This week we learned how to use the large CNC machine. The machine is capable of cutting wood, plastic and even metal. However, we used a 12mm plywood for our project. The machine is very precise and can cut very complex shapes.
I decided to make a hexagonal box that will be used as a charging station for my smart die. The box will have an indent where you would put the die and let it charge wirelessly. I used Fusion 360 to create the 3D model and the toolpath. I chose a 6mm flat end mill to cut the material as it facilitated all my needs.
However, I encountered some problems. Firstly I needed to make a 30° angle cut on the edges of the sides of the hexagon. This problem was solved thanks to Kryštof who added a special toolpath operation to the manufacturing proccess that made those cuts possible. The second problem was that even though the machine cut the 30° angles very well, there needed to be an extra mm of material on each of the sides to ensure that the machine wouldnt cut too deep and also allow for polishing the rough faces. The issue was i then needed to manualy shave the extra mm off the edges of the hexagon. For this I 3D printed a special tool, where I could slide the side and then remove any extra material that peaked above the edge. This ensured a perfect 30° angle and a smooth finish.
Here you can see the simulation of the cutting process.