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 15 November 2013

Pulling a Bear!

Our Internet has been pretty sketchy all week, trying to upload images and blog has been VERY frustrating. A lot of unsaved changes, etc. But I'm trying again!
I spent an awful lot of time staring at this view, slab after slab after slab. The whole project was toolpathed with a 1/2" ballnose cutter. 40% stepover on the roughing pass, and 8% stepover on the finishing passes. Again, I ran 2 finishing passes and limited the second, 90 degree pass, to just the edges. All in all, it was a total of 22 hours machine time to get the front and back molds, including the mating plates.
One by one, slowly, the parts started to appear. I removed a lot of the inside of each slab, not only for weight, but to allow easier access for drilling the small vacuum holes that will be required in various places around the mold.
When all the dust had settled around our Techno cnc, this was the final result. I think it came out great! He's pretty cute I think. We were fairly luck in the fact that we didn't have to do any cleanup on him. The company we're making it for is prepping the mold. Even better. No sanding for us!
I was able to drop by the customers fabrication shop the next day to see the final pull. Looks great!
The back of the machine pulled equally as well. You can see the various recesses that will accommodate the internal mechanics of the machine. It will be exciting to model the other characters required for the whole job later!
8)
JWO






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