Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Mass-Customization for your Basement

With wavering uncertainty over the future of the RP Lab, and the missed opportunity to test design ideas at full-scale, I researched 3-axis CNC systems.

I settled on a design that I thought would prove the most robust after certain compromises were made: Stiffness had to be weighed against portability and speed with budget.

The end result is a machine that is by no means industrial, but is very versatile. For instance, the plate that mounts the router spindle can be swapped for a plasma cutting setup. I can cut most non-metallic materials and even some non-ferrous metals (at slow speed with a router spindle).

The cutting product on the video is unimpressive, a few scribbles I threw into microstation. I have, just recently, cut some geometric patterns with great results. So far, I been within +/-.01" accuracy.

6 comments:

  1. Awesomeness! I'm going to have to come play some day...

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  2. Holy wow! I'll definitely have to see this creation of yours as well.

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  3. I think we should have a christening party! way to go Justin!! If this is what an individual is capable of- why is it so hard to pool the school's resources and make this available to all?? Everyone wants to talk about integrated practice- this is how we get there- not by housing a studio in the corner of a vacant floor of EUA. ...sorry, I digress. You go Justin!

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  4. Very impressive! How much do you charge (and do you have a Microcosm discount)? I've already got some ideas...

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