Design:
Figure 1. Elephant design on Easel
I did this assignment the weekend before I took a trip to The Preserve in Fredericksburg, TX where I got to spend the day with some elephants! So naturally, I chose to CNC mill an elephant with the X-Carve. I started by choosing an elephant from the noun project. Then I imported the .svg to Easel and modified the file to obtain a part to be ~3″x3″ with a 1/8″ bit. I added a semi-circular outline with a flat bottom so that my elephant can stand upright and be used as a decoration in the future.
Cutting:
I was the first person to do a training session, so I had a bit of troubleshooting to do with Rafe. During our training session, despite about 30 minutes of troubleshooting, the z probe did not work, so I had to manually set the z-axis. Then, I proceeded with my first cut on a ~3/4″ piece of wood. The bit barely was able to cut through the depth of the wood, but I was able to get the part completed.
Unfortunately, I did not thoroughly read the homework assignment before this session, so I did not realize I needed to cut two elephants. When I came back the second time, I decided to try to troubleshoot some of the problems I experienced the first time by using a thinner piece of wood that was about 1/2″ thick instead.
Figure 2. CNC’ed parts with two different thicknesses.
Figure 3. Elephant standing upright
Post processing:
Figure 4. Blue stain on elephants
For post processing, I first used the belt sander on the back and front faces of the pieces. Then, I used 400 grit sandpaper to try to further sand down the internal edges of the elephant. Once that was done, I used a vintage aqua stain on the elephant and let that sit over night. The next day, I taped the elephant with blue painter’s tape and used a white stain on the rest of the piece. After letting that dry, I used a glossy clear coat of spray paint to finish the part.
Figure 5. Final product
Cost Analysis:
Wood $7.58 for 1 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. plank
Labor ($20/hr for 4 hours) = $80
Stains and clear coat = ~$2 for the amount used
Assuming X-carve time and post-processing equipment is negligible since its available at the OEDK
Total cost = $89.58
