#rapid protoyping

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[prototypinglog]

From DEM to CNC-model

Here I take a 6.6 x 6.6 km piece of the real world and turn it into a 22 x 22 cm model. This translates to a 1:30.000 scale.

ArcMap

Load the DEM into the Table of Contents.

Draw a rectangle defining the area of interest. Choose some nice round dimensions in whole metres - it makes things easier.

Select the rectangle.

Right click the DEM > Export Data.

Choose “Selected Graphics” in “Extent” and “Use Renderer” under “Output Raster”. I set the “Cell size” to “4″ to get a reasonable file size for a 6.6 x 6.6km square.

Select “TIFF” as “Format”.

Save. Do not add to map.

Repeat the export process, but uncheck “Use Renderer”.

Save. Add to map.

Not the difference between High and Low values, this is needed in AccuTrans.

The reason for exporting two different files is because Accutrans can only read the rendered TIFF-file, but to get the correct height values the unrendered version is needed with ArcMap.

AccuTrans

Open the exported TIFF file by going to File > Open DEM > Bitmap to DEM.

Set “Multiplier 2″ to 1, and “X and Y Spacing” to 1 as well. OK.

Click the “->3D” button. The vertex interval should autoselect to something reasonable. In this case “4″ resulting in 339,488 triangles. OK.

Go to Tools_1 > Adjust Object. Click “Calculate Scale”. Select X axis and enter “220″ into “New Size”. Calculate. OK.

Click “Scale”. The dimensions will update, but the image displayed will remain the same. 

Click “Calculate Scale”. Now take the delta-height measurement (divided by ten) from ArcMap and enter it into the Z-axis box (in this case 6,1 - corresponding to 61m). Calculate. OK.

Enter “1″ into the boxes for “X” and “Y” and leave the “Z”-measurement as it just was calculated. Click “Scale”.

The model now is 1:1:1. Click “Set Min at 0,0,0″ to get things straight.

Click the “Extrude” button.

Enter the material thickness minus the z-height of the surface to be milled. This should be a positive number! Click “Extrude”. Select “Flat Bottom”. OK.

The z-height should now be shown as the thickness of the stock material.

Go to File > Save As > StereoLithography (Binary).

CamBam

Birch plywood.

3mm roughing cutter.

Based on this: http://www.cambam.info/doc/plus/tutorials/3DProfile.htm

Open file in CamBam.

Object moved, so the topmost point is placed at z=0.

Roughing Pass

Profile 3D Method: Waterline Rough

Boundary Margin: 2

Boundary Taper: 1.5

Clearance Plane: 3

Depth Increment: 1.5

Cut Feedrate: 3000

Lead In Move: Spiral, Spiral Angle: 3

Cut Ordering: Level First

Spindle Speed: 15000

Roughing Clearance: 1

StepOver: 0.5

Tool Diameter: 3

Tool Profile: End Mill

Scanline Finishing Pass

Profile 3D Method: Horizontal

Boundary Margin: 2

Boundary Taper: 1.5

Depth Increment: 0

Cut Feedrate: 3000

Roughing/Finishing: Finishing

Spindle Speed: 15000

Resolution: 0.1

StepOver: 0.2

Tool Diameter: 3

Tool Profile: End Mill

I decided to cut the model into four pieces and cut one of the 11x11cm pieces.

Rouging took 2h25m and the finishing took 2h50.

[edit-view-go]

Iris van Herpen Rapid Protoyping

[deartechnology]

May 17th, 2011 Dear Rapid Prototyping,

I've been thinking about my time with you in univeristy. You were the size of a fridge and filled the room with your smell. The first couple of years we had to send our files to local businesses specialising in your technology—Objet, SLA, SLS, Z-corp. A small printed part would cost no less than $100. That's until university bought their own printer.

Rooms were dedicated to you, littered with spare cartridges of resin. You had to run day and night so your tubes wouldn't clog, and after each print we'd have to scour back your printing tray. Your parts were a waxy resin, caked in support material that we teared away with our fingers or under a high pressure hose. The tips of our fingers would always be left raw, with support material compressed under our nails.

Your finish was fairly rough, parts were sanded down before painting, to remove evidence of the patterns defined by your printing paths. Then they were treated as any wooden part. Primer was applied to allow the paint to grip. We used wet and dry sandpaper after each major coat to attain the best finish. Sadly most parts didn't last so well; heat was their worst enemy. I remember pulling out a print from a year earlier, only to see the thinner walled sections now warped by the warmth of that summer.

I know we're going to be great friends; you've changed my life.

Lots of love, Barton Smith