DIY Front Panel

[totoxraymond]

For reference, i made this panel to replace the old one i milled with a dremel free handed (i didn't even have a drill press at the time).

 

[jonasnoble]

For reference, i made this panel to replace the old one i milled with a dremel free handed (i didn't even have a drill press at the time).

View attachment 114572

That looks fantastic. I'm going to try to experiment some more this weekend.

 

[totoxraymond]

I made #02 this morning, this time, engraving with a sharp bit. Result is what i expected. Smaller fonts are easier to read.



I engraved @ 150 mm/min feed (X/Y)
And 100 mm/min plunge

Final depth was set @0.15 mm with a 0.10mm pass followed by a 0.05mm finishing pass.

I'm really pleased with this result, so I think i'll stick to that.

Thomas

 

[jonasnoble]

Nice work!

I made #02 this morning, this time, engraving with a sharp bit. Result is what i expected. Smaller fonts are easier to read.

View attachment 114605

I engraved @ 150 mm/min feed (X/Y)
And 100 mm/min plunge

Final depth was set @0.15 mm with a 0.10mm pass followed by a 0.05mm finishing pass.

I'm really pleased with this result, so I think i'll stick to that.

Thomas

Nice work! This is turning out to be a little more difficult than I thought it would be. I've had good and bad results on my scrap aluminum pieces, and I'm nowhere near ready to start doing the actual cuts yet.

What size spindle are you using? I need to upgrade but haven't decided what direction I'm going yet. (Makita versus water-cooled versus laser engraver). I'm pretty sure my stock 75watt spindle won't do feed and plunge rates like you're doing.

 

[totoxraymond]

Hem...

My spindle is a cheap Dremel knock-off mounted in a 3d printed bracket.

I might upgrade in a distant future, i first need to upgrade electronic / motors.



Thomas

 

[jonasnoble]

All I'm having nothing but trouble with the freeware I have been trying. I think I'm going to bite the bullet and pay for something that makes it easy. I want to be building audio equipment, not destroying front panels all day.

I've looked at Carbide Create and Carveco, they both look to have a short learning curve (unlike Fusion 360 which looks dangerous and cost prohibitive.) I'll welcome any other suggestions though. Some of the softwares are so complicated, I cannot get to gcode from the artwork.

 

[ruffrecords]

CAD/CAM is always going to be a big issue and an area where you will have to make significant investment in time and possibly money too. It is similar ro PCB design. You need to learn a CAD system to be able to create the PCB but at least you can subcontract the CAM part to a cheap PCB fab. With home CNC you have to do the CAM yourself it is definitely very hard to do.

Cheers

Ian

 

[totoxraymond]

I'm not sure any paid software would help you in your situation. You will still need to provide with feedrate, depth pass, spindle speed...

 

[jonasnoble]

I'm not sure any paid software would help you in your situation. You will still need to provide with feedrate, depth pass, spindle speed...

Fair enough, I didn't really say what's going on. I'm doing okay with feeds and speeds. Gotten some decent results. My trouble is something in one of the free softwares is causing problems. My machine is going idle mid cut, and I have to manually intervene and babysit hours long jobs. The other thing, sometimes when I try to abort a job to reset, it drives my bit straight into the material destroying everything. I'm pretty sure these things are software related, but I cannot complain to anyone because they're free.

So I started researching other CAD programs and everything I've tried is so complicated that I haven't gotten anywhere. The ones I mentioned above look easy comparatively, I just haven't gotten used to the idea of paying yet.

 

[jonasnoble]

Lol

Fair enough, I can tell you've been doing this much longer than me, so your way is probably best.

But this is a diy forum. Design is the easy part, I want to execute. I certainly don't want to pay $7600 so somebody else can execute. Why pay somebody else to have all the fun?

Anyways, I appreciate your input.

 

[Gold]

or.....you can "bite-the-bullet" and pay really good money for -- PROFESSIONAL -- CAD-design programs, take the time to learn them and end up with totally professional results that aerospace/avionics companies, defense contractors, medical electronics firms, R&D laboratories and others will pay you for so you can design stuff for them!!! What a deal, huh???

I don’t recall the OP seeking a new profession. Your advice is to spend close to $15K in software before he gets panel one. For a DIY project for personal use. The word insane comes to mind.

 

[grid_stopper]

fusion is not so bad if you stick to using the functions that are relevant to you and ignore the rest. It is also free for individuals, and also strips out some of the functionality of the paid version. so far, i havent noticed anything that is a problem for my work flow in that regard. I would also say it stands heads and tails above all of the other free programs i have tried.
I would also say that Fusion becomes especially appealing because you can use FrontDesign(made for designing rack panels, free and very intuitive) to export as a dxf/stp/svg file, and then import in to fusion to create your tool paths. for me, this has been the easiest route but i am far from a skilled machinist so caveat emptor and all that

 

[jonasnoble]

fusion is not so bad if you stick to using the functions that are relevant to you and ignore the rest. It is also free for individuals, and also strips out some of the functionality of the paid version. so far, i havent noticed anything that is a problem for my work flow in that regard. I would also say it stands heads and tails above all of the other free programs i have tried.
I would also say that Fusion becomes especially appealing because you can use FrontDesign(made for designing rack panels, free and very intuitive) to export as a dxf/stp/svg file, and then import in to fusion to create your tool paths. for me, this has been the easiest route but i am far from a skilled machinist so caveat emptor and all that

I'll look into it. My understanding is the free part disappeared.

 

[totoxraymond]

My problem with fusion was to save files on my drive and not on autodesk clouds.

 

[gyraf]

[Some of the softwares are so complicated] -- >> WELCOME!!! << to today's "technological world"!!! YAY!!!

Designing something is "one thing"!!! >> FABRICATING << it is something entirely different!!! The fabrication world is an entirely different beast!!!

Since this is America and you are "free" to do what you want, you -- may -- choose the same path as I have and that is to (..)

Midnight - if you can't add anything but discouragement, perhaps it's better to stay silent? Or at least not to clutter threads with unneeded long-winded patronizing..

/Jakob E.

 

[Gold]

This section is called the Machine Shop. A machine shop is where objects are fabricated. I enjoy fabrication. I hate using computers.

 

[user 137017]

i like the diy world.
i undestand that if you are designing and making/building as a business investment is required,
but spending shed loads of money on a hoby project is not for me.

i bought "cnc lathe g-code & m-code ilustraive handbook by p. talverdi" seondhand and do the code in text files.
yes it can take a while to get the code written but im a hobyist. im also retired and dont have the cash for big software packages

 

[grid_stopper]

I'll look into it. My understanding is the free part disappeared.

not so!
free personal licenses are still very much a thing
https://www.autodesk.ca/en/products/fusion-360/personal

 

[Mr. Moscode]

If I were doing a 1 off of a regular flat panel I'd just use any draw program and let the panel maker deal with it.

 

[Whoops]

but the inability to hear your better halff is a severe disadvantage.

Cheers

Ian

I have many married friends that say the opposite, anything that will allow them to not hear their wife they consider it a big advantage