This week, we were assigned a team to design, build, assemble, and program a CNC.
This task was a challenge for all of us since we didn't know each other before.
We had to learn to work as a team with colleagues who weren't even from our degree programs.
The goal of building this CNC was to employ the skills acquired in previous weeks and apply them to a team project.
Our team chose to make a CNC that draws in sand as a decorative piece initially. As the project progressed,
we came up with ideas to potentially create molds with the sand and produce pieces using some other technique in the future.
Step 1: In the Inkscape program, we click on the "File" menu and change the document size to match the dimensions of the sand bed so that we can work with the final measurements.
Step 2:
We paste the image we want to be drawn in the sand. Then, under "Trace," we select "Trace Bitmap" to open its menu. From there, we change the threshold to 0.6.
Step 3:
We update the preview and click "Apply". We then drag the trace we just made to remove the previous one.
Step 4:
With the new image, we can now generate our G-code. We select the image and under "Trace," we click "Object to Path" and then "Dynamic Offset".
Step 5:
Now, using the Extensions tool, we go to Gcodetools and click on "Tool Library". A menu will open; we ensure that the tool types are set to default and click "Apply". From the opened menu, we change the diameter to 2.0.
Step 6:
From the Extensions tool, we go to Gcodetools and select "Orientation Points". In that menu, we make sure it's in mode 2 and click "Apply".
Step 7:
Using the Extensions tool, we enter Gcodetools and select "Path to Gcode". From that menu, we go to preferences and write the name of our file, ensuring it ends in (.ngc). In the directory section, we write where we want to save our document and then click "Apply".
