In this assignment, I used the X-Carve CNC machine to create two identical wood pieces into cowboy hats using provided pine at the OEDK. 
Prepping
The first step to create the pieces for this assignment was to determine the design that I wanted to use and how I would modify it to both cut out a unique shape and keep it simple enough for the CNC machine to produce a distinguishable design. While I originally wanted to play off of script text and design something a little more complex in Adobe Illustrator, having text on a piece roughly 4″x2″ didn’t end up making sense to be something to tackle for the X-Carve. In order to stay with my original design theme, I ended up working with a cowboy hat icon from thenounproject.com.
Using the X-CARVE
To set up the X-Carve, I first needed to have my pieces of wood measured and properly set up (aligned and clamped) on the machine before manually calibrating the X-carve by using the jogger on the laptop. Although manually calibrating the X-Carve was not as magical, it got the job done. With a step by step outline for the instructions to set up and use the X-Carve, the learning curve was definitely smaller than some of the other making processes that we have used this semester. Yet, even though set up was straightforward, and I was ultimately able to remove my cut pieces from the stock wood, I found that unexpected things happened while carving that I still am not sure how to mitigate.
removing pieces & Post processing
While one of my pieces had nearly perfect depth to just pop out the tabs, I had to go in with the jigsaw for the second one just to be able to separate it from the stock wood around it; I used a caliper for both and am still not sure how I could have messed up measuring the depth of the wood to nearly 1/10th of an inch. I then proceeded to sand down the edges around both pieces as well as the carved surfaces in order to post process them as cleanly as possible. Since other projects I’ve completed this semester have used more dramatic stains and spray paints, I opted to simply use the Howard Feed-N-Wax Polish, and after waiting for that to dry, finished both with polyurethane, aiming to just enhance the natural look of the wood.
IN hindsight
My pieces did have the same external shape around their edges, but the carving itself was not consistent, and as I mentioned previously, I’m not sure what caused that and would have to test more cuts to maybe determine what happened. Ultimately, while one is distinguishably a cowboy hat, the other looks slightly like randomly cut topography. While this was not the most stress free assignment that we’ve completed this semester, I would love to explore more with CNC milling and its capabilities under better circumstances and can appreciate this introduction to it!
Cost Analysis
The cost analysis for materials is as follows:
PinePine 2×4……………………$2.98
Total……………………….$19.14
Machining Cost
Inventables X-Carve…$2,599.00
Total………………………$2,746.17
Overall, the cost of doing this process is slightly more costly because of the machine costs, but the cost of materials given that machinery is provided is very inexpensive. However, I think that it is notable that compared to other machinery, the X-Carve is still relatively inexpensive.
