CNC at Work
 

 

Patience!

    In the image above, you can see the CNC router doing its thing.... carefully following the 3D models toolpaths.  Here, half of the CQC helmet is being milled out of high density foam.  The foam is secured to the work bench with super sticky carpet tape to hold it in place.  Once this side is completed, there will need to be a VERY minimum amount of finish sanding, and then it will be on to helmet side 2.   The other half of the helmet will work in the same way.  After it is finished, you should have two mirror images of each other.

Finished Model

 

    The final assembly involves bonding together the halves and creating a full helmet!  The amount of detail is staggering and the finish is near perfect requiring little sanding.  The finished helmet can be displayed or used as a mold pattern to create wearable helmets.  Just another use for CNC beyond your typical woodworking projects.

 

 Software used to create this...

 

 

1.  Blender -the completely free open-source "do everything"
                   3D software.  Takes a bit to learn, but I have
                   found its uses are endless.

2.  Cut3D -  Centric's wonderful CNC software.  This package
                  allows you to work with most 3D models in OBJ
                  format.  Simple to learn... Try the Free preview!

3.  Vcarve -  Centric's other CNC software... the basics when
                    it comes to their software.

 

4.  Pepakura - though not used directly for this example, it
                       could also be used along with these other
                       fine programs.  It opens the use of .PDO files
                       used in paper making models.  These models
                       can be exported from Pepakura Designer as
                       OBJ files too... opening the door to a new
                       source of models to carve!  This program
                       (Designer) is not free unfortunately.

 

    Thanks for looking at another of my ideas for using technology in a new way in the classroom!

 

 

Update:  05-21-2011
NEW CNC DESIGN WORK
 

Learning Never Stops, Even For Me!
   
   I am always looking for new ideas to incorporate into my class assignments.  Using gaming is a great way of getting students interested and a fun way to teach them new approaches and let them be creative with something they enjoy.  With that in mind, I have been researching ways of bringing photos and art into VCarve Pro to expand my project ideas.   Have a look at my latest idea and discovery below:

 

 

CREATE A ETCHING USING PICTURES

 

USING BLENDER WITH PHOTO VCARVE

 

 

Going Inside the Game

   
Other practical uses for Gaming and 3D
   
   The process of using 3D models from games to create real world objects allows students to explore a very interesting learning tool - CREATIVITY.
The power to imagine and create is one of the most power tools any student could hope to harness....

New Use for the Same Technology
   
    Creating 3D models as I have already shown can lead to paper model building, Pepakura.  That is a great step in showing students how models they create can take a life.... but what if they wanted to apply this knowledge of models to something that might lead them into a technology career? 

CNC - Another Step in the Creative Chain
   
    CNC (Computer Numerical Control) is another area of technology where this concept and skill of 3D modeling can be put to use.  In the old days, creating furniture, and intricate woodwork was a job for a craftsman, some one who had dedicated their lives to developing the skills to create, usually by hand, works of art in wood.  Today with modern technology, computers and machines can be harnessed to create these same works much more simply.  CNC can be used to machine and mill all types of materials including wood, metal, foams and plastics.  It truly is a versatile tool for creating.  Using its X, Y, and Z axis in coordination with tool path commands from the computer, the router can run a rough pass removing excess material.  After this initial pass, the router can change tooling and then run a "finishing" pass.  This final finishing pass is slower and much more detailed creating a finished product.

 

A Walk Thru

Starting in Blender

  Again to start this process, we can start with our handy 3D software, Blender.  Because Blender can export its files into so many formats, it is a
multi-use super tool.  For this example, we will use the another Halo item, the popular CQC helmet.  In Step 1, we have the full helmet mesh.  Because of the size constraints of the CNC table and what can be machined, we move to Step 2.   In Step 2, we slice the helmet into two sections or halves.  We will machine the helmet in halves and then put them back together when they are machined later.  Save the half and export it from Blender as a OBJ file to use with Cut3D.
 

Setting up the CNC


   
    After editing our model in Blender and exporting it to a OBJ file, we can move on to Cut3D and begin setting up our tooling paths, etc.  In the image above, (1) you can see the imported half of the helmet.  After we import, we just follow the steps thru the process, picking tooling and setting up the our parameters.  When we reach the end, we can preview the toolpaths to see the end results.  In (2), we see the rough toolpath that clears away the bulk on non-used wood.  (3) shows us the final piece after finish machining.  Not bad at all!  On half is finished!