y change all the parameters there :
8. The last thing i made was extrude the surfaces to the measure desired :
As you can see at the pic below in my case 16,00 mmm :
9. Finally i exported the model as a .dxf file for test things with my instructor.
I wont to make the shelve to 16mm for move easy but my instructor suggested me adjust the design to the measures of my plywood so i redesigned measures at AUTOCAD for don´t spent all day :
1. First step followed was imported the .dxf with the idea to extrude the surface :
2. There i founded some things wrongs, as i commented above, Fusion make my life "better", so i decided redraw and fixed the polylines missed :
3. Ready for extrude without problems i decided to assembly the shelves for be sure about the joints and other connections or fix measures if somethings is not working:
I gave some layers surfaces properties as the colour for have differences between horizontal and vertical structures so now i had the horizontals coloured in grey and the verticals in pink.
4. With new layers properties i had to organize in the plane the two exterior´s vertical estructures first adding the horizontals later:
5. For that i was using rotate and translate tools in autoCad making the task easy:
6.Later was checking that all structures were at the correct positions with differents view points :
7. Finally i had my shelve aseembled and ready for pass to the fabrication processes :
FABRICATION PROCESSES
The Fabrication process was similar made during the tolerances test so here i can describe it further. Our CNC Room have a computer with V-Carve Software installed commented above so this was the proccesses followed there :
1. First i Imported my file there a very important step is to adjust all the parameters to my design. First, importing my .dxf file into vCarve (CNC machine's software) opening a new document :
Here i adjusted some things as the Panel Dimmensions : 2440mmx1220mm. Thickness: 20mm.
I checked if at my design are duplicated or opened vectors.
2. With this software i can to make the joints that i decided to use, the basic "DogBone" connector, a possibility present in other softwares like Vcarve called "Cabeza Femur:
So i decided to use this option.
3. Later, we must to set the angle of the bit and his trayectory so i choose "zig zag" with an angle about 20º and 100 mm distance.
4. Is the moment for set the mill using the metric tools where i choose the 2lips RECT with a diameter and deepth about 6mm :
5. I decided to add some supports adding tabs to the panel :
6. The preview was the last step i made for check everything is working :
7.For finnish with process i saved the trayectory as a .tap file the extension that the CNC can to read:
Bits and Settings
I made a table also for set the parameters followed by the CNC with the speed , the bit used, the feed rate and the plug :
| FLUTES | RPM | FEED RATE | PLUG RATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| "6 mm 2lips | 12.000 | 3657.00 | 600.00 |
For finnish with the documentation about the week, i made another video with the process about fabrication. You can to see it here:
Make Something Big with CNC Router Machine from Pilu Caballero on Vimeo.
ASSEMBLED TIME
The assembled was not easy, why? as i was thinking by the experience lived, the idea that my instructor suggested me not work and i don´t know why if he made 3 times the same suggested me the measure...but doesn´t matter, i love work with plynwood...
WEEK PROBLEMS
This assignment cost me a lot tears, why? during the first week our instructor suggested us an interminable book of joints really interesting for learn but hard for study about my experience. I decided made something for my dog, but during the 2nd night i dream what i was fabricating the final box for him. This week my pet died....AFTER 14 YEARS WITH ME!
WEEK FILES
WEEK´s LEARNED
All was new for me during the process so i learned how to design, how to mill, how to use CNC, How to prepare files there with Vcarve, how to assembled... and of course this week i learned why my instructor like that i have problems.
GROUP PROJECTS
For this year we must to make some practices in group so Lucio and i decided to made basic testers.
How contribute for this task group? First of all i organize the works for to do in time, also develope the web site for this week explaining there all things worked together and individually.
I used the design made the last year for test the CNC machine present in fablab CEU as you see in this page for try an attempt at the cnc present in the FARMFAB ALGARVE.
So for see the experiments made together please visit our Group Project´s website here :