New Adventures - Design to CNC

[MachineHeadobe]

Hi there,

I have been a long time reader of CNCZone over the years of designing guitars, but I chose today to become a member.

My company has been in the guitar business for 4 years now but has been having guitar bodies and necks OEM elsewhere, but now is the time to move into making some select models here in Texas.

Up until now, I personally would design a guitar using Adobe products, mostly Photoshop, since I learned how to use it proficiently as a kid. I have read many many forum posts about CNC machining guitar bodies, but they usually don't talk about norms of workflow from design into physical manufacturing in a way that says "most manufacturers of guitar do XYZ".

I understand very little about the flow of things, but let me tell you what I do know;

1. designs need to be made in a CAD program and then you have to use a CAM program to actually create the tool paths necessary for physically cutting wood into shapes.
2. G-Code is what the computer uses as matrix points and instruction to go from point Xx, Yy, Zz to another point.
3. Most machines that make guitars, for the most part, are 3 axis
4. Some people use VCarve Pro
5. I love Adobe because I am comfortable with it, but I don't mind learning something else to get to the point where prototyping becomes quick and workflow is easy.
6. The OEM manufacturer that interprets my designs uses Solidworks to interpret them into usable files for manufacture, but I don't need to use Solidworks if something else is a more comprehensive solution.
7. I have a mac, I love my mac, I know this might become a problem.

Now to something useful:

1. Is V Carve Pro a comprehensive solution to my problem? Can someone design something and add textures to the surfaces to create digital renders of guitars, then eliminate the textures, create tool paths and plug it into the machine to create the bodies/necks?
2. Do these programs work in vectors?
3. I am prepared to start to master whichever programs I need to so that we can start our shop and build our manufacturing team here in the US, so finding the best option is pretty important here in this stage since searching for information usually leads to some kind of advertisement for different programs like MeshCAM, KuboTek 3D, or the like, and it usually leaves me with more questions than solutions. Nothing outright says "most guitar companies do this, and this is the step by step workflow to achieve this" which I expected.
4. I am most likely going to buy a Laguna Tools CNC once I begin designing, It will be a Swift Series, 4 x 4 or 4 x 8 depending on sizes of bass guitars.

Can someone provide me with an almost childlike walkthrough of what companies do / use for this application?

If you made it through, Thank you so much!

-MH

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[awerby]

Hi there,



Up until now, I personally would design a guitar using Adobe products, mostly Photoshop, since I learned how to use it proficiently as a kid. I have read many many forum posts about CNC machining guitar bodies, but they usually don't talk about norms of workflow from design into physical manufacturing in a way that says "most manufacturers of guitar do XYZ".

[Most people use other programs to do their designs for CNC. While Photoshop might be good for making concept drawings, it doesn't have more than rudimentary 3D capabilities.]

I understand very little about the flow of things, but let me tell you what I do know;

1. designs need to be made in a CAD program and then you have to use a CAM program to actually create the tool paths necessary for physically cutting wood into shapes.

[Right.]

2. G-Code is what the computer uses as matrix points and instruction to go from point Xx, Yy, Zz to another point.

[That's more or less right, but there are other ways it can command a machine to move.]

3. Most machines that make guitars, for the most part, are 3 axis

[A lot of them use a 4th axis for things like necks.]

4. Some people use VCarve Pro

[I suppose it's possible, but that's not really well-suited for many of the parts you'll need to produce.]

5. I love Adobe because I am comfortable with it, but I don't mind learning something else to get to the point where prototyping becomes quick and workflow is easy.

[Good, because Adobe doesn't make the software you need.]

6. The OEM manufacturer that interprets my designs uses Solidworks to interpret them into usable files for manufacture, but I don't need to use Solidworks if something else is a more comprehensive solution.

[There are lots of other programs that can do what you want.]

7. I have a mac, I love my mac, I know this might become a problem.

[There are modeling programs that work in the Mac OS, but just about all the CAM programs run under Windows. If your Mac runs Windows, it might be able to do the job. The computer you use to control the CNC machine probably won't be a Mac; get over it...]



Now to something useful:

1. Is V Carve Pro a comprehensive solution to my problem? Can someone design something and add textures to the surfaces to create digital renders of guitars, then eliminate the textures, create tool paths and plug it into the machine to create the bodies/necks?

[It would be better to model these things directly, using a program that can create things using 3D geometry instead of trying to do it with a program primarily intended for making signs.]

2. Do these programs work in vectors?

[Vectors are mathematically-defined 2D lines. Most 3D modeling programs can use them for some things, but depend on mathematically defined 3D shapes and splines to produce surfaces and solids.]

3. I am prepared to start to master whichever programs I need to so that we can start our shop and build our manufacturing team here in the US, so finding the best option is pretty important here in this stage since searching for information usually leads to some kind of advertisement for different programs like MeshCAM, KuboTek 3D, or the like, and it usually leaves me with more questions than solutions. Nothing outright says "most guitar companies do this, and this is the step by step workflow to achieve this" which I expected.

4. I am most likely going to buy a Laguna Tools CNC once I begin designing, It will be a Swift Series, 4 x 4 or 4 x 8 depending on sizes of bass guitars.

[You might research different makes and models before jumping in; there are lots of considerations when purchasing a CNC machine, like the reputation of the firm, the support they offer, the capabilities of the particular machine, its expandability or adaptability, its electrical requirements, the particular spindles and tool-change options offered, the vacuum table, the dust collection system, etc.]

Can someone provide me with an almost childlike walkthrough of what companies do / use for this application?

If you made it through, Thank you so much!

-MH

[People build guitars by hand, or with any tools they happen to have. Even a 2.5D solution will help with some things. But if you want to design and cut all the parts of your guitars, you'd start with a program capable of creating compound-curved geometry in 3D. Something like Rhino 5, for instance. Once you had all your parts designed, you'd run them through a CAM program (like RhinoCAM from Mecsoft, which plugs into Rhino - see my site for more info on that) to get a G-code program for each part (or several programs, if your machine lacks an Automatic Tool Changer). Then you'd feed that (or them) to the program controlling your CNC machine, which would be able to execute a roughing and then a finish pass, and then get in there and do special operations like drilling holes for the tuning gears, or cutting out recesses for inlays. ]

[MachineHeadobe]

So Rhinoceros 5 will be the same as Solidworks? I already have Solidworks but I can get Rhino 5, too. If SW is the same as R5, does a SW design transfer into RhinoCAM? Also, is V Carve Pro the same thing as RhinoCAM in its function?

Thank you

[awerby]

Rhino and Solidworks are different. Solidworks is a solid parametric modeling program; Rhino is a spline-based surface modeler. In practice, that means that it's easier to change parameters in Solidworks; if the thickness of a wall, for example, needs to increase, that can be done with a simple adjustment, without changing anything else. In Rhino, that would break the surfaces apart, so you'd have to fix things. But it's more difficult to construct free-form curvy geometry in Solidworks; Rhino makes that easier. You can transfer a Solidworks design into Rhino, and into RhinoCAM, but the parameterization would be lost in translation. It would be better to get the VisualMill for Solidworks plug-in (which we also sell) and generate the toolpaths without having to leave the program. That way, if it turned out that something (like the thickness of a wall, for instance) was a little off, you could change it on the fly without hassles.

V-Carve Pro, as I mentioned earlier, is not a true 3D modeler; it's oriented towards making 2D and 2.5D products like signs. You can import 3D models into it and create G-code for them, but it is limited in that regard; the only way it supports the rotary A axis, for instance, is by "wrapping" a flat relief around the A axis, which doesn't really work too well in many cases.

[bostosh]

Machiine Head,
I just bumped onto this thread and do exactly hat you are wishing to do.
Cheap advice, here,
BrianO

[ger21]

I know a member here that has a neck manufacturing business, and he uses Solidworks and Visual Mill for CAM.

[bostosh]

Good,
I am getting excellent wood necks from USAguitrs and modding the paddle head.
all CNC and he needs programming help, 8 week lead time.
Somebody's making money.

Is your effort progressing?

another neck site
metalnecks.com

[KH0UJ]

Well if you are used to use photoshop then I guess sketchup is a breeze on your side to make your 2D drawing into a full blown 3D detailed with measurements, export it to a CAM software like cambam then you can begin cutting /shaping it to your CNC.

[beispiel]

Is your effort progressing?