In the last two weeks I have done some work on CNC, this includes CNC Assignment and Final project for gate 3.

I was lucky that I finished my twopieces in Tutorial, and because of TA’s help I hardly ran into any challenges (maybe TA helped me out on the spot lol).

First the pattern design, I downloaded an open source SVG file of the DNA icon from the Noun project. This file needs to be put into Cabinet for editing, most importantly the size and Toolpaths. It is important to note that the CNC needs to rigorously measure the dimensions of the raw material and set the appropriate Toopaths, which is usually done after the basic design has been completed, and before the cutting process is about to start.

Once the files are ready it is time to set up the CNC, this step involves resetting the machine and fixing the raw material and zeroing in on the place where the cut is to begin (usually the lower left corner of a rectangular piece of material).

Then just start to cut! (It is necessary to keep an eye on the CNC machine and to stop it in case of abnormalities such as strange noises)

(Pic took by my partner: William)

After the cutting is done comes the post-processing that will be done on almost all of my assignments this semester. Not changing the cutter head while cutting resulted in a large amount of wood shavings remaining in my cuts, which led to some effort in sanding, especially in the small corners, made this even more difficult.

For some protection after sanding, I chose to coat my pieces with Ultra cover, which been used like normal spray painting but simpler because there is no worry about bubbles from overdoing it.

Cleared work areas as the end

Cost Type	Cost	Price	Source	Quantity	Total
Materials	Lumber for wood blocks	$1.52	homedepot	2	$3.04
	SandPaper  80 grit	$8.88	homedepot	1/2	$4.44
	Sandpaper  400 grit	$6.98	homedepot	1/2	$3.49
	Ultra Cover	$38.88	homedepot	1/8	$4.86
Labor	Prototyping Engineer (You!)	$36.48/hr	ziprecruiter	2/hr	$72.96
	Facility Cost (Machine Time)	$40/hr	Card Crowd	1	$40.00
					$128.79

The costs of this operation are mainly labor and facilities, which will be averaged out as output increases, and some labor and material costs can be saved with process optimization, such as changing to the right cutter head for a cleaner cut, which reduces Sanding time. An additional cost that may need to be considered in the future is the cost of the design, this assignment used an open source design for learning purposes, for commercial use you would need to design it yourself or purchase the rights.