Gnome Posted September 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 but for the dupli carver i would need to have one already built i need to have one built by my cad well how much would it cost for a duplicarver for a 4 by 4 foot. At this point I think it would be best to forget about the CNC until you've done some serious reading (like a few hours a day for a few weeks) on the subject. What are you trying to do? carve one guitar? If thats the case take your time and do it by hand. period. Or get a cheap CAD program and attempt to design it, and then get someone to rout the body. heres some of what youre going to need to do in order to accomplish your goal: 1. Read, read, read 2. Download or purchase a CAD program like Autocad, after all a guitar is 3 dimensions and you're going to need to know how to come up with a realization of the guitar using some sort of CAD program. You'll probably need to take a lot of time to learn this step, otherwise you'll need to get a file from someone. How are you going to represent oddly curved surfaces? drawing cavities for pickups == easy.... representing a whole guitar in 3 dimensions for routing == an order of magnitude harder. You can buy software to make this step easier, but its going to blow your budget. 3. now there is the learning curve for the cnc machine itself. setup, maintenance, etc, etc. youll need to dig through application manuals, have specialized training in setting up and prepping your work pieces and work area.... be prepared to have tons of scrap pieces to experiment on. because when your cnc is set up on day 1, youre not going to get anthing decent until you learn the machine and the application software. could take a few weeks. why dont you google some of these keywords: "wood" "woodworking" "wood lathe" "milling" "CNC" "stepper motor" "servo motor" "linear rail" "ball screw" "vacuum table" etc, etc, etc Contact a mid to large size sign shop in your area and ask them to give you a demonstration if they have a CNC machine, or even a manual milling machine. Youll gain some insight there. Youre in High school right? volunteer a couple days a week at a local machine shop, even if it is just looking over a guys shoulder and asking questions. in return youll sweep up some metal chips or something. You'll gain an understanding of the difficulty and expense of what youre trying to do. If you can't answer simple questions like "what is an 'axis'?" "what the heck is meant by 3-axis" "whats a gantry" "whats a G code" "whats a router" "what does CAD stand for" etc, etc. then you need to hit the net and the books, junior.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Ok is there any other type of mill that works with a computer that can cut a body from a CAD fill thats 3000 or less. It doesnt have to be cnc. I realized i just needed a computer operated mill. Or is that what CNC means. this will cut a body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 just so you know about cad, autocad for a 1 yr license is over $1000 and thats not even the 3d version, then after the yr is up you hafta buy the license again, then of course there is always learnin the program and using its full capabilities, ive been using the program for 1 yr and a half so far and i know very little of it MzI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skr4ped Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Ok is there any other type of mill that works with a computer that can cut a body from a CAD fill thats 3000 or less. It doesnt have to be cnc. I realized i just needed a computer operated mill. Or is that what CNC means. this will cut a body So will this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Ok is there any other type of mill that works with a computer that can cut a body from a CAD fill thats 3000 or less. It doesnt have to be cnc. I realized i just needed a computer operated mill. Or is that what CNC means. this will cut a body So will this LOL!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Monkey, didn't you had your butt spanked the other day here! and then said that you were going to change about your posts and it hasn't been a week yet and you are already running rampart. Get your thoughts together, thinkl if what you are posting is serious, attainable, etc... then post. I have no doubt that if you want to get a CNC to build guitar you can do it... but at this point I seriously doubt that you can even pull one decent. I think that the advise given to you here is more than adequate, and this isn't even your thread! Stop the threadjacking, and get serious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted September 18, 2004 Report Share Posted September 18, 2004 wait. let me check out that link..... oh my..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPL Posted September 18, 2004 Report Share Posted September 18, 2004 Ok is there any other type of mill that works with a computer that can cut a body from a CAD fill thats 3000 or less. It doesnt have to be cnc. I realized i just needed a computer operated mill. Or is that what CNC means. this will cut a body So will this There is a guy on the Carvin forum that cut the body of his seven string with a hacksaw blade with a duct tape handle. What's my point? Well, this guy wanted to build a guitar and wasn't going to let something like lack of tools stop him. If you really feel the need to build you'll do it even if you don't have every tool mankind has ever invented. I'm as big a tool junky as the next guy but if I waited to have the perfect workshop before I start I would never get a damned thing built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted September 18, 2004 Report Share Posted September 18, 2004 I'm as big a tool junky as the next guy but if I waited to have the perfect workshop before I start I would never get a damned thing built. Same here. Right now I'm waiting to get a thickness sander, so I haven't built anything since finishing my last project in February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey69962000 Posted September 18, 2004 Report Share Posted September 18, 2004 im trying to learn from the cnc. oh i wont be here most of the weekend in indiana visiting my brother. I have a cad program already and i googled and found out info for each of the subjects luthier did. Thanks everyone. Im trying to learn about them so i know a lot before next summer. I have access for all the tools i need except a cnc mill and a dupi-carver, so i will research both but will probably build a cnc for the accuracy and building the with metal. Still will learn from both though. I have all the saws you can think of at school and there is a band saw there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringkilla Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 To reply to the original idea, a small home built machine with software will cost in the area of $8,000. I can not stress this any stronger but, do not buy stuff on Ebay. Use only ballscrews and linear bearings. Servo motors are better than steppers and require less power. Use a 1 Gig or larger ram memory in your computer, g code files can be very large. Do not skimp on anything and be very precise in your constuction methods. Gnome, the best site for homebuilt cnc is www.cnczone.com. Here you will find the best minds on the net for homebuilt cnc. And for the young monkey, before you buy anything make one by hand first to discover your strenghths and weaknesses and go from there. A good job would help the money problems and maybe a degree in Machine Technology will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted October 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 To reply to the original idea, a small home built machine with software will cost in the area of $8,000. I can not stress this any stronger but, do not buy stuff on Ebay. Use only ballscrews and linear bearings. Servo motors are better than steppers and require less power. Use a 1 Gig or larger ram memory in your computer, g code files can be very large. Do not skimp on anything and be very precise in your constuction methods. Gnome, the best site for homebuilt cnc is www.cnczone.com. Here you will find the best minds on the net for homebuilt cnc. And for the young monkey, before you buy anything make one by hand first to discover your strenghths and weaknesses and go from there. A good job would help the money problems and maybe a degree in Machine Technology will help. Thanks for the link been there many times. as far as cost goes.. I'm $1200+ (i think, heheh). The 1200 includes a bunch of stuff i may not end up using, but the price on some of the pieces were good. I'm lucky in that I've got ProE, AutoCad 2000, and Solidworks2000, but regardless, basic toolpath software can be had for real cheap ($200-500). We're talking CRUDE functionality, but its enough for debug and basic tuning. I think $8000 is on the high side. Im aiming for $2000 for the 'first gen' machine. I'd have to disagree about ebay. I've gotten several great deals. Patience is the key. I picked up a couple 48" ball screws and a few pillow blocks for like $100. I couldnt believe I won that auction. If you know what youre looking for and are willing to wait for things, you can find deals. i need to get off my a** and pick up some aluminum extrusion so i can start building the frame and start mounting. its a slow process when you got a full time job and no extra time. no complaints though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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