CNC ECourse Day 2 - CNC Design

Video Info:

In this CNC ECourse Video we go over the first step in the CNC Process. The first step is CNC Design. During CNC Design you are thinking of things like: What size will it be? What material will it be made of? Who is the customer? What will it be used for? Before I design I like to sketch a few ideas out on paper. I like to toy with different ideas to spark my creativity. This is the equivalent of brainstorming. When I really get my juices flowing, that is when my best designs rise to the top. I generally carry around a notebook with me to note designs that I think of during the day.

Video Transcript:

Hello, this is Ivan Irons with CNC information.com. Here on day two of the CNC E-Course that I have set up for beginners.  Today we are going to go over design for CNC. Now let us step back and look at that overall process of five steps.  This one is the first one. Design for CNC where we will be thinking and planning of what we want to build.  If you remember that flowchart here it is again. We are on the first step. Now just like anything, if you plan correctly on the front end you are sure to get a good result. If you started your planning when you are going to machine or you're out there in the shop your probably have a bad result.  So we wanted to do all of that strategic thinking upfront and figure out what we really want to make before we spend the time and energy going after the other steps in the CNC process. There some questions and these are the design questions.  There is more than just what I have listed here but you will also hear these called project requirements. What specifications will this be one were done?  What material will it be made of? Stainless steel or aluminum or plastic or rubber.  There are a number of different materials that we use.  Who is the customer? Really more than that, what does the customer want with the end result?  When do they want it?  How many? What is in their use? What is the count of final one?  I have listed appearance. What is it going to be used for?  In my experience fabricating things, certain measurements matter and other measurements do not. You need to figure out what those critical dimensions are. You need to hold them and then see you may be where you can cheat some other things.   As you make them now for the hobbyist at home in their garage this is a question I always ask myself when I am building something. Is this a part or is it art?  Parts are generally mechanical components. I always think of this as industry or manufacturing.  Or, you're making parts for someone else’s part of a bigger whole.  Tolerances you have to follow a rigidly or is it art.   Art is generally nonfunctional though there is functional art out there.  It is decorative, so really it is the look of the overall piece when it is done.   Does it strike you as something interesting? Dimensions generally are not critical.  You do not have to hold quite as tight tolerances when you're doing art.  But, these are some of those questions you have to ask upfront.  So take a look at part or art again.  On the left, we have what I consider a part. It is geometric.  In others angles and curves in that sort of thing. It is the when he stand back and look at it to go in on at the part you could pull out of your car or tractor.  Just about any sort of machine.  Then on the right-hand side, we have art. You probably recognize that as a moose and there some pine trees.  There is also this type of CNC.  The program on the right happens to be for a CNC Plasma cutter.  This is a shot out of SheetCAM, which is CAM software. You will see the start points there for a plasma cutter.  Cut that out of steel but have to think of these it you know is that Moose's horns are.  At present is that dimension very critical versus the part on the left. We have a couple holes there and you know that dimension could be critical so keep that in your design thinking as your designing for CNC.  Going forward in what you want to do in this phase in the design phase you want to describe visually what you want. The more accurate that you can make it, the better outcome you are going to have.  I have worked with a number of people that say, how about something like this or how about something like that.  Those projects usually get off track.  When you have very specific requirements or of very specific idea on what you want usually the outcome works out to everyone's satisfaction. Really, what I recommend is a sketch out your idea to start with create multiple designs.  When I say shown in a picture and a second but draw it out you does not have to be perfect. It gives you a rough idea in your mind of what you want to accomplish.   Now as your sketching, I like to sketch a number of different variations or versions on how you would build this part or art.  In one of those is really a mistake out comes one that can stand out to you.  If you make multiple ones and that'll really be the path or the fork in the road that you want to go after.  Here is a shot, this is a sketchbook that sketchbooks around with me virtually all the time.  As I have ideas and most of these can fall into that art.  But manufacture them as well. As I have ideas I will note them in.  I make little comments here and there so I remember the idea as I'm doing.  Usually I start out with 2-D designs in multiple views. I try 2-D designs and look at it from a couple of different angles. I note them in a notebook and then later select them.  I come back if one of these really sticks out as the winner. That is the one that I am going to want to go after and that is really the lesson for today.  That was designing for CNC.  Tomorrow we are going to do CAD (computer-aided design) which is taking your initial thoughts and ideas and requirements and converting them into a computer design. Translating them into the computer.  See it tomorrow and in the meantime if you have any questions at all or you're interested in some more information go to CNCinformation.com or you see the Web address of my blog right there next.