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Night Watch

Well Nerys, if Caroline says she can't use my tools then I get her some she can use, earlier in the year our son needed some welding doing on his Mercedes after a pothole ripped his front suspension out, problem was I only had industrial equipment that was too big to take to the car. So on the understanding that I teach her to weld she bought us a portable gasless mig welder. She can now lay a fair weld with mig, a usable weld with my old stick welder and is now learning to braze and gas weld with my oxy acetylene kit. I may even become redundant in my own workshop as she can already use my combination mill/lathe and pillar drill. She now wants a lightweight as mine is just too heavy for her modelling, I'll have to ask santa. Cheers Colin.

4 years ago by Colin H

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EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

Could think of a lot of uses for your CNC too - but would have to be a bit more powerful/stronger build even for Jelutong and the like. Trouble is nothing like that available here - cheapest we've seen was about R25k......... The larger ones running to millions.

5 years ago by redpmg

Forum

CAD with Designspark Mechanical.

The basic principles are quite simple really, Everything is worked out on a co ordinate system, you could say fancy map reading or navigation. A map is divided into squares, each square being part of a numbered grid, same on a nautical chart. so to get from A to B, you navigate accross the chart, so point A may be square 21/06, 21 squares along and 6 up. Point B is say 18/32 so 18 along and 32 up. (asleep yet?) to get from A to B you will plot a route through the grid from one reference to another. Similarly, our CNC , laser cutter 3Dprinter plotter etc works on the same principle, we have 3 axes, X Y and Z X being left to right, Y back and forth and Z up and down. Cad software converts a drawing, or draws as a set of co ordinates, so for a 2 dimensional square, the co ordinates could be, say, X0 Yo, bottom left corner, and X10 Y10 the top right. X5 Y5 would be the center of the square. To add a 3rd dimension, the Z axis gets involved, so on a 3D print, the first layer would be z 0.15, second Z 0,3 etc. I am using Designspark Mechanical to illustrate, the photos are, hopefully self explanatory... Next time will prepare the object for 3D printing.

5 years ago by Nickthesteam

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

"...I suppose depending on the cutting head you will be able to cut thin sheet plastic?...." The basic machine is just a precise 3-D positioning device. You then tie anything you want onto the end, depending on the job you want to do. A or a laser will cut wood, a milling bit will cut metal, a knife will cut vinyl or paper. A plastic extrusion head will let you build up plastic shapes, a pen would let you write letters, and I suppose a paint brush would let you create watercolours... For every material there is a workholding requirement, and a set-up and run optimisation process to undertake, but the principle is simple.

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

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CNC boat kits...?

It is easier than you would think. I only got into 3D printing 2 years ago, once you see how it works the rest is easy. Main difference between a CNC and a 3D printer is that a 3D printer adds material to make an object and a CNC removes material.

5 years ago by Nickthesteam

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Bit of an update on my CNC . All up and running now and I am well chuffed with the results. I abandoned the Arduino based controller and opted instead for a Duet 2 WiFi board, a 32 bit controller with on board drivers. The machine can be loaded with a job directly from my computer/laptop/mobile phone and progress monitored from same. I have also added a 7 inch Paneldue touch screen display for when my daughter is hogging all the internet bandwidth. It has been going for a couple of weeks now and I haven't stopped making stuff, all for other folks! I need to find some DXF files for model boats now. I have a set of plans for a Lysander aircraft that my mate wants me to cut out for him, so far my efforts to convert PDF into useable vectors have come to nought.

5 years ago by Nickthesteam

Forum

Hintsand tips - Decals made easy

"....It's a lot easier and cheaper then buying a vinyl cutter and learning how to use it. It might not cost much more than a pack of decal paper...." I can't report on the 'learning how to use it' part, since I haven't started, but having a CNC machine means that you can add all sorts of tools onto the cutting end. At the moment I just use a small to cut balsa - I would use a bigger one or a laser to cut ply - and I have just bought a 'swiveling knife' set to cut vinyl. Cost of a mount and 15 blades - £4.37. Should let me cut any size or shape character out of vinyl (or anything else) sheet...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

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CNC boat kits...?

How much dust is there when cutting balsa ? MDF is problematic as its made using formaldehyde and the dust is really damaging to the lungs. Laser cutting is not a problem with MDF as it burns. but has pollution problems and requires a scrubber on the exhaust . Most of the sites selling CNC s seem to advise you to have a cover to minimise dust! Was thinking of changing to a desk top laser for engraving and using a for cutting but very wary of dust associated problems.

5 years ago by redpmg

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

My plan is to trace PDF files into DSM and output as DXF, or work up my own drawings. I have DXF to G code so I guess I could deal with your files. When finished, my OX will be used for all sorts, cutting aluminium is a must, Daughter has demanded name plaques for her horses stable, she reckons her horsey pals will pay for nice carved name plaques so who am I to argue! ply and balsa cutting will be essential and possibly light brass sheet, hence my first choice of the 900 Watt DeWalt . I may well end up with an arsenal of spindles/s and eventually a laser head. I am using the CNC shield for now but the intention is to use a Rumba board, a versatile Arduino mega 2560 based board with loads of output options more commonly used on 3D printers, I have upgraded 2 of my printers with them already. Like 3D printers, the options for modifying/tweaking are endless. I will be fitting endstops, but I may use TMC 2130 drivers, which do not need endstops, as soon as they detect a substancial increase in current they switch off. My Mk3 Prusa has them, certainly reduces the ammount of wiring! I have a notion to draw up some plans for a series of warship boats at rc able size, ie, 47ft Whaler, Skimming Dish FML Cheverton Launch etc, interesting boats but rarely seen actually on the water as working models. I have a milling machine so a plentiful supply of milling cutters is available for a range of jobs.

5 years ago by Nickthesteam

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

You seem to be doing pretty much the same thing as I am! I picked an eShapeoko whose mechanical kits are a fair bit cheaper, which meant I could afford the longer rails initially, but apart from that we are pretty much identical! Oh, and I'm using a different breakout board... You will be adding limit switches? I find them essential for decent control, but also found it a bit tricky to get data on the best way to connect them to an Arduino. Does Ox provide an advised circuit and pinouts? I see you are using DesignSpark. I don't think this accepts .DXF files, which are the standard 2-D interchange format. It will output them, but not import, which seems crazy to me! Which is a shame, because I could send you any of the model boat plans on the EeZeBilt or Marinecraft sites as a .DXF... Most of the EeZebilts can be made on the cutting area you have, and all the Marinecraft. You don't need a powerful to cut balsa - a model boat motor is sufficient, with a cheap Chinese cutter for a couple of quid. The great thing about that is that there is essentially no cutting noise, just the quiet hum of the motor. A 4" wide plank with balsa edges will hold a sheet nice and firmly. What materials are you thinking of cutting? I am experimenting with cutting ply, and find that old dental burrs (which I got free from my dentist!) will go through 1/8" deal like butter powered by a Graupner Speed 400.

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Hi, I am in the process of building an Openbuilds Ox machine. So far I have built the gantry and Z axis. The drivers for the Nema 23 motors should arrive on Saturday so I can spend the bank holiday weekend fiddling about with the electrics. I will use a Dewalt 900Watt for the spindle so there will be enough power to cut aluminium sheet. I have been using 3D printers tobuild a minesweeper with great success so a CNC will add to mt arsenal...

5 years ago by Nickthesteam