Chosen number = #5
Design:
I chose to CNC my name in Chinese. I took to Word Doc to type the characters and converted the png into svg.
Some issues:
The font of the characters made some of the edges of the characters have overhangs that would be difficult with the drill bit of the CNC, so I edited out the overhangs by erasing them by hand.
CNC
With the svg, I uploaded it to Easel. Orienting the characters was difficult because I was worried about the fan hitting the pins that held the wood down, so it wasn’t as centered on the wood as I would have liked. For the first cut, I noticed that the characters weren’t completely at a level orientation. This was likely due to an uneven orientation of the wood when I twisted the screws in. For the second cut, the characters appear straight.
Here is a time lapse of the CNC process on the wood:
Looking at the video, I am interested in how the Carvey decides which cuts are made first. For example, for the middle Chinese character, the drill bit made the inner strokes before doing the outer strokes. It is likely to maximize efficiency, but the exact reason in why that specific order of cut (inner first and outer later) is optimal is something to look into.
One minor issue I noticed was that the part of the character I erased by hand was not as clean as I wanted it to be, and the CNC was able to show it. I assumed that the drill bit won’t allow a precision that would make the defect noticeable, however, the uneven line still came through. It illuminated to me that, even though the drill bit is rounded, it still is rather precise.
Cost Analysis:
Birch Plywood: 2 pieces of 5″ x 3.5″ x 0.75″ wood. Total area = 35 in^2. On Home Depot, 2 ft x 4 ft = $31.58 (Area= 24″ x 48″ = 1,152 in^2).
Therefore, 35 in^2 x ($31.58/1152 in^2) = $0.96 cost of wood.
Labor costs: The operator of the Carvey has to be present for the entire cutting time (appx 20 minutes for each cut). Including the design time, total time it took for me was about 2 hours.
2 hours x $15 = $30
Conclusion:
Last semester, I had actually 3D printed a gift box where I wanted Chinese characters to be on the sides. The characters were extruded out rather than carved in. Using CNC for a similar design, I am excited to now know an easier process that is better suited for that purpose. Comparing the two processes, CNC allows for more flexibility in the design, such as more complexity and the ability to make more cuts/ “edits” post-carve.
