Hello everyone

[Fivetide]

hi , I'm totally new to CNC , I hope to buy one of ebay soon and then use it to create some projects I've been wanting to do for years, hopefully i can get some help with them in here and share the joy :)

[Web Goblin]

Hi, welcome to the forum.
Before you go buying a machine I would recommend posting an idea of what you want to do with the machine. Hopefully then some of the experts will then give some advice on what you need to buy or better still what you should build.

[Fivetide]

Hi Goblin,
Basically I’m a bit of a closet artist combined with back shed amplifier builder; I also do casting with resins. I make cmoys and headphone amps from kits and I’m hoping to build some nice enclosures / Boxes etc, for them. I was a Riley’s snooker table’s wood machine apprentice although we didn’t have a CNC machine, although there was what I was told was a profiler which turned the legs and fluted them, so that could have been a CNC machine. So some of the enclosure’s I’m hoping to make out of rare woods and maybe do some marquetry, combine soft metals with the wood and even cold metal casting. The CNC with have two purposes, first to make aluminium prototype and then either cast it or engrave it or cut lumps and pour resin or profile some nice wood and combine them, like I said it’s been along project spanning a few years but my momentum is gathering pace and like the idea of making some wacky metal enclosures and psychedelic casesJ. I want to experiment with thin laminated layers of resin colours and then etch or relief work them.

I added a picture of one of my prototypes, the face is cast and bolted to a standard enclosure. Disregard the colours etc its just what I had left over from another project , but I hope you get the idea :)

6637

[blackburn mark]

I added a picture of one of my prototypes, the face is cast and bolted to a standard enclosure. Disregard the colours etc its just what I had left over from another project , but I hope you get the idea :)

6637

sweet !
if you ever have the time (and inclination) id love to see a quick guide on how you go about casting resin like that
all of what you seem to be asking of a cnc is certainly possible on a well made cnc router
as goblin says, throw your ideas out onto the forum and let battle commence :)
don't be put off by conflicting ideas... there is a lot to absorb
buying would be great but expensive
building your own is much cheaper but will take blood snot and time.... lots of time but you will likely end up with a machine that fits your purpose well
good luck

[Fivetide]

Thanks for the reply Mark, I'll do you a deal , you show me how to use my first CNC and you can spend the day at mine I'll show you how to cast resins, Its taken me about 5 years to get the right materials , know how and process to get everything right.

[blackburn mark]

Thanks for the reply Mark, I'll do you a deal , you show me how to use my first CNC and you can spend the day at mine I'll show you how to cast resins, Its taken me about 5 years to get the right materials , know how and process to get everything right.

preston isnt a million miles away... its a deal :)
ill give you my top secret work flow (cad to cam to g-code)
i want to know your process... iv no idea what ill use it for but ill find somthing :)

[Fivetide]

well it can make things like this , btw I need a pressure chamber to get the bubbles to go tiny, i have one on the way from the USA ,

6638

This is the front face to an O2 amp (http://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/o2-headphone-amp.html) Im working on , like I said its a prototype I will get it alot better with my new shiny pressure pot :)

[blackburn mark]

well it can make things like this , btw I need a pressure chamber to get the bubbles to go tiny, i have one on the way from the USA ,

6638

This is the front face to an O2 amp (http://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/o2-headphone-amp.html) Im working on , like I said its a prototype I will get it alot better with my new shiny pressure pot :)

nice

pressure makes sense, do you not also pull a vacuum to get the larger bubbles to rise first ?

[John S]

6638




Aahh, a bridgeport power feed gearbox, heavy duty version.

[Fivetide]

nice

pressure makes sense, do you not also pull a vacuum to get the larger bubbles to rise first ?

Actually Mark ..no and thats why there are so many more bubbles than normal, because I did vacuum it first. The problem is it expands the bubbles but they dont pop even with my Robin-air pulling 50% more than the recommended -27.5inHg. So I read up on it and found that the reverse is needed , pressure of around 58 - 62 PSI. You see for me every days a school day lol !

[blackburn mark]

pressure of around 58 - 62 PSI.

owch!... i guess thats why you bought one intead of buildng your own chamber :nightmare:

[Fivetide]

Exactly ! 65 psi would be like an IED going off lol

[Washout]

Not sure how thick your resin is there, but a method I use when "painting" composites with resin, is to run a heat gun on low or hot hair dryer over the surface. It expands the gas in the bubble forcing it to rise and pop on the surface and gets rid of most of them and I get pretty good results this way. Of course adding heat normally speeds up curing so you do have to be a little carefully depending on how long you do it for.

[Fivetide]

Not sure how thick your resin is there, but a method I use when "painting" composites with resin, is to run a heat gun on low or hot hair dryer over the surface. It expands the gas in the bubble forcing it to rise and pop on the surface and gets rid of most of them and I get pretty good results this way. Of course adding heat normally speeds up curing so you do have to be a little carefully depending on how long you do it for.

Hi washnut , theres the problem the cure time is around 10 mins and it not a normal type for resin, I found clear resin at 2-3 mm thick brittle this is a type for liquid plastic , the problem though is it cure time, one of the reasons Im getting a pressure pot.

[AdCNC]

Aahh, a bridgeport power feed gearbox, heavy duty version.

I Thought they were out of some shitty french cars gearbox