I kept the MultiCam CNC router humming today as I cut out the six gears for the 'MARVELOUS MACHINE'. Each gear was created in two pieces which will be glued back to back which meant there were twelve detailed pieces to cut. Cutting ultra hard plastic is something I've only done twice in ten years. That dictated a slow and easy approach until I had all of the feed rates and spindle speeds down pat. The gear pieces turned out perfect and in the next days I'll start the assembly process. Once that is done we can begin installing them onto the machine. Stay tuned...
Give the gears
My 'MARVELOUS MACHINE' is coming along nicely. I am at a point where it is time to do some serious engineering before I get too much farther along in the fancy stuff. The whole point in having a machine with moving parts is to have lots of movement. In this case one gear will turn another which in turn will turn another and so on. That meant it was time to design some gears. The gears will be cut from some ultra hard plastic. This material is designed for just such a task. As luck would have it I cut some pieces for a friend from this material about ten years ago. He gave me the left over material as a thank you and it is just enough to cut the gears I need for this project.
To start I designed five gears ranging in size from about five inches to five times that size. They should do the job nicely. Each is slightly different in detail which will provide the look I am seeking.
I can hardly wait to see the gears working together to make true magic!
Road trip
It is always an exciting time for the crew when we load up the box trailer with tools and materials to go on a working road trip. Today, they did just that. Monday morning we head down the road to do a small project which will take about a week. Travelling will be kept to a minimum however as the project is up at Cultus Lake Adventure Park - about ten minutes from the shop. Most of the crew will actually have a shorter drive to work than normal. :)
