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Discussion/questions about software used with your CNC Shark and programming issues

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Luither-Atlanta
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:11 am

No General Forum area, so

Post by Luither-Atlanta »

SO I am thinking about buying one of the Black Diamond's. I am a Luither and am looking for a CNC that will spit out a finished product with very little if any sanding. Is this machine capable of that.
I have looks at some of the link's for Guitars and wasn't impressed with what I saw.
But they could be user error,
Will machine do proper profiles in 3-D or??
Anyone have some pic's of a detailed project they have done??
What of the programing is it capable of some very detailed work?

This is what I am doing now, free handed, I need to produce better!

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Luither-Atlanta
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:11 am

Re: No General Forum area, so

Post by Luither-Atlanta »

I have been looking at the Stinger I but it is 3K more, I plan on spitting out 50 to 100 guitars a year, will the machine handle that load?
I use some hard exotic woods their full of oil's and silica's,, nasty stuff.
I am needing to buy a surface sander, drum style as well as others so saving $ is a plus. I just don't want to throw it away.
Doing this stuff by hand is SO time consuming, I do a lot of the free flowing work. Will it allow me to trace/follow a profile perfectly.
Pic's below.

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Please be honest and help out..
I currently run several CAD programs so , I know there will a bit of a learning curve.

milo30
Posts: 553
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:21 pm

Re: No General Forum area, so

Post by milo30 »

Most of the people use vcarve and aspire to create the files. Are they capable of doing detailed work? Yes they are. Is the Shark? Yes but you will need experience to get your adjustments set properly to get proper results.

Will it allow you to trace or follow a profile perfectly? The machine does not do that. You will have to learn to properly create the file to meet your standards and then yes the machine can do what you are asking.

Yes you can do proper 3d but will need aspire (about $1800) or some other program to create those files.

Will it spit out a product requiring very little sanding? Yes and no. It depends on what you are asking it to do and your learning to set the machine up properly but there will still be sanding. Not just with this machine but any. It is essentially just a router and there will be tool marks, burnt spots, tear out and other things associated with using a router but at the right speeds for the material it does a pretty good job.

Can you crank out the production numbers you say? That's hard to say. It depends on how you do the work and how many days a year are you allotting for the machining. The advantage of a CNC is that you are free to do other work while it is busy. I wouldn't think 50-100 would be difficult.

Here is where I see your problem. Your material is going to be larger than the 24" work area. That means that you will have to set the machine up so that you can machine it, then slide the material and machine more of it. Can it be done, yes. Is it an efficient way of doing it? No.

My honest answer to you is that it looks from your pictures, you might be better off with a larger machine. There is a 2'X4' shark offered out there but since there is not much information on it, I couldn't tell you whether that extra length helps it or hurts it. There are a few on here that have one and maybe they will chime in. You are best in buying a machine that works for what you do, to begin with. Do some research on the 4' bed and see what you think about it. If you have a rocklers nearby, they should have a display shark that they can demonstrate it's capabilities to you.

What I see in your pictures as far as the cut, isn't much different than I get off my machine. I am pretty used to having to sand and clean it up. I know it can cut a little cleaner but I haven't found that sweet spot yet. I know there are some guitar makers on the vectric site so you can check there to see the results that they have from the software.

GullyFoyle
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 12:04 pm

Re: No General Forum area, so

Post by GullyFoyle »

Luither-Atlanta, Google around and check other sites like,CNC zone http://www.cnczone.com/forums/.
Many other sites have users doing the same work you are interested in.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/musical_i ... vices.html
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/musical_i ... struction/
http://www.cnclutherie.com/links.html
http://www.grzsoftware.com/users/johnw.php
http://www.fendertalk.com/forum/showthr ... r-building
I'm fairly certain there is less expensive, possibly even free, software to meet your needs.
Quite a few maker types shoot for open source options for both financial and ideological reasons.
I hope the above helped.
Enjoy your holidays.

rungemach
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:24 am
Location: Sarasota, Florida

Re: No General Forum area, so

Post by rungemach »

Since you will be using expensive pieces of wood, the accuracy of the machine and the subsequent joint fits will become quite important. It also seems that you would be making at least 1 if not 2 a week, so the cost of the materials that you will process will be significant. I would try and see if you can get a demonstration of the accuracy and finish delivered by the machines you are considering, on the types of wood you will be using. You may be best served by a commercial quality machine which should deliver cuts that need less sanding and will fit more accurately over the life of the machine. Since you mentioned that are looking at a Stinger also, a visit to their factory may hep you pick up some tips regardless of what you purchase. I believe they are somewhat close to Atlanta.

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