verhoevenc Posted July 3, 2005 Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 After reading a bunch of the CNC machine stuff on the site here I'm kind of interested in using one. And I'm sure my university has one somewhere that I can use? How do you go about doing it? People all talk about WHAT it can do and not HOW it does it? Do you make a 3D CAD drawing and use that or what? Someone should definately make a "CNC How-To" Tutorial! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted July 3, 2005 Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 I dont want to break your spirit here but I doubt your school has one you can just walk in and use. My school has several but you cant just use them. Even if you could set somthing up where you could have access to one you have to have your piece drawn up in some sort of CAD program. If you havend had some serious practice/instruction with such programs forget about getting anything close to usable drawn up. There wouldnt be any way to do a CNC tutorial as someone would have to teach you to first use the software and then program the machine and then...and then... and so on. They are very sophisticated machines, not somthing you can learn how to use in an internet tutorial. My girlfriend spent an entire semester learning how to use ProEngineer (CAD program) and their final project ended up being a 3x5" foam car cut on the CNC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted July 3, 2005 Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 Jay nailed it, there is more to a CNC than just punching a button and letting it buck. I did a 4 year apprenticeship in machining and the last 2 years are spent on CNC. There are some user friendly systems out there but they are very limited in what they can do. Most big CNC's use what is known as G code programming. It's all codes and numbers. Drawing the image on CAD is helpful when you can utilize a CAM program as well with the CAD. But CAD isn't necessary in the world of CNC either. Tutorials would equal a couple of large text books worth of material One other thing, most CNC's in schools are for metal working, if you ask them to use them for wood they won't respond well LOL. Beyond that, most metal working cnc's won't turn a high enough RPM to really work well in wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey69962000 Posted July 3, 2005 Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 Actually Cal State Northridge has one that i can gain access too, even if i did not know the head engineer professor... But im sure CNC are easier access able on a campus than people think. I mean, for robotics we got spacers made for the drive shafts to make sure they do not wobble. Im sure the school i want to go to has plenty of CNC's... CalTech. Well you need 2 pieces of software. One is the CAD program. Yuo need to be able to put cad into Dxf or Dfx... i think its Dxf. Might need to check up on that. Well then second software is the Dxf to G format converter. Now, you can type it in manuelly into the CNC machines computer, or if there is a way to save the G format onto a disc of somesort, you can send it to the CNC computer if it can take the disc. Or send it if it is hooked up to a normal PC that has the G format code. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 (edited) I agree, there is a reason nobody has posted a tutorial on this. It takes much more time to learn than a simple tutorial could cover. Im sure you can get someone to make something for you on a CNC at your university, but I would be impressed if you could get them to make something for personal use, let alone for free. No offense, but if you are asking these questions, you wont have the skills to make the part yourself. First, you would create your drawing of the part. My favorite program is solidworks, just because I know it pretty well. Don't bother trying to buy this yourself unless you have a few grand sitting around. Don't forget you would need to learn how to use it as well. Assuming you have made your solid model, then, a seperate CAD/CAM program will convert your solid model to a code that the machine can understand (g-code, as already mentioned). The real skill involves the ability to look at the g-code (for some reason every CNC machine uses its own perverted version of the stuff) and know what is being done and if it will cause any problems. The CAD/CAM programs are good, they can pick suitable bit speeds based on the material and all, but the bottom line is you do need a fair amount of experience before you can really dig in and make stuff using CAD/CAM programs on CNC mills/routers/lathes. Here is what I think would be best: If you already have a good grasp of solid modelling programs such as solidworks/pro engineer, create your guitar model, then find a small company that does CNC routing and send them the model and get a quote. If the price is right for you, send them some materials and let them do it. It will save you many aches and pains and will probably be done right, the first time. If you do not have a good grasp of solid modelling programs, I would just stick to doing stuff by hand. Tackling CNC stuff with no experience will be near impossible. If there is a CAD/CAM class at your university, take it! Then you'll be fine. Edited July 4, 2005 by Sparky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sobot Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 I was going to use a CNC table for my guitar, but I was only going to do the main shape of my guitar. Turns out all 3 tables are too busy around the workplace, so i can't. but I did get a chance to get an aluminum template cut out. I used autocad, and did a simple 2D drawing, making sure all my measuremnts were right, and then a guy that works for my dad put it into the CNC software and got it cut out for me, out of aluminum. I only know how to use AutoCAD from a first year grade 10 Tech design class. That all the training I needed. But I don't know how they do depths and stuff for CNCing... meh, that's why I just did the main shape. oh, and they might need to change the CNC bit for wood and the depth and stuff. I don't know what the CNC software itself involves... so I can't say aything there. Altogether, I don't know much about the process either, but I'm posting just in case I say something important that someone else didn't say:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking666 Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 (edited) Yes indeed, it cannot be mastered over night,I am a mechanical/manufacturing engineering graduate,it takes years.My favourite program to use would be Solidworks 2003. It only costs thousands of $$$ if you buy it. Solidworks is mainly used for newer machines in conjunction with a program like Alphacam. G codes are generally used on older type machines,as are Autocad DXF files. Most university lecturers are willing to help anyone out,time permitting,and complexity of parts to be machined taken into consideration. Edited July 5, 2005 by westhemann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 what you have just offered is software pirating and is illegal.we cannot condone that around here. heck of a way to start your pg history.i will just pretend it never happened..and since i deleted it...it never did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking666 Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 (edited) Oh,ok, just thought i was helping anyone out who wanted it, nothing malicious intended, apologies!! Edited July 5, 2005 by viking666 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Oh,ok, just thought i was helping anyone out who wanted it, nothing malicious intended, apologies!! ← Actually, no its not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking666 Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 All i can say is 2 words, Pretentious,and Ungrateful! Wanna watch you dont fall from that High Horse there folks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 All i can say is 2 words, Pretentious,and Ungrateful! Wanna watch you dont fall from that High Horse there folks! ← just doin' my job there,man...you want help building guitars ,we can help you...just forget about it. as far as ungrateful...well,exactly what should we be grateful for?you potentially putting the crackdown on this forum because you don't have the sense to be discreet? besides...let's be logical for a moment...who has a cnc machine,but not the software? i will admit i don't know jack about cnc...but that don't make sense to me... but feel free to enlighten me if i am wrong as far as primal's comment...well,you just have to understand that the members of this forum love this little corner of the 'net...and they help keep it free from all that stuff that can cause problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggardguy Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I have to agree with Wes, he gave you a break for something that you shouldnt have posted and then you go and insult a respected,friendly and intelligent member of this forum. If anyone here is ungrateful I'd say its you. Try and keep thoughts like that to yourself next time,now lets all get along . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking666 Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 "besides...let's be logical for a moment...who has a cnc machine,but not the software?" Yeah,who does have a cnc machine in their cupboard?? nobody does. It would have been ideal if someone that knew how to use the "software" ( can i say that word here,on this extremely P.C. board?),they could draw whatever they wanted to be machined,bring it to their university cnc room,maybe pull a few strings,and get it machined,or bring it to a modern machine shop either! That was my point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 It would have been ideal if someone that knew how to use the "software" ( can i say that word here,on this extremely P.C. board?),they could draw whatever they wanted to be machined,bring it to their university cnc room,maybe pull a few strings,and get it machined,or bring it to a modern machine shop either! That was my point! well that is a perfectly valid point.thank you for making it.so your position does,in fact,make sense. but it is still a moot point because i can't permit you to illegally offer to pirate software on this VERY public forum. that's why most criminals get caught...because they don't think what they are doing is really "wrong" in their own little world of convenient morality,so they don't use discretion. so get over it,move on,and let's see if you are serious about building guitars.that is,after all,what we are here for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted July 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 WOAH! How did my CNC topic get so out of hand!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPL Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 WOAH! How did my CNC topic get so out of hand!? ← You're new here, you'll get used to it. Then again maybe not, I haven't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking666 Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 I dont mean to hijack this thread any more but, can anyone else see this or just me? Over this whole board,people are constantly Pirating guitars,and parts, be they fake Fender relics,replicas,and parts,yet nothing is done to censor this?? Piracy exists,deal with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 Piracy exists,deal with it! i am dealing with it...i am closing this thread,then i am going to reccomend you for a vacation. some people just can't be helped o..and by the way....it is not pirating to mod or replicate a guitar for your own personal use,which is what we do here.oh...and some guitar body styles are also not illegal to replicate for sale,because of lapsed patent laws and such...the law is tricky...but in your case it is very clear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 I dont mean to hijack this thread any more but, can anyone else see this or just me? Over this whole board,people are constantly Pirating guitars,and parts, be they fake Fender relics,replicas,and parts,yet nothing is done to censor this?? Piracy exists,deal with it! ← We'll you seem to be the only one that is kicking this thread off topic at the moment. Yes Piracy does exsist and that is The Selling of Manufactured Illegal Copys which this board is not plastered with, Thanks for sharing your knowledge but this is about building and learning. If you have something to sell you can do so in the classifieds section as long as your product is concidered legal within the US. Back to the original topic now please people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 I was in no way SELLING pirated copies of software, all i was doing was offering it to anyone for free,the nice guy that i am,I believe in,what goes around,comes around! pure and simple. that is STEALING! pure and simple...and you wanted to trade for yet another stolen software program.man,you are dense. when we start having to lock up threads because of a new member who just does not get it..then it is time to say goodbye... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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