I understand CNC machines. Three, four, five axis machines, milling, laser and others
"Have you heard anything about CNC routers?"
"CNC router to help... »
"You can stamp them on a three-tee machine."
These are the comments I get when I talk about my handicrafts, such as these.
But to the question to tell in more detail about the capabilities of CNC machines and how they can be used for the manufacture of such products, I have not received any answers.
One gets the impression that CNC machines can do anything, in any area, and to use them, you just need to press a couple of buttons.
I decided to try to figure it out myself.
Now there is the Internet to search for information. It is enough to formulate the question correctly.
So, I was looking for CNC milling machines, CNC lathes, CNC jigsaws.
CNC milling machines
The most common are milling.
These machines work on three axes.
In some models, the table with the workpiece moves along one axis, and the router moves perpendicular to the movement of the table and vertically.
In other models, the table is stationary and the router moves along three axes.
In such machines, the cutter is mixed vertically along one axis and horizontally along two axes. That is, the surface of the product will be steps in any way, although it is possible and very small, depending on the accuracy of processing.
And after such machines, you still need to grind products, and often by hand.
CNC turning and milling machines
There are also CNC turning and milling machines.
There is an axis of rotation and the cutter moves vertically and along the axis of rotation.
It turns out that in such machines there are three coordinates and the main purpose is to make carved figures of rotation.
Fourth coordinate
For machines with three coordinates of the cutter movement, it is possible to add a fourth coordinate - to rotate parts at different angles during machining.
With this approach, the part can already be processed from almost all sides. That is, you can already make figurines, carved chess pieces and similar things.
Five-axis machining
There is also a possibility to add a coordinate for milling and this possibility is realized through swivel rotary tables.
Here you can already machine the part from five of the six sides, if we talk about a rectangular workpiece. A workpiece, for example a block, can be clamped at one end and then turned on different sides for processing.
Other CNC machines
Among other CNC machines for working with wood, CNC laser machines can be noted.
With their help, you can burn a drawing on a tree, or cut wood or plywood. The maximum cutting thickness that I came across in the description of these machines is 15 mm.
I also met a video clip with CNC band saws. There the workpiece moved in two horizontal axes, and the machine itself rotated around its axis.
From CNC jigsaw machines I came across one video where a plastic blank was installed on a turntable, this table moved along one horizontal axis, and the frame moved vertically, in which the wire was stretched, which, due to heating, cut plastic.
In custody
The capabilities of CNC machines are of course impressive, but you also need to take into account such a thing as preparing a 3D model for such a machine or a control program according to which the machine will work. And developing a model for a machine is far from just pressing a couple of buttons.
These machines are designed to automate the production of similar products in large enough quantities.
It can be more expensive to produce piece goods on CNC machines than to make such a piece in the usual way without CNC.
Not all tasks can be solved with the help of CNC machines, in particular, I did not find how on such machines it is possible to cut a 50 mm workpiece made of wood with a kerf of less than 1 mm along a curve.
Thanks for reading. I would be glad to have your support in the form of a like and a subscription to the channel. And see other publications on the channel.
Alexander.
P.S. I also invite you to your site.