Electric Guitar

[snapperjonno]

Thanks Ash, done.

[kiwichris]

Hi-ho,

Random thought for the day, which is not so random...

Make the prototype, hand cut/sand/fill/sand/cut/sand/fill/shape/fill/cut it till you like it and then use a co-ordinate measuring machine or 3d scanner to create a mesh based STL for it that can be machined for the production version.

There are a few firms now that offer that type of service, and it would be much faster than drawing complex compound curves in 3d...

Cheers, Him.

[snapperjonno]

Hi Chris,

You're on to it, but it is a combination of doing some of this hand modelling technique, and using the 3D modelling and CNC techniques for other bits in order to finalise the design - some areas such as the blend of top-of-neck to headstock are best done to finished level in the digital modelling and CNC cutting realm, whereas others, such as body shaping and heel shaping are best done with hand tools and hands...

the 2D dwg drawings i have ready to go (and you have seen) are designed for this to happen - detail where the CNC will work best, and enough meat left for hand shaping where relevant, like where the neck meets the body.

I've attached a pdf of views from my SketchUp model of the design for everyone to see so I'm not being so mysterious. Please excuse the awful modelling around the ends of the neck (this is why I need help, plus SketchUp isn't the program to use for this I know) but you get the rough idea.

Does anyone know of a good 3D scanner in NZ by the way?

Cheers,
Jonno

[Ashley Cobb]

The guitar looks great, agreed about sketchup not being the best tool for the job so to speak. From my experience, 3d scanning can be a bit expensive!

[kiwichris]

FormScan 3D Scanning, Measurement and Data Processing Services is the only one I know...

A place that's next door to where I work who make surfboards and some other glass/carbon stuff have used them, or was looking at it.

(I've got nothing to do with the firm, just remembered the name 'form scan' from an over the coffee discussion and Googled em)

Cheers, me.

[snapperjonno]

Thanks for that guys, I'll check it out...

[aussiegazza]

Excuse my lack of knowledge on your project, but why use CNC for that shape?

Where is the complexity? A simple template to rout around, some pickup templates etc.

The neck to body rout is the hardest part (I am sure that you know this of course).

Is there going to be relief (angle) on the neck or will it be straight? Either way, a simple template will suffice.

My 2c....

Garry

[Ashley Cobb]

Can't beat CNC for finishing - the necks come out so smooth they hardly need any sanding. Not to mention accuracy and repeatability.

[snapperjonno]

Hey Gary,

Thanks for your comments.

I'm not going to list all the reasons for using CNC as it's a long one but a few reasons follow:

Fingerboard radius is compound, from approx 10" to 12" along its length - I could build a complex routing swing arm mechanism to achieve this but haven't the resources right now...

Neck profiles look simple but actually involve 2 faces that both taper and twist along their length, so possible but not the simplest to achieve otherwise...

Head to neck blend is a complex junction of 3 flat faces meeting a complex curved headstock shape and headstock profile...

Neck to body junction is similar, but I want 2 of the flat faces to sweep cleanly into the sides of the body (this is not evident on the pdf I posted but is where I want to go design-wise)...

Radiused cross sections to body need to be accurate, fit of neck to body too, shape of tuner cut is complex, etc etc etc etc

Plus... I don't have access to machinery or workshop myself at all at the moment at all so am relying on employing the help of someone else to get it to the point I can get my hand tools on it and know the critical elements are true...

And... if it all works out well (I reckon it'll be a corker) I want to be able to get into small batch production and having gone through this process will have the ability to make more much more easily.

Neck will be straight (no angle) on this one, although I have the design incorporating angle in another incarnation. I need to get my hands on the tuner/bridge especially but also all other hardware for a detailed measure up before going down the angled route (everything is currently in transit from all over the world). I'd love to do it but it has other implications especially around bridge and fingerboard height and subtle design / aesthetic considerations, but will remain open to change...

... unless you meant relief as in the slight concave curve to the neck necessary for proper playability? - that will be created by the use of a truss rod. Might also get into carbon fibre reinforcment of the neck, but not in the initial model(s), want to see how they perform.

Hope that helps...

Cheers,
Jonno

[Ashley Cobb]

See attached

[snapperjonno]

Man, I wish I had my own CNC machine...!!!!!!!!!!!

[aussiegazza]

Hey Gary,

Thanks for your comments.

I'm not going to list all the reasons for using CNC as it's a long one but a few reasons follow:

Fingerboard radius is compound, from approx 10" to 12" along its length - I could build a complex routing swing arm mechanism to achieve this but haven't the resources right now...

Neck profiles look simple but actually involve 2 faces that both taper and twist along their length, so possible but not the simplest to achieve otherwise...

Head to neck blend is a complex junction of 3 flat faces meeting a complex curved headstock shape and headstock profile...

Neck to body junction is similar, but I want 2 of the flat faces to sweep cleanly into the sides of the body (this is not evident on the pdf I posted but is where I want to go design-wise)...

Radiused cross sections to body need to be accurate, fit of neck to body too, shape of tuner cut is complex, etc etc etc etc

Plus... I don't have access to machinery or workshop myself at all at the moment at all so am relying on employing the help of someone else to get it to the point I can get my hand tools on it and know the critical elements are true...

And... if it all works out well (I reckon it'll be a corker) I want to be able to get into small batch production and having gone through this process will have the ability to make more much more easily.

Neck will be straight (no angle) on this one, although I have the design incorporating angle in another incarnation. I need to get my hands on the tuner/bridge especially but also all other hardware for a detailed measure up before going down the angled route (everything is currently in transit from all over the world). I'd love to do it but it has other implications especially around bridge and fingerboard height and subtle design / aesthetic considerations, but will remain open to change...

... unless you meant relief as in the slight concave curve to the neck necessary for proper playability? - that will be created by the use of a truss rod. Might also get into carbon fibre reinforcment of the neck, but not in the initial model(s), want to see how they perform.

Hope that helps...

Cheers,
Jonno

I was quite interested in the neck profile. Yes I agree that CNC will make it all easier and repeatability is key if you want to do a batch.

A CNC neck will probably be my next project, though I am getting very good at them manually (now done 6).

Anyway, I will watch with interest and provide help if I can. I am a newby at CNC tho.

Update: I was only commenting on the body shape, as I only scrolled down the pdf after I posted and then realised that the neck was so complex. My apologies.

Garry