Once my machine was up and running, I did some plotting and was really happy with it. So, I moved the MPCNC to a real table, got a spoilboard mounted, and used my plotting files to engrave. Those aren’t very interesting (so I’m not attaching them) and I’m pretty proficient at modeling so I found a design I liked on Google images and thought it would make a good sign. I used Inkscape to get a rough DXF file for it, then ended up just using it as a template as I completely remade a new DXF in Fusion 360. CAM programming was done in F360 as well.
Honestly, it was a great starter project: I surfaced my stock, used the engraving function, made pockets, and cut the whole thing out. I got to work through a few kinks and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out!
Here’s some videos of it cutting and a final picture of the completed board. IMGUR LINK
My next project is a little more ambitious. I’m going to attempt to do some 3d contouring… if it works out the way I want it to, I’ll be super happy about it.
Thanks for those who helped me through the power supply snafu earlier. This seems to be a great community.
For a first project I think you did great! Jeez, you learned all of the techniques in one go. 3D is easy, the only tricky stuff is flipping and the hardest part of that is flipping it the right direction.
From here on out smooth sailing, thanks for sharing.
I designed that UK Flag for fun. Sadly, I’m not really that creative when it comes to actually drawing and graphic design. I make up for it by being able to copy other peoples designs! (Lol)
Yeah, I just finished putting some wood filler over the spots where I dove the bit into the piece… a little sanding and some painting and it should be good as new!
I was back at it again this morning. Last night I used some wood filler to fill my mistakes in and then I sanded it up this morning. Once I had done that, I wasn’t terribly happy with the non-uniform outcome so I ran to the store and bought some acrylic paint. See the link below for the finished project:
The only thing that’s still bothering me now is that the whole thing isn’t centered in the “frame”. When I set zero, I set it off to the side of the piece, so I’m almost exactly 1/4" off center to the left. Nothing a quick measure/cut wouldn’t fix.
Oh and I made sure to make the white really thin so you can still see the wood grain/layering!
