ASSIGNMENT 2: 2D CNC
PROJECT 2: POCKETS AND PROFILES; CNC
RESIN COLORED PENCILS, MOUNTAIN
Pencil resin cnc’d projects have always seemed so cool to me. I have always wondered how they did it. For this project, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to learn how to do something new and challenging. When you cut and carve into a piece of art that has different colors and layers, the final product can be somewhat of a surprise; like a natural object showing it’s true colors. The art is what it is; it only needs to be uncovered, or carved into to show its true form.
My first step was to do some research on the subject. This research included allot of videos and tutorials as well as looking at pictures for reference.
The products I purchased were: 200 colored pencils, along with a few regular graphite pencils. A two part epoxy resin clear coat, and a board of MDF to secure it with.
The first step in making my resin pencils was to arrange them in a box. Then I mixed the resin A and B in a cup for 15 minutes. making sure nothing would leak, I taped the bottom of my box. Then, I poured the resin, in a well ventilated room, and waited 48 hours. I also made sure to use a heat gun to get rid of some of the air bubbles. I Also sanded the top so the piece was more level.
Now it was on to the file work for the design I was going to CNC into my object. I decided to draw, in Rhino, a mountain range. This process only needed to be done in 2d. The pocket depth would be done at a later stage.
Just to be careful, I decided to CNC a test piece on MDF. This way I could make sure the design would work.
I used a 1/2'’ thick piece of MDF. I left the clouds and a part of the mountain raised and incrementally cut down the rest. The cut layers were done at 1/8'’, 3/16'’, 1/4'’, 5/16'’, and 3/8'’. The outside was cut fully — a profile, with bridges around it to keep it in place as the CNC was going. The Bridges were then cut with a hand saw and sanded. We ended up using a 1/4'’ bit in the CNC.
We also needed to set up the file into the machine. This meant setting up the pocket depths (seen above) and setting what bit we would use (seen above as well). We exported the file onto an OmniDongle and put it into the CNC mainframe. The CNC is a little older and has no mouse, This means using the F1–F12 buttons on the keypad. before the CNC could go, we uploaded the file and set the x, y, and z axis. We Manually set the x axis by putting the CNC bit on the corner of the piece and setting it to 0. Then for the z axis we slowly lowered the CNC to the bottom of the bed, with the use of a piece of paper (until the paper didn’t move) and set the Z to 0.
After the test piece was cut, I was ready to move on to the final product. I ended up really liking the look of the piece. So, I decided not to alter the design.
The final piece had a few problems and obstacles. First, The piece was a little smaller on the x and y axis. This meant I needed to scale down the image. This also meant we needed to use a smaller bit to insure the image would turn out. I made sure to keep the depth of the piece somewhat similar; and, it was roughly 1/5 thick like the MDF. We opted for a 1/8'’ bit due to the image and piece being a little smaller (x and y); Which ended up breaking in the process, because it was flat. After this, we used a spiral flute at 1/8'’ thinking it would be less likely to break. The good news is — this worked. We also did not cut through the MDF base to insure the piece would be secure and not slide out during the CNC process. This meant setting the Z axis at zero on the MDF instead of the bed of the CNC.
Once the piece was done on the CNC, it still needed allot of work to finish. First, I used a jigsaw to cut out the piece from the outer edges and MDF. Then, I sanded the edges and the top.
Finally, I buffed the top with a buffing polish paste and a rag. I then was able to give the whole piece a final coat of a gloss clear coat. It is definitely shiny and cleaner with this treatment. Though, in the future I would look into further ideas to keep the graphite from bleeding so much.
It ended up turning out really well. I learned so much about new materials in a CNC, the importance of the size of your art you want to CNC, and how lengthy creating art can be. It isn’t something you can do in a day. It takes planning, research, testing, prep work, and touch up work. Ultimately, the piece took a total 64 hours to make from start to finish.
