When I lent my services to a collegue who was working on a film about 12 years ago, I was introduced to the world of cnc. I remember watching this huge machining centre milling out a slab of mdf and turning it into a fantastic set of gears. I knew that it would have taken me hours to achieve the same thing with traditional power tools. I decided then that I would invest in a cnc router for my own business Oxenham Design. At that time I could turn on a computer, but even to check email seemed like a crazy set of operations. I persevered and learned every piece of relevant software I could get my hands on. I am now fortunate enough to be using Vectric's ASPIRE software, and Techno cnc routers, which has helped us to create some amazing projects, both in part, or in full. I thought that this blog would be a great place to share "behind the scenes" adventures with the software, materials and equipment we use, as well as the projects we build.

Monday, 14 May 2012

Compound angles suck!

The title says it all! I spent ALL weekend working on the time machine, and it's various bits and pieces. The compound angle drastically increased the time it took, even with small things. They had asked for 3 legs that would "come out" of the pod, in addition to the hydraulic supports. This proved to be more difficult then I thought. I hate having to modify parts that come of the router, but once they've been attached, I didn't have much choice.

This is where I was by the end of today. The legs slide in and out from under the base. They'll get a shiny piece of pipe to look like another hydraulic cylinder. The basic seat frame also got installed. We're going to rubber coat the 3/4" mdf pads so they look like vinyl seat cushions. There will also be 2 more pads that run up the back wall as a seat back. They won't be overly comfy, but they'll certainly look the part.
The circular port hole were an additional request, and they would also like a profile shot of the actor in the pod, so I think this means 2 additional portholes on the back side.

We started the stator coils today as well. These are just 4" PVC pipe wrapped in 1/8" vinyl tubing. We actually need over 200 feet of the stuff, so using real wire was a little cost prohibitive! The coils still need they're top and bottom plates, but they off to a good start.

The concrete ring got it's final colour, and this is where the coils will live approximately. The got sprayed out copper, and when they're all built, we'll wash them down with a dirty wash of paint. they'll look well used for sure.
8)
JO

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