Using My End of Year Vacation Time to Create Some Coasters

#1

I was sitting around and got to talking about logic gates with my son and got the idea that I don’t have enough projects to do on my list, so I jumped these coasters to the top of the list and made them with a piece of strand woven bamboo riser I bought for raw material for CNC crafts.

They are 4" square, and I - being a lazy person - decided to try something to increase my workflow. Instead of programming the gcode to cut 4 of them at once, or changing bits for each one (I am using a 1/4" end mill to cut them out, a 90deg bit for the chamfer, and a 0.0236" end mill for the text) I decided to just index the spindle 5" to the right or left after using each bit.

IMG_20201221_161443_01
IMG_20201221_161443_014032×3024 2.59 MB

So the process went like this:

  1. Put in the 1/4" end mill
  2. Index X0 Y0 at the left most location.
  3. Cut the square out
  4. Rapid move to X0 Y0
  5. Go to the Zero screen
  6. Change X to -5 (inches) (since my coasters are 4" and I am using inches)
  7. Rapid move to X0 Y0
  8. goto #3 (until I ran out of room)

Then I changed the bit to the chamfer bit. Did the exact same thing, except put X = +5 at step 6 instead of X = -5 and worked my way back to the left.

Then I changed the bit to the 0.0236" end mill and went back to the right again.

Made 4 coasters with three bit changes. Here’s all 8 of them.

20201223_212726
20201223_2127262728×2803 1.89 MB

Now I just need to epoxy fill and clear coat them, then put the cork bottom on them and they are ready to go. No special reason I made them, just wanted to.

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#2

I did not know you can manually override the zero, that will be super handy for batching out jobs. What toolpath did you use for these - are they all single line svg?

#3

I created the schematic icons and table in Inkscape, because that is what I am familiar with. The grid is just individual lines.
The font is one of the CamBam “One Line Fonts”. Maybe number 8 or 9?

I imported the engraving into makercam and created the gcode there.

The schematic shapes are closed vectors.

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#4

I used to have to read schematics and have not seen those symbols in a long time. I learned all of them in electronics school. Great project, I may need to copy it.

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#5

I’ll throw the vector files on my Google drive later when I get back to my computer.

EDIT: Here you go.

#6

On another note, my wife is fond of grabbing my water cups and coffee cups and putting them in the sink - even if I am still using it and it has liquid in it. She thinks that it is abandoned and cleans it up.

I solved my problem by making some coasters specifically for my cups to let her know that I am still using it. I originally 3D printed them, but I picked up some red oak and made one real quick. I like it better than the 3D printed one.

20201225_150340
20201225_1503401923×1961 1.33 MB

20200321_175857
20200321_1758571512×2016 1.47 MB

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#7

What bit did you do the lettering with? Be careful what you complain about, my wife got mad because I leave dirty a dirty glass in the sink.

#8

I used these 30deg 0.125in bits from drillman1. I think the font was like Arial or Arial Bold. I used Vectric V-Carve to vcarve the text, then a 1/4" down cut bit to pocket and cut it out, and a 90deg bit to chamfer the edges.

EDIT: I changed the link for the 30deg V-bits because the original ones I linked have a reduced cutting diameter, and they are not the ones I use, but just ones I grabbed from the site where I bought them. I actually used my 30deg bit yesterday and I saw that it was different and had to go back and check, and it appears that there are multiple V-bit styles on the site. You can also get a 30deg 1/4" shank bit if you prefer.

#9

Using the 30 degree bit… about what size is your text?

#10

Rick,

I am not sure which font you are referring to, so I’ll talk about both.

EDIT: I just now learned that I can click on the quote block and have it expand. Originally, for me at least, the quote block only had “CamBam” showing, hence my confusion.

The font I used with the 30deg V-bit was just Arial, and the letter dimensions are image inches.
image

I did not carve the CamBam font that I used on the coasters with a V-bit, but with an 0.0236" end mill. Those letters are image

image

I used V-Carve Desktop to design and create the g-code for the “THIS IS MY CUP” coaster. I used Inkscape to design and MakerCAM to create the g-code for the logic gate coasters. I hope this answered your questions. If you have more questions, just ask and we will do our best to help out.

#11

Thank you! I’m trying to do small letters and a 60v I’m not getting good results. Was wanting to try the 30v and the endmill that you used.

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