Moving my Tack Trunks to CNC

[Jim Becker]

It's killing me. My router won't be up and running until probably the beginning of December. I can't get a tech out any earlier to do start up.

Wow...did you buy new? That's a long time to wait for setup! The one nice thing about the "yellow" machines is that they generally arrive ready to rock and roll, other than electrical hookup. I'd be going out of my mind if I had to wait like you are!

[Brad Shipton]

I believe Martin bought one of these: http://www.giben.com/product/g2-genesis/ unless he changed his mind. He is playing in a different sandbox than most of us. Some of those companies will not sell you a machine unless they come out to do the install and provide you training.

Great job on the trunks. I too see a table vacuum in your future. The first times I started knocking down sheet goods I chuckled when I thought about my boyhood hobbies making models and the likes. I felt I had came full circle since now I am making the same type of scraps I had when I made RC airplanes.

[Richard Gonzalez]

I did find one "mental mistake" with the case bottom dimensions where I inadvertently subtracted material thickness from BOTH the length and width, rather than just the length per my "design".

This is the type of job where Vcarve is the wrong tool. Model the whole trunk as an assembly in Fusion 360. You can make it parametric and then even as you change a dimension, the entire trunk can resize - and all of the parts will alway "fit", and it will update all your toolpaths!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdI86Q3ukFc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00_6u1J0xkA

[Martin Wasner]

Wow...did you buy new? That's a long time to wait for setup! The one nice thing about the "yellow" machines is that they generally arrive ready to rock and roll, other than electrical hookup. I'd be going out of my mind if I had to wait like you are!

I bought a used Weeke 4x8 machine. $90,000(ish) new, I paid $45k. I haven't powered it up yet, I'm real curious how many hours are on it. I'm guessing less than 200, I'd bet less than 300.

BTW, your feed rate seems bonkers slow. Download the Vortex tool app. Punch in what you're doing and it'll give tooling recommendations and the RPM. The compression bit I'm looking at for cutting parts is a 1/2". They recommend 16k rpm at 672 in/min.

I just looked it up for a 1/4" bit. 18k rpm at 324 in/min. (I don't know the hp of your spindle though)

Might get some better life from your tooling. The app will also calculate chip load and feed rate for you.

[Brad Shipton]

Be sure to post up some pics Martin. Sounds like a great deal, and you will be rolling in no time.

[Martin Wasner]

I believe Martin bought one of these: http://www.giben.com/product/g2-genesis/ unless he changed his mind. He is playing in a different sandbox than most of us. Some of those companies will not sell you a machine unless they come out to do the install and provide you training.

Close! I was looking at a G4 evo before. You are correct, they won't let you do anything until their tech fires it up. They'll generally level the machine, check rotation on the pumps, then do a test run across the spoil board to make sure everything is correct. I'm having a tech from Stiles come out since I don't really want to hurt my investment before it even generates a return.

[Jim Becker]

This is the type of job where Vcarve is the wrong tool. Model the whole trunk as an assembly in Fusion 360. You can make it parametric and then even as you change a dimension, the entire trunk can resize - and all of the parts will alway "fit", and it will update all your toolpaths!

I have Fusion 360, but have zero time available to learn another program at the moment. The modeling would certainly make for more flexibility, but given I already have the design in VCP tweaked, I don't have a lot of incentive to make a change, at least for now. Drawing it out as I did was a quick exercise and the one mistake I made was a mental one, not something caused by the software. I'm using this particular trunk, which is destined for a charity raffle, as the CNC prototype. The next one should be dead-on in every respect!

BTW, your feed rate seems bonkers slow. Download the Vortex tool app. Punch in what you're doing and it'll give tooling recommendations and the RPM. The compression bit I'm looking at for cutting parts is a 1/2". They recommend 16k rpm at 672 in/min.

I just looked it up for a 1/4" bit. 18k rpm at 324 in/min. (I don't know the hp of your spindle though)

Might get some better life from your tooling. The app will also calculate chip load and feed rate for you.

I ran it slower on purpose for this first time doing through cutting so I could react easier if human error came into play. I don't have the capital to waste material with boo-boos, so I'm following Gary's advice from training and being a little conservative when I do something for the first time. I'll be running it closer to the rate you and I both calculated for the next one and I can vary it on the fly from the control software, too, to zero in on a good result. My spindle is 1.7kw (about 2.5hp, give or take) and shouldn't have any issue doing 300ipm in ~1/2" sheet goods with a 1/4" compression bit, AFAIK.

[David Falkner]

Jim, do you have photos of the finished piece? I don't even know what a tack trunk is...

David

[Bill George]

Learning curve on Fusion 360 is way up there and unless you need 3D Modeling for you Jim just about any CAD program would work and output a DXF file. You want exact dimensions. I use ViaCAD 2D/3D its around $130 or so and can do 3D if needed. Very easy to learn and use.

[Jim Becker]

Bill, I have CAD capability. It's not really necessary for a simple box. The toolpaths for these took me about a half-hour to produce directly in VCP.

David...

Here are a few examples:

[David Falkner]

Very nice looking, Jim! Do you build a lot of these?

David

[Bill George]

Jim, Beautiful work. Next time your wife takes the horses to an event, you need to take a sample case along. My sister in law lives in SE Michigan and she is a horse lady. Can I send a picture to her and your contact info?

[Jim Becker]

Jim, Beautiful work. Next time your wife takes the horses to an event, you need to take a sample case along. My sister in law lives in SE Michigan and she is a horse lady. Can I send a picture to her and your contact info?

Thanks for your kind comment. My wife isn't a rider (although she did take some lessons for a short time)...equestrian stuff was my thing and my daughter's thing for over 8 years. We are no longer horse owners because when my younger stopped riding due to work/school/back-issues and I had to stop because of physical challenges, it was not financially prudent to keep being a horse owner, even with them leased out. I am negotiating with a local shop that also has a mobile operation that goes to shows "as we speak". Your SIL can visit my web site at bvww dot us and there are a few trunk photos in the gallery. The challenge with a long distance client is shipping cost, however.

Very nice looking, Jim! Do you build a lot of these?

Thanks. Previously, I was doing a few of these a year while still working full time. It was the only thing I made for money for others for many years. Now that I've retired from full time work a year ago, I'm incorporating them into my business and hopefully kicking things up to where I'll do one or two a month if things work out. I'm at the "high end" here, so it's not likely that I'll be getting large numbers of orders. The folks who want something for $350-450 have plenty of other folks in the area who throw them together with 'borg plywood, pine and Minwax stain. That's not where I play nor is it where I want to play. My custom pieces go for between $750 and $1500, depending on complexity, species/finishes and options.