posted
I know I can do the kind of slicing that will make several tiers of routed work that stack up higher than your gantry clearance...
but that is NOT what I want to do... my project is a bit more obscure I fear & I don't know where to begin looking for a software solution besides asking here (or by asking Enroute)...
what I want to do is generate vertical slices like in a loaf of bread! The reason I want to do this is to make a sculpture out of a series of 2D routed slices of the 3d file for the island of Maui. By "2D slices" I just mean a simple profile cut with an end mill tool.
In a relatively short time frame, I could rout the profile of this island in 8' to 10' long boards, at about 8" in height at the summit of Haleakala. (I wrote "boards", but have even thought of using 1/4" clear acrylic too)
Once I generate just enough slices to have 24 or so parallel profile cuts, each about 4" apart, I can produce an 8' long scale model of the island that will provide enough accurate surface contour to staple on some wire mesh for a paper mâché or fiberglass sculpture.
The file I am working with has been converted from a "digital elevation model" (DEM file) to a .tiff file that communicates 3D height data using grayscale shades that represent sea level as black, and the high point (Haleakala) as white. Every other elevation is scaled with the appropriate shade of gray.
Here's one draft of how many slices I could cut. I plan to interlock X-axis slices, and Y-axis slices by cutting slots every 4" up from the bottom of the X-axis slices, and the tops of the Y-axis ones...
I want to display the framework at a 4 day arts festival, starting 12 days from now, possibly as an interactive display where spectator participation results in group application of paper mâché materials to complete the sculpture. Upon drying I could have a few local mural artists help me paint it with a Google Earth photo as a guide...
I am just about crazy enough to tackle this project, and it's challenging time line, if I could only figure out an easy way to program all the file slices!
[ February 13, 2013, 03:50 AM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
posted
We are working on a solution Doug. I have some ideas and have contacted EJ Nordurf product manager for EnRoute to see if he has any ideas.
-dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks Dan As a result of meeting him at your shop, EJ is the guy that first set me on track to locate these DEM files.
I was hoping to direct someone at Enroute to this thread. I appreciate you taking that initiative. I posted here first, just to see how well I cod articulate the challenge at hand... and of course to see if you or the other seasoned CNC veterans on this board might know.
I understand what you are trying to do here but I would go a different route. Why mot use a big bit and hog it out of three or four layers of styrofoam? Since you are going to cover it with paper mach you could use a big overlap as tool marks wouldn't matter. Materials would be less expensive than almost anything else.
I would also suggest you make the vertical scale larger (more vertical depth) as the island will look very flat otherwise.
-dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
that sounds like a viable alternative Dan. One challenge is material availability, coupled with my decision to become interested in doing this so close to the event date. I have no knowledge of a local source for styrofoam, except gatorfoam, which is costly.
I sort of like the quasi-impressionistic plan though too... where the routed work sort of hints at the shape, without having to fully replicate every detail of it... partly because i know i can tool path & produce it quickly and easily (once i have the vector data)
posted
There's a home depot in Kahului that should carry styrofoam insulation.
I haven't heard from EJ... might be out of the country on business.
-grampa dan
[ February 14, 2013, 01:49 AM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
EJ sent me an email that there was not currently any way to do this in Enroute, but that he would talk to the development team about what they are working on for future releases.
A friend on another board gave me the answer I needed though. There is a free program called "123D Make" by AutoDesk. It is an amazing little piece of software that made exactly what i wanted, including the little tabs I thought I would have to program myself!!
Doug, I've used DEM files to make a greyscale BMP & applied that to a relief in ER; but as Dan says, the true Z axis scale naturally always looks too flat & low.
I would have wondered if you could have got a contour map of the island, scanned it and vectorised the contours & offset/profile-cut each contour separately in 2D then stacked them like standard ER 3D slices.
I keep remembering Henry Barker's golden Nokia hands he made in styrofoam slices.
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
That is amazing. I use both Autodesk Inventor, and Aspire...... neither would ever do that for you...
-------------------- Bill'n'Annie Davidson Heathcote, NSW, Aus. my Aussie wife, a Toohey's Old, my Holden Ute, Retired from the rat race! Posts: 309 | From: Heathcote, NSW, Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Ian, 123D Make will also give you the nested vector parts for stacked contours, resulting in a solid model, programmable for any thickness of sheet goods.
I just liked the idea of representing the shape with a rendition that didn't fill in all the blanks. I guess the idea initially arose from a desire to keep the cost down, both in material & machine time reductions compared to a solid 3D model... even one made out of 2D horizontal slices!
*correction edit* I went back & the solid model is still vertical slices, nut just all on one axis, and all adjacent faces, with no spaces
[ February 17, 2013, 10:32 PM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
I didn't want to engrave all the numeric puzzle key information right on each piece, and next to each slot... so I printed it out to scale, on paper... but I also printed some small 1/2" white-on-clear part number decals on the edge, to help sort it all out:
...so, it's 10 pm & everything is cleaned, peeled & has the numeric ID code decals in place...
posted
so, when I switched from my first thought of using plywood, to using some extra 1/4" clear plex I had around, I gave up on the paper mache idea, but still want to dream up some finishing touch!
...but for now, I just wanted to show off how amazing this software is, that all these parts are fitting together perfectly on the first run!!
posted
I used an 1/8" straight flute at 75 IPM, 18000 RPM 1st pass cut within an onion skin of cutting thru... left hardened plastic in kerf... .030 final pass cleaned out the kerf & finished the cut .020 into my spoil board... actually some of the best results I've had with acrylic so far, as I have not done a lot & have had issues with the melted sawdust...
Onsrud make some spiral end mills with a cut/edge geometry specifically for hard plastics.
After I bought a couple of them, it was SO much easier to cut, pocket or do whatever with acrylics that you'd never believe the difference.
I no longer use the 'general purpose' spiral carbide emdmills for acrylic unless I'm desperate or it's a size I don;t have in a speciality 'acrylic only' (hard plastic) bit.
Remelt problems solved! It also helps if you move faster, if you're having remelt problems. Going too slowly causes the extra heat from friction. (Or else slow the spindle speed down). You can direct an air-jet at the cutter too, to cool it if needed, if using a 'normal' endmill.
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
P.S. looking at the size and intricacy of that, I'd have used a 1/4" end mill, rather than 1/8", as there doesn;t seem to be much detail in any of the curves that needed a finer endmill to show it up.
If you went for 1/4", you can move along smartly as there's less of a risk of breaking the endmill when the material is as thick as the diameter of the cutter. Also, there's a bigger hole or path through which the swarf/shavings can be ejected, compared with the narrow slot from a 1/8" cutter.
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
...one of the best things about starting a thread where I am given valuable info is that it is much easier to find old tips on my own threads... where so much other info is lost if i don't learn it the first time I read it...
On this job, I might have posted about 1/4" material and slots, but in the end I used 3/16" material, so my slots wouldn't allow for the 1/4' bit.
I will get myself some of those Onsrud tools now. Thanks again!
posted
They're also an 'o' flute, or single cutting edge bit.
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I routed 3/8" wide slots, 1/8" deep in this 1/2" pre-finished Maple ply, 3/8" holes were drilled at each end and then LEDtape (white lights, no programmable effects) were taped down into the grooves, with new holes drilled wherever another below grade splice is needed between the 5 meter segments...
then because I think green lighting will be cooler, I had just enough translucent green vinyl to cut stripes for applying over the recessed light stripes, before the 3/16" clear acrylic cover-plate gets screwed down on top.
The "coverplate" has leftover flat black Hexis wrap film on the surface & I'm about to rout your same file (still tweaked to a 3/8" wide slot) to a depth of 3/32" through the black vinyl...
This video I'm linking to below shows that 3 strands are brighter... I will try to fix that before this weekend, after I get it installed tomorrow...
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
)
Printer-friendly view of this topic