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Structure  #2 -  CNC machining

4/19/2013

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The process of machining the bench was a complicated one.

Because the stock material was 20' long and the machine bed only 10' we had to think of the simplest way to order the cutting phases.  That is, the fewest moves of the stock material while on the machine.  Prior to cutting, the piece of LVL making up the sitting span of the ONE6 weighed over 600lbs.

First cut was the top sitting surface, we cut out a shallow dish across the length of the bench, it's very subtle, but when you sit on the bench you can feel it.

next we flipped the block on edge and used skill saws to remove as much material as possible before using the machine.  Cutting the waste material in this way not only saves machine time and wear, but it made for some leftovers that could be used in other projects.

once the saw roughing was complete, we placed the bench on the machine. Running a roughing pass using the machine to remove another layer of waste material.  This ensured that the final remaining waste material was an even thickness, allowing us to run the finishing pass at a faster speed because the tool engages the same amount of material per pass along the the whole length of the bench.

Finally the "step" for the leg joint and the slot for the LED lighting.

Here is some content we captured throughout the process. We will be assembling a "Making of" video once the bench is complete so check back. 

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Structure  #1 -  The Concept

4/9/2013

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Right from the get-go, my partner Pat Christie and I identified a number things that we wanted to incorporate into our design based on the nature of the material and our combined skills. 

  •  Our design needed to "span" as LVL beams are engineered for doing just that.
  •  It had to showcase the "laminations" that made up the unique aesthetic of LVL multi-ply construction.
  • The production process had to capitalize on the functionality of my 3 axis CNC machine which has a cutting bed of 5'x10'.
  • The object needed to be well designed with the user in mind. Ergonomics, comfort etc...
  • It had to bold.
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"The ONE6 is born from LVL, a wood product engineered for performance and durability. A specialized manufacturing process results in a material that is strong, straight and consistent with distinctive aesthetic properties.

At six metres long, the reduced-edge profile along the length of the bench accentuates the impressive span that can only be achieved by LVL beam construction.

The use of CNC carving allowed for the design of an innovative joint, strengthened through the load bearing application.

This synthesis of human, machine and material results in an object that is guaranteed to be a spectacle in any environment."

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This is the final design we decided to go with.  It addressed and exceeded all of our requirements.
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Bathroom Counter/Sink

3/21/2013

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  Concept 3D Render.
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Ever since I saw a particular episode of 'grand designs' a few years ago,  I have wanted to make this.  

A bathroom vanity counter top made of laminated birch plywood, with the sink integrated to be all one piece.

Finally, a few years later now, a friend who will be renovating their bathroom gave me the go-ahead to make it for him.  
The process to make this counter and sink starts in the computer, modelling the sink basin.  The the 3D object then gets sliced up into the thickness of the birch plywood.  Each of those slices gets sent to the CNC software and are layed out into the 5'x4' sheet of plywood.

the machine cuts them out and away we go.
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All the slices cut.
All the slices are assembled to ensure correct fit and order.  Then they are taken apart and numbered, then reassembled.  This time with glue and clamps.  
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The glued up sink slices are then taken to the machine for the finishing cut pass.  Inside and out. 
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  Next is a whole lot of sanding to make it nice and smooth, then back to the machine to cut the drain hole.
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Drain Hole is cut, the dish is sanded, and we are ready to start glueing up the counter portion. 

But because of how many pieces I had to glue up to make the counter portion, and how little time there is to glue and get the pieces in the clamps, I forgot to take any photos of the glueing process.

after all the glueing was complete and the counter sections attached to the sink section the entire, now one piece, sink and counter needed to be planed down to be all even.
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Next I attached some stiffening rails to the underside of the counter.  At this point, because of the lamination direction, the counter does not have any strength in the lengthwise direction other than the glue that is holding it together. so the 1" steel conduit pipes that I used keep the counter from flexing too much during transport.
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Here I have temporarily placed the plumbing hardware into the counter and placed the backsplash in it's potentially final location.  It looks great!   next step is to epoxy the top and start sanding it down to that fine satin finish  that the client wants.
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The Mirror coat epoxy was applied to the sink and it looks like it went on perfectly.

But as you can see in the second image while sanding the counter down to the satin finish I sanded right through the epoxy and into the wood.  This is no good.  I made 2 more attempts at painting on thin coats to cover the blemish and resanding to the satin finish, and on each occasion again sanding through the epoxy I have decided to look for another avenue for sealing this project.

I have come across a product called an Aliphatic Clearcoat, which can be sprayed on, it will not drip or leak, it sets quickly and can be applied in multiple coats to achieve a desired thickness.  Perfect,  if only I knew about this before.  So the product has been ordered and I am now waiting for it to arrive so I can take the counter to the paintbooth and have the coating applied.  Hopefully this will work as intended and I can soon deliver this beautiful bathroom vanity counter to its owner.
5 Comments

Found "Mahogany" Serving Tray

11/4/2012

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In March of 2012, We bought a house and moved to Mission.  

While cleaning up all that the previous owners had left behind, I found a large piece of some kind of wood.    It looked like nice wood.  so I decided that I needed to make a serving tray out of it.
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  I've always liked a particular silver serving tray that a friend of mine has on his coffee table.  So from my memory of his tray, and a little embellishment I came up with this design.

I have made a few bowls before this one, and I must say it's quite the process to get such an item off the machine.  I start by modeling the object in a 3D package, and export that object into the CAM software that generates the cutting code.

This is similar process to the Ruen graffiti piece, but because there are 2 sides that need to line up perfectly, there's a lot more care and planning that needs to happen throughout the process.
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Part of the found piece of "mahogany" laying on the table. 

 I use quotes because I don't know what kind of wood it is. Laying it side by side to a piece of known mahogany,  it's a pretty close match, so let's go with that.





The block that the tray will be cut from, in position, screwed down, and ready to go.

First I drill 4 reference holes into the stock block, these will be used to ensure an exact position match when I flip the block to cut the outside half of the dish.
Using a 1/2" ball endmill, I do a roughing pass, removing as much material as I can in the first pass. It leaves a minimum of 30 thou of material to the surface of the actual tray inside.







In progress of the inside finishing cut pass.   I use a 35 thou stepover per pass, that seems to be the best balance between machine time and finishing sanding time.







And the finished inside half of the tray.

after the inside is done cutting. I remove the block from the table and drill the 4 reference holes again,  this time into the spoiler board of the table.  I put 1/4" wood dowels into the holes, flip the stock material, line up the original reference holes that were drilled, and place it onto the wood dowels.
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Cutting the outside roughing pass.










Outside of the tray is complete.
With all the machining complete, I cut the  4 "tabs" to hold the tray into the stock block. now the tray is free from the stock material block.
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All sanded, sealed with 7 coats of danish oil, and ready for whatever it may be used for..

this one turned out really good I think.   The tray itself is so impossibly thin,  it feels like it was pressed from a flat sheet of metal, but its wood.  Something you definitely have to hold to really appreciate.
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Rue - 3D Wood Graffiti Piece.

10/26/2012

7 Comments

 
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" Rue "  Original sketch by Ronny Mac, AKA Ruen.
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Finished wood cut 3D graffiti object.

How it's made.

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My first thought for a really cool thing to make on the machine was 3D graffiti.   I borrowed a sketch from my friend Ronny Mac's sketch book and modelled it in 3D.  This is a preview render of the 3D object.   After a few iterations it was ready for creating the cutting code.
To make the stock material I jointered and glued up some spruce 2x4s.  Here's the glued up stock block sitting on the machine ready to be planed down to the finished thickness of 3"
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Then we cut a roughing pass to clear out the bulk of the unwanted material.  Next is the much slower finishing cut.
Oops.  
The machine started removing way more material that it should be, so we had to stop the cut and investigate.  Turned out that the stepper controller we had on the Z axis was defective, there was a known issue with it.  Too bad we didn't know before this cut.   Oh well,  the stepper driver was replaced and the cut was continued.  After a little time and care with a dremel the error was all but erased.
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Here is the complete piece, after a few hours of cnc cut time.  many hours of sanding, and a light wipe-on polyurethane protectant.  the final piece is 30" by 22".
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LUX Visual Effects - Hardwood Sign Letters

10/21/2012

1 Comment

 
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We completed the LUX visual effects company sign in august of 2010, it was made from local storm-fall western red maple.  The tree fell not far from where the CNC machine shop is.    

The sign measures 66" wide by 39" tall, and 3" deep.  The lighting and the backdrop were completed by another company.

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We have an onsite 24" sawmill that we used to cut the boards from the logs.  The boards were then air dried at the sawmill for about 12 months.  

In this image the raw planks are awaiting selection.   We picked the pieces for the LUX letters that had the most interesting figuring and grain shapes and patterns.  The boards were cut to size and planed down to a uniform thickness using a standard 14" tablemount planer.
After planing and jointering, we glued up the pieces for each letter and clamped them for a few days.  

This glue-up will become the face of the "U".

After the glue-up panel comes out of the clamps, we use the CNC machine to plane both sides of the new panel to ensure perfectly flat pieces to work with.
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Here we see the 4 portions of the "X" being cut out on the CNC table.


Sanding the "L" 
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All the letter pieces were sanded up to 400-grit.  

Here the "L" is all ready for sealing.
We used a lot of thin coats of a polyurethane based danish oil to finish this one. 

After the many coats were applied to the letters, I sanded them down through the various grits, all the way up to a wet 4000-grit foam pad, and lastly, a creme based cut polish.
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The letters in their final installation.  We love the juxtaposition of the natural wood surface and the almost "neon" glow of the LED lights.  The colour reflections off the high gloss finish really stands out when viewed in person!


The lighting and the backplate was manufactured and installed by Paxton Downard at Pushkar Props Services inc.
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The VanderWoudes - CNC Sign & Design

10/18/2012

1 Comment

 
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The VanderWoude sign was a great project.

The sign itself is 56" x 44"

The client wanted a sign for their family farm that captured the feel of the property and their view across their fields to Mount Baker.  We met with them in early September and started the design process.
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We started with a few thumbnail sketches of potential shapes and layout ideas.

They wanted the sign to sit inside an arbour that matched the one they already had near the house.  

After a few iterations we all settled on this one being the best.  From concept, through 3D development, to the machine, and finally installed on their property  all took about a month.
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The cutting process started by saw-milling the 6" rough cedar posts in half to get our 3" thick stock pieces.  Those were jointered, glued up together and after a few days to cure, ready for the machine.   

Here we have cut the first facing pass for what will be the faces of the topmost layer, everything that will be white.  The letters and mount baker.
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The roughing passes on all 3 depth layers.
And finally with all CNC milling complete, the sign is cut free from the stock material, sanded and ready for staining.
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Using vegetable based aniline dye for the dark and Saman brand vegetable stain for the white, all sealed behind several coats of Defthane to protect it from sun and rain.  With staining complete, we're ready for onsite installation.
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Our services: 3D Signage, CNC, Milling and Design

10/1/2012

6 Comments

 
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We are a family run design and wood crafting team that is able to bring your ideas from a dream to a reality that you can see, touch and admire for years to come.

We offer a wide range of wood milling services as well as a large bed CNC router which can plan slabs and create elaborate 3D carvings.
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    Mainland Woodworks specializes in CNC 3D carved signs, live edge installations, and custom wood surfaces.

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