Instrument maker

[Grambot]

Hi there

I'm experimenting with instrument making, and looking into either getting a CNC machine at home or outsourcing at the beginning. I have experience with 3D designing, and use 3D printing and work with wood.

I'm still figuring out how best to design some parts, whether they're going to be strong enough if carved out of a block of wood, or whether some part will be aluminium, how thick to go etc

I have some initial designs which I need made up. Hope fully by someone here - I'll post on the Projects, Jobs and Requests forum.

And I'll be interested in reading about peoples experiences of building their own machines. I'm sure I'll be getting someone to build one for me!

[Boyan Silyavski]

Welcome!

Apart from all else, i make small musical instruments- kalimbas. Which i designed acoustically and then engineered from scratch. Though deceivingly simple, i have made hundreds of experiments deciding on this or that and bettering them with each batch.

What instruments are you making or starting to make? Maybe i could help you if i can, about deciding the materials or sth. else. Tell us more.

[Grambot]

Hi Boyan

Thanks for getting back to me. I've had a chance to look at your build. Looks amazing!

I'm experimenting with small keyed xylophones.

I'm wondering if I can make the main casework out of timber, machined on CNC. It would be like a large wooden pencil case, or dough bowl at the bottom, housing most of the mechanics. This would be hopefully milled out of one block:


And there would be an aluminium shape like this, secured above it, around the keyboard. Hopefully this could also be CNC'd?:


Ideally I'd like an accuracy of +-0.1mm. Is this realistic?

And a machine with a working area of at least 500mm x 200mm x 120mm (Z)

Thanks

[Grambot]

Well, definitely looks possible! :-)

[Boyan Silyavski]

[QUOTE=Grambot;84109]Well, definitely looks possible! :-)

That on the video is an example of lazy cnc-ing or test cnc-ing. He uses a bit i will use only for sth smal like 50x50mm. i can make that bowl on my machine faster than he, using 1/2 or bigger cutter. Plus he does not use roughing at all.




My instruments were 0.01mm overall even on my old machine which was to say "flimsy". "Overall" means in some places could be and is worse, but on wood that's not a problem. In reality now with my machine i have always to slow down things and spend time adjusting perfectly toolpaths so to avoid chipping. So at the end whatever they say, but CNC is an art


So you don't need super fast machine , real life 10 000mm/min will be ok. 5000mm/min will be slow to my liking, but it will not be bad if your machine can reach 20000 mm min so you use HSm techniques there like digging full depth / see my video/ . What happens at the video is at 16000mm/min. The problem though is that now i don't use that toolpath, cause it makes a lot of noise and around me people pay to live in quiet near the sea
You will need servo drives and motors for that speeds. And looking at that bowls i greatly suggest that, otherwise they will take forever to make


in fact one of the reasons to build my machine was to make my instruments more 3d, like the bowls. And soon i will start experimenting with the sounds of it, ast shape must be matched to sound in my case

[Clive S]

What happens at the video is at 16000mm/min. The problem though is that now i don't use that toolpath, cause it makes a lot of noise and around me people pay to live in quiet near the sea
You will need servo drives and motors for that speeds

Boyan why do you think you can't run at 16000 mm/min with steppers?

[JAZZCNC]

Ideally I'd like an accuracy of +-0.1mm. Is this realistic?

And a machine with a working area of at least 500mm x 200mm x 120mm (Z)

Thanks

0.1mm is more than achievable and your cutting requirements are also very easily achieved. Thou you may find little more than 200 will be more usable and give more scope.

[compositepro]

if it can be done in brass

https://www.instagram.com/harrelsontrumpets/

im sure you will be fine

https://www.instagram.com/mmc_engineer/