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Thread: Australian Relief Map
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22nd May 2019, 10:44 PM #1Senior Member
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Australian Relief Map
One of the best things about seeing a woodworking forum is showing off your projects.
This is one I am particuarly proud of and recently completed.
It's a 1:5,000,000 scale map of Australia, Elevation is exaggerated 30x.
Each state is a different wood, selected as best as I could to associate with a state. NT was a hard one so it got something that looked good and balanced the colours.
Wood:
WA- Jarrah
NT - Blackbutt
QLD -QLD Red Cedar
NSW - Spotted gum
SA - Blackwood
VIC - Victorian Ash
TAS - Huon Pine
Finished with a spray on clear varnish and all mounted on 6mm black toughened glass. Fancy split batten mount for wall.
80 hours machine time, 100 hours to learn to 3d model, find the info and build it.
Finished Map Closeup.jpgFinished NSW Closeup.jpgIMG_1232.JPG
Now sits pride of place in my lounge room. Which is how I know it is good because my lovely wife let me put it up there.
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22nd May 2019 10:44 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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23rd May 2019, 08:53 AM #2
That's a fantastic idea, and very well executed Andrew! It does show just how flat we are as a continent, and why in contrast Tasmania is spectacularly beautiful .
Lance
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23rd May 2019, 08:54 AM #3GOLD MEMBER
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yep, I can understand why you think that it was worth showing off - it is an awesome thing !
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23rd May 2019, 01:21 PM #4GOLD MEMBER
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Dam! I had the same idea, except I'm still saving up for a CNC.
I love it! The smokey glass background is a special touch.
Please tell me all about how you generated the topography and turned that into a model.
What bit did you use for the final pass?
Do you think x30 for the height was best or would evenmore have been better visually for this?
So many questions....
Anyway its great!My YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/2_KPRN6I9SE
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23rd May 2019, 01:27 PM #5GOLD MEMBER
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Brilliant!! I love it. So well done and excellent choice of woods for the states. IWCS has just completed its selections of trees and woods that symbolising States and Territories, and the nominations are similar to those you have used so well. Love the use of CNC to show the higher ground and Great dividing Range. I have seen the same done with the US states, but not including the relief for ranges.
PS: Edit- we IWCS chose Ghost Gum for NT - its wood is a pale-mid brown similar to blackbutt but not readily available. You did well with your choice.
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23rd May 2019, 03:46 PM #6Senior Member
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The amount of thought I have put into this surprised even myself.
The project was inspired from this post
https://makezine.com/projects/conver...g-and-milling/
After reading about how it was done I thought I could replicate it with my shiny new CNC router but if you follow the link there is a lot you need to learn, 3d modelling included. Many programs referred to no longer work as advertised and data sources have changed.
Topography and Modelling and Software
Programs I used were mostly open source or have hobby licences and include Qgis, Fusion 360, Camotics, UGS, Inkscape. I tried Linux but ended up reverting to a Windows 10 OS because its what I am familiar with.
Just getting the CNC to run on open source is an exercise in itself, then to actually not break the machine when using it is a whole other experience.
I can't explain how to get from source data to a created model in a post as this is the part that took me about 6 months to learn. However, once you get started I can say you need to learn about map projections, distortion and how to eliminate them. (My earlier attempts taught me the value in that as I spent at least 3 weeks trying to work out why NSW was about 12% bigger than Victoria, even though I used the same map source data to make the models. Much foam was harmed in this process.
Then comes the modelling side to make sure the base minimum thickness is identical across all maps, height elevations are identical and thinking about what looks good. Many tests cutting with foam led me to my final selection for size and heights. I did try an extremely high test but it looked too pointy and unrealistic. Much like the Makezine post. I also took to heart the difficulty in obtaining thicker wood and then (because I am learning) I had to see what I could actually get commercially and easily.
In the end I found wood at three commercial suppliers in Adelaide, all of whom were very helpful.
Wood Selection
The above led me to limit the maximum height of the entire model to 22mm. This allowed me to buy skip dressed wood from the local suppliers and had a larger range of species to play with.
Then I took my carefully selected lengths to a friendly local joinery who used their buzzer to surface the edges and one side leaving me the maximum thickness to play with.
The QLD red cedar and Huon pine pieces are the exception here. I had to use reclaimed wood for QLD and Huon is a pain to get outside Tasmania so I found a teensy little block that suited my needs.
For the remaining states the skip dressed pieces meant there was enough thickness left to cut out all the models at 30x elevation and foam modelling suggested this would look ok. Thicker wood would significantly increase the cost for little aesthetic benefit (my opinion, yours may differ).
Model Finishing
Regards to finishing I am using a 3mm ball end bit, multiple final passes to address fuzzing issues.
The little bit I used has done a sterling job and is still extremely sharp even after completing this project. Boundary cuts are another consideration, careful inspection will show Wilson's Promontory is a little odd as is Port Phillip Bay (looks like a lake). But I left it as the alternative was hand cutting. This didn't match my ultimate aim which was no hand modifications to the model. ( I almost achieved this by the way)
Then all the little details like having the wood warp after cutting, how to glue wood to glass (and make it flat) and aluminium to glass, Should I use glass? What sort of glue? These things take weeks to think about, test and resolve.
I am planning to do a more detailed write up on the whole process eventually, but I only finished it last Friday and need a bit of a mental break from it.
I have photos of most of the cutting and assembly process, couple of videos, 3d meshes and a whole host of other little things I can add but I must get back to work.
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2nd June 2019, 11:21 AM #7Senior Member
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Couple of foam cutout pictures done during development.
I think these are done at 1:2,000,000. Victoria chosen as it is both hilly and flat.
Used the 25mm knauf board from Bunnings as its about $15 for a sheet.
IMG_0955.JPGIMG_0956.JPG
Lessons Learnt.
Make the clearance cut extend past the boundary of the model so the smaller bit doesn't press against excessive material.
Hills were too small for size of map.
It didn't fit against NSW, being about 16% different in size. This it turns out is the difference in the average length of a degree between the two states. Reprojecting in a different system fixed this.
Foam is messy and a pain to clean up, it also sticks to everything due to static electricity effects.
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3rd June 2019, 05:29 PM #8
Very nice.
Recently in Annapolis, USA, I saw bathymetric maps of popular sailing harbours done this way, and made into either trays or wall mounts. Very effective and seemingly popular with the nautical types (but then, Annapolis is home to the US Naval Academy). Might be something for you to think about. The hydrographic charts are readily available.
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5th June 2019, 08:04 PM #9Senior Member
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7th June 2019, 05:29 PM #10Senior Member
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Australian relief map
In Port Lincoln Consantia furniture had a hand made relief map of Aus and the surrounding continental xhelf made for the Lucan tuna family. It is approx 2m*1.2 m stunning work and the factory is well worth a woodies visit . NO CNC not sure wether Constantia still exists but the father made the Hansard table in the new House of Reps in Canberra cheers
John
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