Thread: Art tinkerer interested in CNC

Hi John. It would depend on the design. I'm not familiar with 'Art toys'. You've said commercial cnc operators have been no help? Hobbyist 5 axis machines are pretty rare 3 axis machines being the most common with some 4 axis around the place.

John,
5 axis machining is great but to get the right software to run it smoothly is a costly and challenging thing. 5 axis machines also bring out a completely different set of problems that most don't see like needing to figure out the best secure method of holding the parts. It is possible but will be costly and time consuming to both learn and operate.

Since your doing art toys, and i am sure they will have a few undercuts and the likes, i would suggest looking into a 3d printer. If you want to build one, you can make/buy one of the cupcake machines 3d printers(personally i wouldn't bother but hey, thats me), but i would suggest trying to source a second hand commercial printer like zcorp printers if this is something you really want to get into. These things are more than toys and great machines but can be costly. I have seen a few places on the net where people have started to make their own, something i'd love to do but just don't have the time.

So all in all, if its for fun, and you are looking to build something cheapish, like marty said, a cnc with 4 axis would be good, or 5 axis if you want a challenge, for wood. And printing wise, start looking into small DIY rapid prototype priniters, but if ifs something you want to do properly, start looking into a proper 3d printer.

Daniel

reprap.org is a common homemade DIY printer, apparently you can knock one together for a few hundred but it wont produce results like the commercial machines if your looking for high detail.

Hi Cottontail
As said above 5 axis ,no hobby ones, 4, rare, 3, common
If you can it might be best to attack the part in several goes to get around the complexity of the design.
If you can put up some designs on the forum you will get some more suggestion if it is possible. If you can not put it up PM me and we can discuss it privately if you wish.

Russell

Hello again. I have an STL file ready for anyone who might like to look at. Maybe you can give me a rough quote (PM me). I've done some more research into the CNC process since my first post.

My design does have some undercuts true, however I think these can be bypassed by building/cutting the design in at least two pieces (do the character's head separate) and reassembling it post CNC'ing. Therefore a 4 axis machine may do the trick.

The art piece is 7 inches x 5 1/4 inches x 4 inches (17.78 cm x 13.34 cm x 10.16 cm). Its a bulbous figurine I guess you'd say.

Here's some jpegs of my design thus far (still some work to do).

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...showingall.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...sunderchin.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...esinjumper.jpg


Again, maybe someone can help at a reasonable price (beer, cash, dried cod - whatever your currency) or point me in the right direction.

I'm happy to talk to people all around Australia, but it would be ideal to talk to someone closeby.

Thanks

John - Brisbane, Northside

John,

Thats lovely work. I definately believe after seeing the work, that you'd be better off speaking with someone with a 3D printer. Getting that machined on a router would be very time consuming and wouldn't get the very fine detail. Its definately possible on a 4 axis machine but the operator needs decent software and fine tooling.

Wished i had my machine running and my 4th axis done just to give it a go as it would be a great to try it.

Daniel
P.S What software did you use for your model.

Thanks Daniel.

Yeah, I will prepare the files to get some quotes on 3d printing. To do that I have to manually hollow out the design - mask, hide, cut, new mask, hide, cut kind of thing.

I used Zbrush. Its an organic sculpting program. It takes some getting used to. You really need a drawing tablet of some sort. I have 4 books on Zbrush and like any piece of design software you realise just how you only scratch the surface of what it's capable of - that is if you don't use it for work purposes.

If you want to be blown away at how creative/patient/skilled some humanoids are look at:

ZBrush 4 Image Gallery « Pixologic: ZBrush Blog

Cheers

I'm with you Daniel and would love to give it a try. My machine and 4th axis is up and running but not sure where I would start on something like this. Is artcam 4 axis capable? or would you just import into something like Solidworks and do the CAM from there?
End of the day 3d printing would have to be cheaper... lot of work getting all that detail and negociating the undercuts. But if you want it in timber then a CNC or hand chisel are your only options.

John can you post the STL of this figure or a test file so us hobiest can have a play .. ya never know someone might just figure out a way to do it and give you a realistic quote... I'd be guessing at best without actually trying do do it.

Cheers

Mark

Originally Posted by mhasting2004

I'm with you Daniel and would love to give it a try. My machine and 4th axis is up and running but not sure where I would start on something like this. Is artcam 4 axis capable? or would you just import into something like Solidworks and do the CAM from there?
End of the day 3d printing would have to be cheaper... lot of work getting all that detail and negociating the undercuts. But if you want it in timber then a CNC or hand chisel are your only options.

John can you post the STL of this figure or a test file so us hobiest can have a play .. ya never know someone might just figure out a way to do it and give you a realistic quote... I'd be guessing at best without actually trying do do it.

Cheers

Mark

Hi Mark

I have finished sculpting the piece and have a final STL file that I can email through to anyone interested. Its 92.3 MB though. PM me your email address and I'll send it through. Yeah, I'll be exploring 3d printing for the time being

Cheers
John

Cheers PM sent

My quick google of Art Toys reveals that most are made with plastics/resins so molded off of probably clay originals. Is your intent to make a timber ArtToy or to make a mold ? in which case it could be machined in something like machinable wax.

IMHO (and a big proviso that I really don't know what I'm talking about

One offs in timber could get very pricey but if its a mold then your costs are spread over the run ... guess is depends if its emphysis is ART (ie cost is not the driving factor) or Toy (collectable though it may be the costs are more relevant).


Figuring out the right CAM package to do the job is going to be my first hurdle... Love a challenge ... its what keeps me awake at work on night shifts.

Cheers

Mark

Was waiting to see if you would join in MArk, might be a bit of a change from the 4th axis lithos...lol