CNC

Through the process of investigating the virtues of 5-axis CNC milling, I came upon this video. Having worked with the Mastercam software before, I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to get this level of precision.

Specs: Acrylic
8”(H) x 12”(W) x 6”(D)

Process: From early renderings, I became interested in translucent nested forms and began to play around with the idea of changing the focus from the outer structure to the inner, depending on time of day and whether the light was on or off.
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Ever since a friend introduced me to Ponoko a while ago, I have wanted to work on a project that would make use of their laser cutting service. They offer an array of materials to cut as well. I wanted to make something that didn’t consist of many parts (kind of a thing with me). I had been looking out a window in the house where we are living and visualizing a bird house or feeder out there. I looked around on the web for modern looking birdhouses without finding too many. Most were pricey to boot. That encouraged me to pursue designing one with the vague notion of possibly selling it through Etsy eventually. Using packaging as  inspiration, I began to draw some forms that could be made by heat-bending acrylic (which Ponoko offers in various thicknesses and colors).

Initially I came up with something that looked like this:

I decided to change the design to add a bit more protection from the elements. The great thing about creating this in Solidworks is that I can treat the part like sheet metal with bent flanges. Then I can flatten it and export a perfect pattern to be used for laser cutting.

Once I converted the pattern to an Illustrator EPS (the preferred format for Ponoko), I sent the file off to be cut. The turn-around for this job was over 3 weeks. I know that is fast for this sort of service, but of course I wish it were faster (even when I upgraded my account at one point, it was still 2 weeks or so). What I got back was this:

To make it more economical, I put 2 parts on a single sheet. Not entirely sure just how well the acrylic would bend, I made one part with long perforations and the other with scoring marks to guide a straight edge when bending. I made a mold out of pieces of MDF using a CNC router to bend the plastic around. Even with this planning, both parts failed. The part with the scoring was too hard to accurately bend along each edge. The shorter flanges looked horrible. The other part was much easier to bend. Unfortunately the perforations were too long causing the flanges to warp slightly. The next version would have perforations but they would need to be smaller and cover the entire edge evenly. Bending then should be a cinch.

This proved to be the case as the next images will show.

Feeling confident about the process, I began to make adjustments to the original design and create a few more variations. This would also mean needing to make additional molds. For accuracy’s sake, the pieces for the molds needed to be cut using a CNC router using digital files that were derived from the main files. The pieces that I would make look like this:

With an order in at Ponoko, I decide to investigate setting up shop at Etsy. More in part 2.

Specs: Powder coated & CNC cut Aluminum, Steel
32” (H)” x 20” (W) x 18”(D)

Process: Inspired by some of the perforated metal furniture that was cropping up from various companies (Blu Dot’s ‘Real Good Chair’, Form Us With Love’s B.I.O. line), I decided to experiment with the bending, perforation, and flex of sheet metal.
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Specs: EcoResin Plastic Inlays, BioFiber Wheat Board, Neodymium Magnets
29”(H) x 21”(W) x 21”(D), seat height is 17.5”

Process: Because BioFiber Wheat and Varia EcoResin is machinable, I designed the chair to be made from pieces that could be cut with a 3-axis CNC router.
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I finished cutting out the pieces to the chair this past week. The BioFiber Wheat board machines well. There was hardly any chip-out of the material and the finish passes with the CNC made the surfaces fairly smooth. It smelled like a loaf of bread in the CNC room, which was a nice change.
Cutting out the pieces was more complicated than other things I had cut out before because holes need to be drilled precisely and the pieces need to be planed smoothly. Ultimately it took 4 separate tool paths for the CNC to do it right (compared to a typical 2, I had 1 for the holes, 2 rough passes- 1 to cut out contours and the other to roughly plane the surfaces and then 1 finish pass to make everything smooth).
After the pieces were cut, assembly was straight-forward. The seat back had to be glued to the armrests and the cross brace pieces need to have the tenons chiseled out by hand because the CNC can only cut from one direction on the Z-axis (top to bottom). All of the edges were sanded, the handle opening in the seat bottom needed to be cut out using a drill, chisel and round file. And then the hardware was added and everything was put together. I then added the magnets. They did not work quite as well as I had hoped. Instead of arresting motion or making the legs come together tightly, there is more of a slight pull. I would need stronger magnets to get it work better. I had erred on the side of caution because I would rather have them be too weak than too strong.

The drawer for the desk is being made this week. It will be made out of Maple and will have Dovetail Joints. They will be ‘Through’ Dovetail Joints so that the front of the drawers hints at its construction. A guy named Patrick McMahon is making it for me. He is a busy guy and I appreciate him taking the time to do it. He said it would take him about 2 hours. I am paying him $100 (which I am sure is below what he would typically charge). Once it is done, I will stain it a very dark brown or ebonize it- not quite sure yet.

Jeff Haddorf and I will finally be getting together Monday to begin the light. I am hopeful that we will be able to produce something nice in the next 2 weeks…

I received my gallery space assignment this past week. My work will be the first thing you see as you walk in the main gallery! I am really excited about this but also a little nervous. With the lamp still incomplete and the graphics for the space yet to be created, I still have a lot hanging in the balance.

Wish me luck!