Inlay artist wants to jump into cnc

[1bordeaux]

Hi all,
I've been involved in building and repairing instruments for 20 years. I have a business hand cutting shell inlays for other luthiers and individual owners,(mostly guitar and mandolin).
I have limited experience,(set zero point, push button), with cnc, but did quite a bit of vertical mill work and lathe work while working at Carruthers guitars in Venice,CA.
I would like some advice regarding purchasing a machine,(no time to construct), and software.
The only other info I can provide is my needs: Table must travel at least 22"
My overall depth of cut would be approx. .060 from the surface.

Thanks in advance for any help.
You can see my hand cut work at www.bordeauxinlay.com

[CNCadmin]

How about a already built? http://www.cnczone.com/reviews/showp...php/product/10

[1bordeaux]

As I stated in my first post, I'm new at this and am looking for a complete unit, not just a table. I'm open to constructing one, within limits; my current backlog is typically 6-12 weeks which does not allow much time for "tinkering" in building a cnc unit.

Maybe I should post this in more of a generalized forum? Any other advice?
References?

Thanks in advance!

[corrie]

Hello 1B,check out www.durhamrobotics.com,this guy has got a pretty good setup at a reasonable price,you shouldn,t be disapointed.

[corrie]

Here is something all you guitar builders might be interested in www.forloversofwood.com.,In case you are having a hard time finding the proper tone woods for your build.

[1bordeaux]

Corrie,
Thanks! Now could you tell me the advantage of a" worm screw and pillow block " versus a carraige set up. A friend also mentioned backlash when changing direction.

Bottom line: What's the BEST transport assembly made of?

[corrie]

Hello 1b,does your friend mean ball-screw where there are several ballbearings that recerculate within a block in which gets screwed over the the ball-screw itself.I believe these type of lead-screws have little or next to none in back-lash.Back-lash from what I gather is the slop in the drive direction ,it,s like a chain on a bike sprocket as soon as you put pressure to pedal you see the chain tighten up just prior to motion,it,s the same principle with a lead-screw drive mechanism.Hope that can paint the picture for you.About a carriage setup,not sure what you mean,do you mean moving gantry where the router moves over the work or where the spindle is stationary and the work moves in it,s Axes direction.Cheers and hope I,ve been some help.

[1bordeaux]

Hey corrie, He has a shop bot and i believe he referred to the carraige being on wheels riding on a v track. He said he occasionally gets a bump in a pattern when a chip and / or sawdust gets on the track, or if someone bumps the frame itself.
What you described is what I'm looking for; No slop! I've turned down a few orders for multiples over 500 pcs. because I don't cnc. The time is here!

[1bordeaux]

Here's a photo of a handcut inlay I did for Sheldon Schwartz.
Can you say programming time?

[ger21]

Originally Posted by 1bordeaux my current backlog is typically 6-12 weeks which does not allow much time for "tinkering" in building a cnc unit.

Your going to need a bit of time for the learning curve, and possible figuring out the best wat to hold those small parts you'll be cutting.

[RandMan]

Paul - very beautiful work !!! I really like your taz !

custom inlay uses big techno routers with very high-speed spindles and mastercam cad/cam s/w. If you know Brian England you might want to talk to him about what he'd do if he were starting over...he's got a lot of capital invested being a volume shop. You should be able to do well with a much more modest approach both on the router and cadcam (ie Rhinocam). Ger21 makes excellent points. They glue their blanks to hardboard which are positioned on the router table and held down with vaccum. After cutting throw the hardboard in soapy water for a couple hours to soften the titebond and then peel them off. Doublestick tape works fine instead of the expensive vaccum option but takes more time to fuss with.

[dcd121]

Check out this site. He is doing what you do with cnc methods. He seems to be an artist such as youself. As far as holding down the shell he uses hide glue on a phonalic backer and soaks it off after cutting.

www.frets.com


If you want to come anywhere close to the quality you produce by hand you can forget building you own machine or worse yet a shopbot. A small techno-isel with a highspeed spindle would be something to look into.