CNC mill for a 4x8 mold?
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Michael Scott
Jul 14, 2016, 2:32:01 AM7/14/16
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Never been to the maker space but wanted to know if there is a mill that can mill out a 4x8 mold. I designed the part in solidworks.
zranger
Jul 14, 2016, 3:15:46 AM7/14/16
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Guess it has to be asked, Feet, Yards, Fathoms, Light Years?
On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 1:32 AM, Michael Scott <superm...@gmail.com> wrote:
Never been to the maker space but wanted to know if there is a mill that can mill out a 4x8 mold. I designed the part in solidworks.
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Sebastian Wiers
Jul 14, 2016, 2:58:27 PM7/14/16
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Also what kind of mold? Styrofoam, plaster, steel, Penicillium?
Rather than guessing, I'll say that TCMakers does have a 3 axis CNC
router that AFAIK can handle 4x8 foot sheet material. I've seen
videos of similar tools used to make master molds for sand casting.
It's only for softer materials, but I've seen people do plenty of
complex styro carving. You might need some special bits depending on
your files (such as long tapered ball nose bits if you have steep
draft angles and rounded interior corners).
There is also a Shapeoko 2 tabletop CNC machine, which would be
suitable if talking 4x8 inches or cm.
I'm not familiar with either of them beyond the fact that they are CNC
and can cut complex shapes in wood and softer materials (and
potentially certain plastics and soft metals) that do not have
undercuts or very deep relief.
For more info, I'd suggest attending an open house on Weds night, or
CNC Meetup on Sunday (2-4). For the later, you should probably
contact Pete McKenna <pete.m...@gmail.com>
-Seb
Rather than guessing, I'll say that TCMakers does have a 3 axis CNC
router that AFAIK can handle 4x8 foot sheet material. I've seen
videos of similar tools used to make master molds for sand casting.
It's only for softer materials, but I've seen people do plenty of
complex styro carving. You might need some special bits depending on
your files (such as long tapered ball nose bits if you have steep
draft angles and rounded interior corners).
There is also a Shapeoko 2 tabletop CNC machine, which would be
suitable if talking 4x8 inches or cm.
I'm not familiar with either of them beyond the fact that they are CNC
and can cut complex shapes in wood and softer materials (and
potentially certain plastics and soft metals) that do not have
undercuts or very deep relief.
For more info, I'd suggest attending an open house on Weds night, or
CNC Meetup on Sunday (2-4). For the later, you should probably
contact Pete McKenna <pete.m...@gmail.com>
-Seb
Patrick Raines
Jul 15, 2016, 4:46:11 PM7/15/16
to tcmaker
I'm a member of the maker space and would really like to CNC mill molds of my 3d printed educational toys. if you find the answer I would love to hear about it.
here is the best answer that I have for you. contact Micah Roth at Nordeast Makers, tell him what you want to do and that you are willing to pay $200 a month for access to his space (mire...@gmail.com).
Pete McKenna
Jul 17, 2016, 10:58:35 AM7/17/16
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I'll be in this Sunday at 2:00, I likely wont be in again on Sunday until late August as I have a large house project going on and a bunch of travel this Summer. I'd be happy to give everyone a tour of the machines, and demo some stuff, I need to cut some hinge pockets into to door frames, as I'm re-hanging some old doors.
Sebastin is correct, the HF has a 4' x 4' CNC that can be indexed to do large parts, and we have done some 4x8 sheets. The machines are CNC routers not mills. The difference being the rigidity of the machine, mills are for metal, routers are for wood. Be aware that even on a very fast commercial router a 4x8 mould ( which I would interpret as meaning a complex 3D model could take days to run ) The 4' x 4' CNC router at the HF has a somewhat limited Z axis so the thickness of the mold you wish to make would need to fit the about 3" Z limit or be sliced into components that would fit. ( see the Star Destroyer model in the case just inside the front door to see an example of this )
If you have questions, as Sebastian suggested, you can email me. I may be able to be available to help you get checked out and working on your project yet this Summer, but I wont be teaching any "classes" this summer. To be checked out on the machines the process is to read the manual, meet with me or someone else who's checked out on the machine and demonstrate that you know what you are doing. We will then help you with you first cuts.
I haven't been to Nordeast Makers, and can't comment on that process, but if you are looking for a cutting service and not wanting to learn the details of CNC that may be a better option.
Pete
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