3D cad LP top

[Scott Rosenberger]

Try doing a search of the Forum.

Search for Copy Carvery and Duplicarver, You'll find lots of interesting Info

[jer7440]

Hey! I'm finally getting back to this project...again It's been kind of a long year with my wife having surgery 3 times (one emergency) and 2 little kids...yada yada yada.

Any way, I started working on my fret board inlays and here is a pic of a couple of the pieces.

I found the shape in some clipart on a tattoo site. I grabbed the JPG and a friend of mine vectorized it for me. I scaled it to size in Mastercam and started cutting. Here a a couple of the cavities

cavities

I did make one screw up though. I was using a 24.75 scale layout and the board I got from stew mac was laid out to 24.562. Anyway I have a couple of fret markers that will be off center. Oh well next time I will slot my own board.

[JonnyC]

I did make one screw up though. I was using a 24.75 scale layout and the board I got from stew mac was laid out to 24.562. Anyway I have a couple of fret markers that will be off center. Oh well next time I will slot my own board.

Yeah the 24.562 had me stumped for ages. I just finished building a Les Paul and i bought an ebony fingerboard from Stew Mac. For ages i was trying to think of workaround as Gibson state a scale length of 24.75. It's amazing what stupidity can do though, i own a Gibson Les Paul, and it didn't dawn on me for a long time to actually check the scale length on it! Turns out Gibsons use 24.562 and the 24.75 is just a reference really. http://www.stewmac.com/fretscales

I must say, CNC produces some very clean work, i'm very impressed with your work so far, looking forward to the end result!

[jer7440]

Here is another quick update. I carved the top today. Everything went as expected this time

[PTU 7's.]

Hey man nice top!

I want to build my 8, but not archtop, flat.

[Maiden69]

I want a CNC !!!

[Mattia]

I want a CNC !!!

...so build one

[jer7440]

Hey man nice top!

Thanks! It's nice to have that out of the way. It just needs a good sanding now.

[Maiden69]

I want a CNC !!!

...so build one

I don't even have the money to build one and the Army wouldn't move it for me because of weight limitations... I'm so limited to the amount of tools I can buy!

[Guest PoonTangRat]

Hey Jer7440 I am looking to maybe cut my body through CNC and just wondered how you managed to do the curve, did you use a number of profiles and then loft through them or did you work down in rings?? LP looking really good btw .

Also can you output your design as a Stereo Lithography File (.stl)? If you can is it possible to send it to me?

[Guest PoonTangRat]

I'm using Solidworks 2006 for my design but I cannot get the 2 way carve. When I do it one way it looks fine like in the pictures below

and another

Left View of Curve

but when I try to the curve from the side aswell it come out like this:

Anybody who can help? Especially you Jer7440 again repeating my question how did you achieve yours?

[jer7440]

Hey Rat,

Its' been a couple of days since I checked in here...sorry for the delay. I tried a ton of things to create the carve for my LP. I finally ended up making a bunch of individual surfaces. I'm not sure how familiar you are with surfaces, they are a little different than solid models. Surfaces a created by creating a 3d wireframe, or the 3d boundary of an area. If you look at the lower bout area of my LP, it is made up of 2 surfaces. One on the left of center and one on the right. The boundaries for each surface are the center line, the outside contour of the guitar and a horizontal section that creates the top of the surface. The thing is, none of these boundaries is flat. The vertical center line looks flat from the top view, but from the side it is a curve that runs from the high point of the carve down to the outside edge of the guitar. This is really hard for me to explain without some kind of visual aid. If you still have questions I can take some screen shots from my drawing or I might be able to make you a .stl or Iges file. Let me know

[Guest PoonTangRat]

O Ok I hadnt really thought about doing it like that. If you could send me an STL file that would be great. Thnks :D

[onelastgoodbye]

Ok you probably know this already, but it might be of use for someone else reading this

With CAD systems, there's two main types of modeling: 'surface modeling' and 'solid modeling'. Surface modeling is where you design a shape by defining it's outer surfaces by curves; solid modeling is were you basically start from a solid block and add or take away pieces. Most programs make a distinction between these two techniques, or only use one of them (well).

It seems you're trying to do this with 'solid' modeling, wich won't work. Any freeform or surface that is bent in 2 directions has to be made with a 'surface modeling' technique, like railsweep, network surface, etc.. I'm not really familiar with solidworks, but I believe it also does surface modeling.

Surface modeling can be a bit tricky (cnc is the easy part) as you have to define the curves that make up the surface and then make sure surfaces match up.

This is a model of a js I did, mainly with railsweep. If you'd like, I can draw the curves on. doing a LP would be totally different though.

Tim

[jer7440]

Tim, that is a great looking model. With the LP there was no way to drive a surface like you were talking about. I had to create patches for each different section.

[tofly]

I have been reading this thread and it looks as if you have it all covered, I would love to make a guitar for myself and I just happen to have a 3 axis CNC with spare time on it.

Could I please get a copy of the MC file you have sorted out for your LP.

I can reciprocate by sending some CNC designs for you that youy may find interesting.

thanks

cc

[jer7440]

Tofly,

I would be interested in some exchanges. What have you got? I have all my files on my computer at work, so I won't be able to get to them until Mon. I have to admit that my MC files are kind of a mess. Things aren't very organized. I understand what's going on but I created it. I might be able to clean it up before I send it. I'll have to see how much time I have.

[davee5]

Are you running a 4-5 axis machine? Looks like you have an undercut on that headstock where the lower corners (next to teh nut) are orthogonal to the headstock and not the machine z-axis. Lucky dog.

As for all those out there who want a CNC of their own: it's a crutch for many people, but it's not as easy as you think it is. Yeah the accuracy and repeatability are fantastic, but having now gone through a build by hand with templates, files, and coping saws you can do just as well by hand with some care. Unless you want to make an aluminum guitar, it's not really that much better than some real skill. However for those lacking "real" hand-on skills.... it's a nice crutch.

Furthermore, for all those out there who are going to "build one," you had best really really read up on it. You think making ugitars is tough, try ing making a CNC machine. My roommate, whose IQ roughly doubles mine (and I'm not as dumb as I sound), is building one using a grizzly desktop mill and this is NOT a project for the faint of heart or low of technical skills in electrical, mechanical, electromechanical, and programming/coding. Unless you want to build one from a kit, just forget it. You don't have it in you. Remember what they always say: if you gotta ask...

-Dave

P.S. One of my best buddies in college NC-machined crave top and back bottom plates for a LP out of aluminum and sandwiched them around a mahogany core. Looks badd-arse and sounds pretty dang good. Bright and sustaining, but the mahogany mellows it out, takes off any twang or harshness. But mostly it looks tight. He left the ridge height pretty large and decided the as-machined look was pretty gnarly and opted not to sand it down. Very "metal."

[jer7440]

Are you running a 4-5 axis machine? Looks like you have an undercut on that headstock where the lower corners (next to teh nut) are orthogonal to the headstock and not the machine z-axis. Lucky dog.

As for all those out there who want a CNC of their own: it's a crutch for many people, but it's not as easy as you think it is. Yeah the accuracy and repeatability are fantastic, but having now gone through a build by hand with templates, files, and coping saws you can do just as well by hand with some care. Unless you want to make an aluminum guitar, it's not really that much better than some real skill. However for those lacking "real" hand-on skills.... it's a nice crutch.

Furthermore, for all those out there who are going to "build one," you had best really really read up on it. You think making ugitars is tough, try ing making a CNC machine. My roommate, whose IQ roughly doubles mine (and I'm not as dumb as I sound), is building one using a grizzly desktop mill and this is NOT a project for the faint of heart or low of technical skills in electrical, mechanical, electromechanical, and programming/coding. Unless you want to build one from a kit, just forget it. You don't have it in you. Remember what they always say: if you gotta ask...

-Dave

P.S. One of my best buddies in college NC-machined crave top and back bottom plates for a LP out of aluminum and sandwiched them around a mahogany core. Looks badd-arse and sounds pretty dang good. Bright and sustaining, but the mahogany mellows it out, takes off any twang or harshness. But mostly it looks tight. He left the ridge height pretty large and decided the as-machined look was pretty gnarly and opted not to sand it down. Very "metal."

Well seeing as you seem to be infinitely smarter than everyone else here...I will let you figure out the undercuts on that neck. I will tell you this though, its only a 3 axis machine.

As for those of you thinking about building you own cnc...GO FOR IT! I wouldn't let this guy or anyone else tell you, "you aren't smart enough" What an arrogant thing to say. I guess I will hobble off on my crutch now and contemplate my own ignorance, and lack of hands on skill.

[davee5]

Hey, just because you did multiple ops on a 3-axis doesn't give you the right to be a dick. And as for lack of skills, when I had access to an NC machine I used it all the time for that exact reason, because it's a crutch. I've done it by hand and I've done it in MasterCAM, and while each has it's own skills I know the reason I gravitate towards computer control is because it seems "easier" to get a perfect part. You know that once it works, it's spot-on and any fear of uncertainty is washed away. That's why I did my entire project in CAD down to the wood knots, and if I coiuld have machined it I would have.

My point about home NC-machines coincides mostly with the apparent fact that the volume of people who come into this forum asking how to build a CNC clearly haven't given it careful consideration. There are tons of forums on how to do it, many people have, and many who are both better at techie stuff than I am, and many who are less skilled (despite having never asserted my intelligence in my post other than to say "I'm not as dumb as I sound") who have pulled it off as well. We are in a wood-working arena, so that does take a bit of the heavy-duty requirements off the CNC project from those who want to machine stainless steel in the garage like my roomie.

If someone here wants to pour the time into making a CNC, like most here try to pour in the time to make a guitar, then I fully endorse those efforts. But those who roll in, see a machining setup, then say "How can I build one? $10k is too much for me" are equivalent to those who roll in and say "I want a '62 strat but I don't have the cash for one, can I build it in 2 weeks for $200?" Like any of the projects around here, it is very involved and such an undertaking should not be discussed flippantly.

And here I was going to ask my buddy to give me his EXACT CAD of an LP top (he used a digitizing arm on a Std.) so you could use it for future projects, given your earlier complaints about being unable to copy the carve exactly... arrogant indeed.

(But I'm not a jerk, so if you want it I'll ask him for it)

-Dave

[jer7440]

Dave,

I apologize if I misunderstood the intention of your post. I've been in plenty of online discussions with "Hand made" zealots, and I tend to react negatively when I am told I don't have skill because instead of a router and template I use and cnc machine. After rereading your post, I can see that wasn't necessarily your intention.

So anyway, sorry for being a smart A$$ about the neck. It seems like I posted step by step how I did it, but I would have to look back in the thread to know for sure. If I didn't I'll throw something up.

[davee5]

I'm sure much of the fault is mine, I looked back over the thread in detail and the multi-op setup was pretty obvious with a little digging. If it's any consolation to the "hand made" comment I basically feel like using abearing guided template is about one degree fo separation away from NC work, it's not like it's all that much more skilled...

I had my templates laser-cut, using NC code, and then used them to route with. So really even my own work, at least the body outline, is effectively NC controlled.

Now, back on topic. Let see some more NC surfacing/LP porn shots, I want to see some full-frontal carve-top curves!

-Dave

P.S. Japanese TV is dang weird.

[jer7440]

Had some time to do some more work this weekend. I put a roundover on the mahogony back of my guitar.

I also finished the headstock inlay

Headstock inlay

[tofly]

jer7440 sorry for the delay in responding I forgot my password, did not get that sorted until a few moments ago.

Right what can I do for you. I have used Mastercam Art to create a lot of 3d raster to vector images IE: trout fish, hawks, eagles and such.

I have the files in MC ver9 but I still have access to a mate who has MCX, so I could convert to MCX if that is what you use is there a possibility you would give me the MC files you have written already and feel free to ask me for what you would like in return and I will do my best tor respond.

My friends MC has the post for my machine so I think a fairly simple matter of creating the NC code.

What I can also offer is that if you have a problem with a surface or 3D machining we can assist with the tool paths etc if you have the MC file we can program the best strategy for machining it for you.

let me know.

regards

c

[jer7440]

Just a quick update. I have the neck pocket cut and fitting nice and tight. I cut the binding channel and tried to glue in the abs binding. Needless to say I screwed up the first binding attempt. So I set the body up 1 more time and cut out the first plastic binding. I'll take another crack at the binding tonight.