AVOR – a steel-framed medium-size router

[Neale]

Another little sample item, cut with the router. Remember that the machine was designed and built for cutting wood, up to quarter-sheet size. This item is a prototype engraved master for a lapel badge for my local model engineering society. A member offered to lost-wax cast these provided that someone could make a master, and as the only one present with any kind of CNC capability, I was volunteered.

This was a first attempt to see if it was possible. The overall size is 20mmx10mm, and the engraving is about 0.75mm deep. Done with a 30deg included angle carbide V cutter. Although it looks a bit rough in the picture, remember just how small this is! The top surface of the engraving also looks a bit rough as it is the original surface of the drawn brass bar. I was only interested to see if I could achieve the detail needed in this test piece. I have recently completed a larger version, about 35x17mm, which is rather better, and where I have also skimmed the top surface to get a decent finish. The toolpath was generated by Vectric Vcarve, with the design traced from an original bitmap copy which needed a bit of manual clean-up.



The original investment in decent ballscrews and Hiwin rails was justified, I feel.