computer-controlled machining

In this week I was visiting college of engineering pune for the shop bot machine.I learned how to create tool path and how to operate shop bot machine.We found some VFD issues over there so still my design is ready but can't cut it in the machine.So, this week I did only designing a foldable chair with stairs.I will prefer material as 12 mm thick ply wood for this chaire assembly.

For this assignment I refered

information about tool path and it helps to understand what is the shop bot machine . I was prefering solidworks software for the designing of my foldabe chair.

I was giving fillet radius for my seat part. Because of outer radius of milling tool. Where I design only square edges for the part it takes curv at the corner side due to milling tool and kerf too.

I was trying corner edges for experiment purpose. I was checking what amount of milling tool goes inside the material.

In this chair I wish to use ply wood and that chair will be foldable too.

When I unfold that chair it will convert into the stairs and that it the beauty of design. I was making clamping arrangement during cutting the ply wood. The material i.e. plywood had some amount of bend. So, for the reason I was using C- camp for the fixing of the plywood.

Personally, shopbot is very good machine for making own designed furniture parts. My personal experience from this machine was, it takes too much time to cut any part of wood. But this machine is amazing in working. Before machining you should convert your design files in Dxf or Pdf form. Then generate tool path by using vcarv pro

Import your 2D dxf or Pdf file in Vcarv pro. Select thickness of ply wood you have to use. Select datum position. Then select unit of your design file. In my case I was selecting mm . Then say ok!

Select individual line, curve, or circle and make sure that they are grouped. If not then make them grouped.

Then go through edit option and select pass depth of the tool. Then select end mill.

After creating that tool path save that file.

Select cut depth and machine vector like outside or inside.

Then save tool path of your design in .sbp file format.

After finishing all tasks i.e. making of toolpath start machine. Start motors and exhaust too. Move router manually. Set origin and make G-code. After this detailed procedure start cutting. In this cutting I was using 0.11 inches depth of cut and feed rate as 0.7 inches/sec also 14000RPM for my cutting files. The Shop bot machine at COEP is a 2.5 axis machine which is able to tool wood and and plywood, it has guide ways for X and Y axis, at the z axis is a router which is capable to spin at 18000 RPM It has a vaccum pump to such all the debris created by the tooling of the wood. It runs on 230V Ac supply, and can has a standard 8'*4' bed size.

These parts of foldable chair I was cutting on the the shop bot machine.

DBRT students in vigyan ashram did help in assembling of chair.

I was using lathe machine to make round cylinder which was engaged in chair joint.

And after finishing all asembly my chair looks like this...This is really valuable exprience! I design that parts and live assembly is visual!

Here ...me and my designed chair!

When I unfold that chair it looks like stairs..!

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