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.

Friday 10 May 2013

I need a bigger keychain!

 Today we got the paint on all the pieces of the key job. I can't discuss the other parts of the build, so we're just documenting the key portion.
 The blade of the key got cut from 2 layers of 1/2" black pvc. 16" X 18" is a pretty big key blade for sure! All of these parts were drawn and toolpathed right in Aspire 4. It's awesome when you can keep the computer part all in one program!

We painted the shaft and transition rings separately, then assembled them when they dried. This got painted it's finish coat with Rustoleum gloss black laquer, so the dry time was pretty sweet.
after about 20 minutes, we were able to start the assembly of the blade to the shaft. The blade was attached with screws from the inside of the tube. A little tight, but I won in the end!

It was a little awkward getting the key top into position, but with the collar fitting over the tube, the fit was perfect. This will get secured with a couple of screws to pin the handle to the shaft.
By the end of the day, we had everything finished and ready for the install tomorrow. Little Jody is completely dwarfed by that colossal key! A short deadline, but a fun job. Although I really feel like working on something small for a change!
8)
JWO


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