Vector box out line needed

[Nolan Freebury]

Hi Chaps,

Does anyone have a wooden box template that I could use as is or change to fit.

I'm looking to make some small plywood boxes on the CNC with the castellation edges???? that fix together

I hope some one can help

Cheers

Nolan

[Rob Wright]

Are you cutting the boards lying flat on the bed or vertically? I cut them vertically as shown:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsLYi73xso0

[Guy Mathews]

To cut these and have them fit tight you will have to stand the pieces on end and go in with an end mill bit. There a few free software downloads on the net that will let you make the vectors you are looking for.

If you mill finger joints with the boards flat on the table you will have an inside radius to deal with.

There are special bits that will alow you to do it that way, requires a male and female, but your Z height is a big factor in getting the cuts correct. I have played around with dovetail bits that do this and developed my own vectors but have found that unless I am doing at least 20 boxes, it is cost prohibitive to run them flat on the table.

[Guy Mathews]

Rob, saw the video. You must have posted while I was typing. Nice work!!!

Guy

[Rob Wright]

Guy - thanks. I wrote a VB script that runs in Mach3 as a wizard that calculates the toolpaths for boxjoints based on width, board thickness and number of pins/tails. I also wrote one that doe the same for through dovetails of any available dovetail bit angle and diameter that works really well to automate the process. I was unable to find any free versions of programs that did this.

After I get it dialed in I can cut a box in 3 to 4 minutes. Not bad for a homebuilt!

[Guy Mathews]

Rob,

Even though my company has a Shopbot, a CAMaster and a 10 Spindle CNC Carving Machine, I am inspired by your video to build my own.

Today, I started to design a small machine that will incorporate the best of our 3 machines that we have here in the shop.

I am planning on a 30 by 48 inch footprint with linear glides. I will follow the Shopbot idea of the steppers moving the gantry using a spur gear and rack system.

I do not think that I should have any trouble milling my own parts, but you never know.

My plans are a little over the top as far as the routers go, but I know that it is feasible because I have 10 spindle model sitting right on the floor to steal design ideas from.

If you haven't already guessed it, I am going to build a small machine that has 4 rotozips or dremels working on the same Y and Z axis just like our big 10 spindle machine.

The concept of this machine is to mill lots of small identical parts at the same time.

I will Blog the build here at Sawmill Creek for all to watch and learn. I will post success and failures along the way.

It's time to take the plunge! The guys at CNC Zone are having way too much fun with these home built units.

It's my turn!

Guy

[Rob Wright]

Guy - that sounds great. Slides can be picked up at half the cost of retail at automationoverstock.com . Look forward to the build blog.

[Guy Mathews]

Rob, I am just going to McMaster Carr everything I can for the mechanics. I have an account with them and it will make it easier to generate a parts list as I move along.

I had the folks from Onexia here a few weeks ago demonstrating the smart steppers from JENCNC. Very impressive, a little expensive but well worth the extra dollars.

Will post some photos later on. Boss wants me to make some money now! :D

[James Leonard]

Rob, I am just going to McMaster Carr everything I can for the mechanics. I have an account with them and it will make it easier to generate a parts list as I move along.

I had the folks from Onexia here a few weeks ago demonstrating the smart steppers from JENCNC. Very impressive, a little expensive but well worth the extra dollars.

Will post some photos later on. Boss wants me to make some money now! :D

Hi,

What do the Smart Motors and Jen CNC software cost for a 4 axis Nema 23 size configuration? About 270 oz/in for the motors.

-James

[Guy Mathews]

James,

Thanks for the question.

I do apologize, but out of respect for the salesman/technician that drove over 2 hours one way to meet with us I can not post publicly or privately the pricing that we talked about for the projects our company is currently undertaking.

You can find out more about the motors from the animatics website.

From there, you can find a dealer in your area.

The thing to remember about these, while more expensive then traditional steppers and controllers, these elimnate lots of wiring, big bulky boxes on the side of your machine and a few other things.

This type of stepper/servos (they make both) are still fairly new in comparison to older steppers and in my eyes these will revolutionize the CNC industry, especially for those who think and solve problems outside of the box.

They are not the end all to traditional steppers and controllers, they are just one more tool and another means to an end.

A google search of smart motors will put you in the right direction.

Guy