Work ExamplesThe tables offer a range of speed, price and accuracy. |
These pieces were routed with inexpensive All Thread rod as the leadscrews.
Software backlash compensation was not used in cutting any of these examples. The 10x9, 18x24, 25x25, and the 24x48 machines were designed to use a variety of components, which will alter the quality. There are also examples of work that builders have shared on the Gallery page. |
 The above carvings were cut
with the same g-code. The left used a 60º Vee bit in a 5 amp trim
router. The right pattern was cut with a 0.05" bit in a Dremel. Each of the pieces is four inches square. |
 The above photo is an outline cut of the logo on the right. It was cut in aluminum with a 0.0098" diameter bit. The results of backlash can be seen in the retort's spout and in the bottom of the circles near the plant.  Hardware store threaded rods and nuts were used as the leadscrews and leadnuts. Acme rod with anti-backlash nuts will improve performance, and increase the price. |
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 The pattern above was cut into a 6 inch long piece of oak with a Vee bit in a trim router. |
This is an 8 x 10-1/4 inch letter cut from 1/4 inch birch plywood.
It was cut with a 1/8 inch straight router bit in the 5 amp trim router.
The feed rate was 36 ipm and the time for the cut was under 3 minutes. It was carved in one pass. The CNC machine used hardware store threaded rod as the leadscrews.  |
 This is a box for an electric fence control. The routed piece is made of 3/4 inch pressure treated southern yellow pine and is approximately 20 inches long. It was cut in four passes with a 1/4 inch straight bit. |
 Here a machine is cutting a sign. A Vee bit was used.  Carving five is as easy as carving one. |
The PC board on the right was cut with a machine using All Thread leadscrews and a 0.03 inch diameter bit. The holes are 0.1 inch apart; an IC is in the top row of holes to show the scale. The traces are 0.028 inch wide and 0.072 inch apart. The holes are 0.03 inch in diameter, and the pads are 0.07 inch in diameter. This was done at one depth of cut for the outline pass, and a second pass was run for drilling the holes. The speed was 12 ipm to protect the tiny bit from breaking.  |
This four inch diameter gear was cut from 1/2 inch thick acrylic.
It was cut in five passes of 0.1 inch each with a double flute straight bit in a trim router. The trim router's rpm had to be slowed to prevent the plastic from melting. Determining the correct feed and speed is a trial and error process.  |
The tables, of course, have 3D capability. The carving on the right is a set of shapes routed into a southern yellow pine 2 x 10.
A 1/4 inch round bit was used, and the piece was not sanded before varnishing. The software used to draw and generate the 3D g-code was Rhino3D with RhinoCAM. This 3D software package is over $1000.  |
This sun is a 3D cut that used MeshCAM for the g-code generation. An image was imported into MeshCAM, and MeshCAM interpreted the dark and light as depth and height. MeshCAM is a relatively inexpensive 3D program, but it is more suited to art pieces such as this, rather than pieces that require specific dimensioning. For the most part, it only dimensions height, depth, and width of the entire piece; everything else is relative to these. The work is a four inch square piece of MDF trim that is one of a pair of blocks for the top corners of a door casing. The parallel path cuts were 0.005 inch apart, so it took over 3 hours to carve at 30 ipm when cut with 18 tpi All Thread. Better leadscrews would permit faster speeds. A Dremel Vee bit was used with an 1/8 inch adapter in the trim router. The router bits used for the above work are shown on the Bits page.   |
