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7. CNC-Machine

This week I worked on defining my final project idea and started to getting used to the documentation process.

CNC Machine Bed

The goal is to create a design suitable for CNC machine use. The difference between the laser cutter and CNC machine is the bed size were laser machine width is less than 900 mm. For bigger design such as furniture it is more suitable to use CNC for efficient results.

Creating design

Thinking process

First Idea

I wanted to create something artistic and a décor piece were you can present it in my living room. Visit

Second Idea

Then I changed my mind and decided to create a parametric seat for kids. Visit

When I saw the video I think that I want to more original work so I remembered that in winter my shoe wears increases comparing to summer so my shoe rack is not enough to carry more than 12 shoes and I have in total 22 shoe wear. Therefore I decided to create parametric shoe rach design according to your bed-work.

Rough Idea (Inspired by Ikea)

Main Components 2 Side panel (same design) Shoe rack design 1 (150 mm height and light due to pattern cut) Shoe rack design 1 (Solid no patter, heavier for larger shoes because there is no height limit)

To make the wood lighter some pattern cut need to be placed according to the length of the rack. The width of the rack I kept is fixed as recommended (300 mm).

Visit

When I saw a video I said whet if I make the joint in patter were I have different spaces between the rack minimum of 100mm (suitable for kids shoe) and 2nd option 210 mm (suitable for adults shoe wear such as sneakers and high-heel)

Using Fusion 360

Design Set-up

Create the bed sheet

Create component (Layout and Assembly) to have different configuration of your design

Side Panel

Activate Layout by clicking on the circle

Sketch Design Parts components

Create a sketch in Desired Plane

Create border using Square construction Line

Create Parameter for width and Length of the Shoe panel

Joint-test From testing and my desired design is to make theses joint easily put together and removed without excessive force and at the same time they are stable.

The best fit was less by 0.1 mm in height and width (39.9 in width + 11.9 in thickness)

Create Desired Shape

Width (50mm) not parametric only the leg height

For the joint holes place them in desired place and constraint them with fixed dimension using the construction lines.

Extrude 1

All body including hole

Extrude 2

holes cut but not all through create 3 mm wall (9 mm pocket for 12mm material thickness)

Creating Pattern + Parameters using logic and fusion 360 help built in functions

Chose feature<click on holes ‘extrude 2’ < Axis use Y-axis < Distance and Quantity use parameters

Fillet

To create smooth angle surface in the corners

Move and Copy

Modify<Move and copy < use setting above to create 2nd component (tick create a copy)

Create Shoe Rack

Use construction Line To create intersection Line and create parameters Using combination of fixed values and parametric values is essential to ensure that there is no error in the design, such as width of panel can be fixed to 300 mm and the space between the border and the cut through rectangular cut should be fixed to prevent intersection (25 mm from all sides)

Extrude 1

Extrude 2

Holes cut all through (12mm material thickness) Create a Pattern for the Hole + Parameters

Adjusting distance is essential to ensure there is no wrong placed cut.

Move and Copy

Do it multiple times to create rack 2 , rack 3 and rack 4. Modify<Move and copy < use setting above to create 2nd component (tick create a copy)

Check Bedwork + Layout

Assembly

Activate ‘Assemble:1

Move and Copy

Create a copy of each in the assembly make any changes in position while using joint doesn’t affect the component position in the layout. Move all required component to a different place to assemble them.

Joint

Choose first component joint face

Choose second component joint face

Positioning

Fix position by holding the blue circle to adjust the rotational angle

Assembly

Other components Joint They follow the same exact procedure after finishing this will be the final assembly

Parametric

These are the design adjustable parameters (above parameters used for final assembly)

Another Versions Larger version with thinner material thickness (10 mm)

Smaller version with thicker material (18 mm)

Larger Joint width is needed to support heavier material

CNC-Machine Process

Adjusting the work material

Unscrew the board

Keep the screw for later

Place new MDF wood boar (12mm in thickness above the scrap board)

Screw back the board

CNC- computer program setting

Bed work setup

Draw the offset in the bedword

Offset setting by 20 mm

Width and height of the bed work (2440mm X 1220 mm)

Open file

Import vector

Open the desired file and drag it to bed work

Tabs

Adding taps to put the cut in place while cutting

Placement of taps

Cut depth

To ensure that cut is all through we put the depth of cut equal to material thickness + 1 mm. Moreover, this message appears to ensure that there a scrap board beneath to prevent damage.

Toolpath function

Create path

Using built in function use ‘pocket toolpath’

Create a pocket of depth 9 mm (3 mm wall)

Closer look of toolpath

Check the order of toolpath list

Add dog-bone fillet for easier fit

Error – drill bit example

Error we select the wrong drill mill diameter 8mm instead of 6mm diameter drill bit.

We choose the correct drill bit

Final Shape

Final shape before cut including the path of cut

Save

File>Save>Save to ‘all’

Important instruction

electrical current

Check if the machine electrical current is responsive

Safety + work instruction

Wear glasses Wear long sleeves, pant and shoes Stay 1 meter at least from the machine Click ‘red button’ in case of any disfunction.

Check XYZ

Use Fablab recommendation

Cutting

Start

Results

Cutting result (break the taps using file tip)

Check fit

The fit was good (I forget to take picture because I rush into finishing process)

Finishing Processes

Filing

filing the tabs to create flat edges

Sanding

Sanding is a processed to creates pores in the material to get a better paint finish.

For the side panels I used different grade to see the difference I used 800 CW first and it wasn’t sufficient therefore I used a rougher grade 100 CW

For the rack I want a smooth finish so I used 800 CW

Applying Primar

Coating first after painting for 1 hour for the primary to dry I realized that I use too much primar for the first side panel

There is some imperfections in coating I flipped it and did the same process again

I used 100 CW to remove excess coating of the heavy sprayed side panel and 800 CW for the other side

Coloring

I used 1 can of 400 ml spray paint and it wasn’t enough to cover all the required area

I went back to the work shop to find a suitable color to use. I decided to use ‘chrome’ spray paint and add star effect to the side panel

I bought 2 400 ml black spray paint to cover the back side and added the same effect using chrome spray paint’

The sides were bit challenging in coloring so I decided to cover it with electrical tape (black tape) other option is to sand sand from the colors and make as neat as possible by showing the mdf wood texture.

Assembly

Using a soft head hammer helped a lot in installation + Help from my colleague Ammar

Self-Review

The final shape is good for my first time but there is some improvement I should work know such as using a clear coat after final paint and try to color the sides for better general shape. The fit is great but I should find a way to make it more rigid.

Add new component

As my classmate Ammar suggested that designing support to maintain stability is essential


Last update: December 29, 2024