Home About me Final Project Student Agreement
1. Project Management 2. Computer Aided design 3. Computer controlled cutting 4. Electronics production 5. 3D Scanning and printing 6. Embedded Programming 7. Computer controlled machining 8. Electronics design 9. Output Devices 10. Mechanical design & machine design 11. Input Devices 12. Molding & Casting 13. Networking and communications 14. Interface and application programming 15. Wildcard week 16. System Integration 17. Applications and Implications 18. Invention, Intellectual Property and Income 
          
Computer Controlled Machining


          This week we are working on computer controlled machining, to make large objects.

          The weekly assignment was to create something big, preferably with no fasteners or glue!

          
CNC Milling Explained


          Computer controlled milling is a process by which we use a computer to control machinery, in this case for subtractive fabrication, in which we take away or cut through material.

          The machine we used () has a large working area of several square meters, 
          
          
Group Assignment


          You can find the group assignment here

          
Stool Design


          You can find the Grasshopper file for the stool here!

          Starting this week, I already knew what I wanted to make, a pair of stools for my balcony so I could sit and drink coffee.

          I started by modelling the stool in Grasshopper.

          Stool render

          Stool render 2

          After that I laser cut a miniature version in order to test my design.

          Stool laser cut test

          I noticed in the laser cut version that the legs were definitely too weak to support weight.

          I decided to change the legs to add some extra support as well as a 3D printed ring in order to further support the legs.

          Stool V2

          Stool V2 rendered

          Stool leg

          Once the modelling was done, I started preparing the files for milling and got to the actual cutting!

          
RhinoCAM prep


          My friend Susanna helped me greatly for this part!

          In order to prepare the RhinoCAM settings, I first had to set up the dimensions of my piece of wood.

          RhinoCam stock dimensions

          I then was able to set up the milling tools for the job.

          RhinoCAM tools

          Profiling came next, which was checked over by instructor Adai!

          A lot of settings are mostly left on default, but some are changed.

          Profiling 1

          Profiling 1

          Profiling 1

          Profiling 1

          Profiling 1

          Profiling 1

          Profiling 1

          Profiling 1

          Profiling 1
          
          For pocketing, I used most of the default settings, but changed the cut levels to 5mm.
          
          
Cutting


          You can find the 2D file with RhinoCAM settings here!

          The .nc instruction sets for telling the machine what to do is  here for drilling the screw holes and here for the stool cut.

          I first sent the drilling file to the machine after positioning my board, and drilled in screws to hold the board down.

          Drilling the screws

          I was then able to send the second file and start the cuts!

          Cutting in progress

          CNC machine computer

          Once finished, the stool needed to be sanded and the legs had to be trimmed a bit to fit into the top holes.
          
          Legs not fitting

          Once sanded and trimmed, everything fit nicely.

          stool sanded

          The issue came when I then tried to sit on it... 

          Broken stool...

          I renamed the second stool into a coffee table so I would not try to sit on it anymore and here is the hero shot!

          All this was done without using glue or fasteners!

          Final coffee table

          
Going further


          I am still in need of stools for my balcony, so once the use of the CNC machines has gone down a bit, I will redesign and re-cut the legs, making them straight and thicker to withstand more weight.