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| SgtSlaughter:
I'm looking at the potential of designing a cab, going from some sort of 3D CAD software and potentially sending out the drawing to get it cut out from a cnc router service. If anyone has done this I would love to learn the process. 1) I've heard Google Sketch-up is great, but I also heard that some CNC Routing services are not compatible. I'd prefer to start with some software that is easy to learn and would have the most compatibility. I'd prefer to stay away from expensive software. 2) What is the process for taking a 3D model design in the software and creating a cut out template? Does the software do this automatically or is it a manual process? 3) Has anyone actually built their own CNC router here and had great success? (http://buildyourcnc.com/)? Not that I'd do this, but maybe one day if I had the room... =) It'd be cool if a forum was dedicated to CAD software here, seems like it is used quite a bit. |
| Rick:
I used Sketchup until my CNC guy said he couldn't properly convert my DXF files, so I moved to Solidworks. ($$$) I'm interested in finding what others are paying for CNC services, as my guy charges $299 for up to 10 sheets and 5 files, but I'm working to find smaller run pricing. And yes, as soon as I have the space, I'll be ordering the CNC plans and designing and building my own. No question there. |
| SgtSlaughter:
Ya you were mentioning Solidworks on your thread... Your designs are looking great. I was debating Sketchup since I'm not sure I'll even bother with sending it to CNC machine, but I was just worried if I ever wanted to go that I wouldn't be able to convert... I was checking out Solidworks and since they didn't list price on their site I figured I wouldn't even bother getting a quote =). I just didn't necessarily want to pick another CAD software that might have the same issue that you had with Sketchup. I'm curious, when you build your 3D model, does it automatically convert it to a cut out template for a 4x8 sheet of material? (I'm sure there is probably some specific terminology for this). |
| selfie:
There are cut list plug ins for sketch up that output to dxf but I have no personal experience with them. --- Quote from: SgtSlaughter on August 19, 2013, 09:44:06 pm --- I'm curious, when you build your 3D model, does it automatically convert it to a cut out template for a 4x8 sheet of material? (I'm sure there is probably some specific terminology for this). --- End quote --- Design software is the wrong place to do this anyway. This sort of this is normally done is the CNC programming software as there are too many variables on the cutting side of things. How much material is required between pieces varies greatly depending on the material, type of cut, tool used etc. --- Quote from: Rick on August 19, 2013, 09:26:48 pm --- I'm interested in finding what others are paying for CNC services, as my guy charges $299 for up to 10 sheets and 5 files, but I'm working to find smaller run pricing. --- End quote --- For reference, with my CNC router, I charge material plus $60 setup plus $4 per minute, if you supply your own material I charge $10 per sheet handling fee and I am cheap for all reports. A quick and simple job on a Friday afternoon is likely to be done for beer. ;D But I am in Australia so it is not really relevant... |
| Rick:
--- Quote from: Rick on August 19, 2013, 09:26:48 pm ---my guy charges $299 for up to 10 sheets and 5 files --- End quote --- Also, to clarify, that's 10 sheets cutting only, not including material. |
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