Hobby CNC

[puckotred]

Hi folks

 

Bought me a 3018 cnc/laser kit some weeks ago. just to have something to play around with...

 

 

Then I vacuumed up the masts feet of my Royal Caroline, and made new ones with the laser module.

 

Then this morning I discovered that you had to make the anchor bits (and some other stuff) from some plywood squares...

So I did the Toolpaths in Fushion 360 and tried the cnc:

 

 

Only problem was that I had the feed rate too high so the first 1mm bit broke but lowering the feedrate 50% fixed that...

 

the machine:

 

Old MacBook Air to operate it:

 

It's now my favorite toy. 

[Justin P.]

I looked at this system as a way to produce relief carvings at scale for ship models.   In the end I wasn't convinced I would get the fidelity I wanted and skipped the deep dive.   I look forward to seeing what you can do with it!

[puckotred]

As I continue throwing away parts of my build I had to make a new lasercarving for my Royal Caroline.

The original wood was very porous I had some difficulties getting the same depth in this much harder veneer.

(leftover from Amatis Titanic. Only one I could find with matching thickness).

But after lots of testburns it finally went my way.

 

This little machine has helped me a lot so far.

[Gregory]

You say CNC..  Is this a laser?

[puckotred]

The spindle is interchangeable with a 7W diode laser module, so it's both...

[cookster]

Hello Pucko, I'm thinking of getting one of these.  Do you still like yours?

[puckotred]

Hi cookster,

I'm still very happy with the machine. Though the laser being a diode is not really strong enough to cut other than very thin plywood. 

The tuning of the laser can be tedious but once you get used to it it's no big deal. 

The cnc part of the machine works great for model ship building. One thing that is extremely useful is when I have to drill lots of holes for pinrails etc.

Making the toolpath in Fushion360 is dead accurate. tell the program how many holes for certain lenght and it places them even so you don't have to do the math. I did all the pinrails for Royal Caroline in one go.... 

And the machine is good fun playing with. Making signs, laseretching my daughters pencils with her name etc. For me it is the best toy I've had for years.

[cookster]

Thanks Pucko, I already ordered mine earlier today and will have soon, as a late birthday present to my self 

As far as the software, I've been using CAD and 3D software for 30yrs, so that part is no worries for me.  I have a Sherline mill that I was going to convert to CNC, but that's over $1000 to do that.  When I saw this CNC router, at that price, I had to get one to try.  I've never used CAM software but I know what G-code is, so I just need to figure out what this machine needs.

I use Solidworks, so I have the CAD side covered.

 

I can't wait to make some stuff!!

Thanks again for answering

PS, I didn't get the laser, if I ever want to play with one I can add it later.

[puckotred]

Any program that outputs G-code will do. Just remember the machine has no endswitches so always think of the boundaries. This is a good introduction to the 3018

[cookster]

Pucko, thanks for the link.  I watched a few and will watch the rest.  Good info!