For this homework, I chose to CNC a squid because I liked a squid I found when browsing The Noun Project. After I downloaded the squid, I removed the name at the bottom and it was ready to CNC.

I next took two pieces of poplar and sanded them down.

Once smooth, I stained them with a dark stain (Gunstock 231) so the white of the design would pop out more once cut. I left the stain on it for 5 minutes before wiping it off.

I then waited a day for the stain to dry, then cut the squid on it using the Carvey. I had to use a 1/32 in bit because the lines were too thin for the size of the wood I was using. I cut it about 1/4 in deep, and it took around 25 min to cut.

I then did my best to get the wood fuzz out using sandpaper, an X-Acto knife, and a vacuum.

At this point, I remembered that we were supposed to have cuts of different depths on the wood, so I decided to add bubbles on the design and have it cut a little bit less deep. I did this by simply adding the bubbles to easel and deleting the squid and re cutting.

I would have liked the squid lines to be a little bit thicker, but the wood was simply too small for it.

 

Cost Analysis:

The Poplar pieces were probably around $1 total because they were pretty small and poplar isn’t that expensive. I only used a small amount of stain, so I’ll add another $1 for that. I spent about an hour total on the Carvey, so for machine time I’ll add another $10. I also spent about an hour and a half on this project, so if I was paid $18 an hour it would be $27. Lastly, I will add another $1 for sandpaper and cloth used for this project. This makes these two pieces add up to about $40!