For my CNC project, I will be using the X-Carve to cut a simple origami bird that I found on the noun project.
I started by pulling the initial svg file from the noun project.
Then I took it into Illustrator in order to separate all the groups and to shade the inner portions of the shape, this seemed easier than using the easel built in editor, and gave me a little more control.
Then, I started cutting. The first cut was looking ok, until it shaved one of the inner walls of the piece down to nothing. This was because the wall was both too thin and too deep to hold on its own.
After this failure, I edited the shape file in easel to be a little bigger, and with thicker walls. This cut went much better, so I simply jogged the machine and repeated the cut.
From there, I worked on post processing the piece. I wanted to do something a little different for this one, so I decided to spray paint this one with a blue base coat and to layer sprays of large droplets of black and white over the top of the piece. I then clear coated the entire pieces.
Costs:
- Materials: $25.26
- 2x4x12 pine board: 1.90 per foot = $1.90
- Spray paint, 3 cans: $5.84 per can = $17.52
- Clear coat: $5.84 per can = $5.84
- Labor: $75.00
- 1/2 hr shape file prep: $30 per hour = $15.00
- 1hr machining: $30 per hour = $30.00
- 2hrs postprocessing: $15 per hour = $30.00
- Machine Time: $50.00
- 1 hr on Xcarve ~ $50 per hour = $50.00
- Total Cost: $150.26
