Hackaday: If there’s one thing that woodworkers have always been good at, it’s coming up with clever jigs and work-holding solutions. Most jigs, however, are considerably simpler and more static than this CNC-controlled scroll saw add-on that makes cool wooden spirals a snap.
3 comments:
First of all, I had never seen a spiral blade for a scroll saw before, and that thing is wicked cool. The fact that that curved surface is so smooth without any sanding at all blows my mind. I guess the trade off there is how long it takes to make that cut. If I had to stand at a machine for fifty two minutes just to make a cut along a fourteen inch dowel, I would be very bored and maybe even a little sad. However, I guess that’s what makes this DIY CNC useful. This is another example of how an arduino microcontroller can be utilized for theatre. I would be very interested to see what it cost to build this little CNC contraption. I wonder if CNC technology is heading down the same path that 3D printing took – CNCs becoming something you can put together with open source hardware and software and becoming a cheaper, DIY-ier craft.
This is such an interesting project because this is something that I’d never even thought about in terms of a carpentry project. I have a spiral like cut out like this out of a much larger pieces as a side table in my apartment but I got it from someone who rough cut it with a band saw and then took a turbo wheel on a grinder to get this curvature. The ability to do this not only w/ a scroll saw and a lathe but to the CNC the operation is really interesting. The ability to create repeatable accents and to do interesting and different spiral like shapes is really cool. The other interesting thing is the home made CNC. I’ve seen other small projects with them but to take them to a different level and use a scroll saw instead of a router is really interesting and something I’d like to see w/ outer tools for different processes.
This is a rather interesting use of a CNC system, and one that I'm not sure would be incredibly useful in the grand scheme of things. Don't get me wrong, it's super cool what can be accomplished and I agree with KT that the surface finish is pretty astonishing. However, the speed of this is incredibly slow, and is really limited by the scroll saw, which may not be the best tool for the job. I know it's wasteful, but the reality is it is probably more efficient to hog out the spiral using a router bit, which I know many routers are more than capable of doing. I do also agree that this is another fantastic example of how microcontrollers like Arduino open up doors to possibilities all over the place! I'm more than confident that any one of our TDs could replicate this if they needed to (given the appropriate amount of time of course). Unlocking the ability to interface with CNC systems is unbelievably useful and can be a valuable asset for us.
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