Awesome board. That turned out quite nice. Thanks for posting the video.
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Michael,
Sign making, of that type, is a terrific learning experience. It can get quite complex with all the pocketing operations and the correct offsets. You said it “made me look at design a lot differently”
What were the largest challenges of those builds?
How will you change your approach on the next one?
What did you learn about materials?
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Yes @KevBarn14 the learning experience on these signs was perfect for me being new to cnc. I found that the repetitive way in which i did my tool paths had me clicking my mouse faster and faster knowing where i needed to change numerical values and why.
My largest challenge has been learning CC design. I see cool stuff on here and in my mind and just want to make it myself. Designing it however is a talent; but one worth trying to achieve for me. Its definitely made easier with the incredible, prompt teachings of @WillAdams.
The sports signs were made from MDF. I work with live edge wood mostly, so the thought of MDF was not great. I was asked to design and make a simple name sign with a little trickier floral design, but still very basic when you break it down. This would be my introduction to MDF and im very happy that happened.
What i now see when i look at the above name sign is a bunch of independant pieces coming together in a specific way to create an imagine i recognize.
Each piece was thought of independently for this reason. Some pieces would be best as an outside contour, some as an inside contour, and some as cotours without any offset.
When it came to the flower, im using a 1/8 end mill, how can i possibly cut this out properly? The overlap will make some pieces non existant. Thats when i realized the machine sees ‘pieces’ not a flower. Why do i need this to be a flower on my stock? - i didn’t. They became pieces spread out on a piece of stock with plenty of room to be cut out whole.
This is where i started to learn how to flip, mirror and rotate my pieces onto stock to minimze my waste.
When i started the Senator i had a new way to see things. What i now saw in the Senator was pieces, and pieces that could be taken away. The color scheme helped me decide.
There is Gold, Red, White and a common occurance of Black. If the Black becomes a background, all i have left are colored pieces that fall into place in a specific way to make me see a Senator.
The Viking was looked at the same way. Another black background with a bunch of pieces - Viking
The layouts are not perfect but they save me lots of material. Below shows the Senator in stock and screen shots of the Viking in design showing the difference essentially of what we see (Viking) and what the machine would see (pieces).
Again, coming from real hard wood to MDF i actually enjoyed sanding my projects and now im learning a lot about tab sizes because i have a different view on that sanding. Also learning my machine and what size pieces it likes to eat regardless of attempted tabs.
My biggest takeaways from the design was:
- Dont be in a rush; check, recheck
- Think independently about ‘objects’
- Don’t be afraid to make tool paths
Making a lot of independant tool paths, especially for the small objects, meant if it didnt come out properly, i could disable all paths but the specific one i need to redo.
The rest was finding good craft paints, ways to paint, spray or hand (i did hand for pieces, spray for backing) and good adhesives with a way to clamp. My clamping involved another board resting ontop of the entire project and a weight placed on the board.
Enjoy your time,
Stay Safe!
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Thank you for the detailed response Michael. Love it.
I have a bunch of art paper I bought some time back. I have wanted to use it in a lamp for some time. The Japanese Kumito style. The Shapeoko would be perfect to make such a lamp.
The precision of the Shapeoko would make a nice lamp.
The picture is not my lamp but an example.
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