Tutorial 003: 3D Cutting/Carving

Many people purchase CNC machines to create 3d objects and ArtCam can be an excellent software to get people create original and spectacular designs but it is too expensive and requires high level of expertise to create one. But what if you are not an artist and a newbie in cnc machining? Does this means you can no longer do what a highly skilled artist and machinist do? Well in this tutorial, you don't have to be a artist nor a skilled machinist to achieve they can achieve and you can do it the least expensive way.

To get started, the following free software are needed:

1. TinkerCad. This is a free web based 3D CAD software.
2. VisualCad with FreeMill plugin installed. This is also a free CAD/CAM software from MecSoft.
3. GCode Universal Sender Software

The process is so easy, once you have all three software needed, you can begin by creating your favorite 3D Model in TinkerCad and once you are done, you can download your 3D model as STL file.

Next, you open the VisualCAD Software and import your 3d Model stl format. You can watch the following video how to create the gcode:



At the latter part of the video(during the selection of post processor, you should select Carbide 3d GRBL Post Processor since BigCarver Cnc uses the GRBL Universal GCode Sender software.

And that's it!! you are ready to start machining your design with the appropriate endmills.


And here is the resulting 3d carved on mdf:

I remove base of the 3d carved object and here is the final output:

The end mill I used was 4 x 2 x 6 mm spiral 4 flute. I would try other end mills like the 3.175 x 1.5 x 12 mm spiral 2 flute to compare the result. I could not find a local seller so I have to order online and wait for over a week.

Ok, I know it will be really difficult to create spectacular designs in TinkerCad but that doesn't mean you can stop there, I would suggest purchasing pre made stl 3D models at ebay. You can choose from a lot of designs and are very affordable. See example screen grab from ebay:

Introducing the Big Carver CNC-5090

I have created a smaller version of the Big Carver CNC-9090 which is the Big Carver CNC-5090. It has the same specs but the x-axis area was reduced in half. This small version is for those people who have limited budget and space but wanted to create stuff just big enough for 500mm x 900mm x 175mm machines.

I also plan to have it enclosed so that dust wont be flying all over the place and with this option, people can do their projects within their garage or even inside their room and most importantly inside their office. Prototyping activities can be more convenient when the tools you need are very accessible.

I will post later the enclosure that I am currently designing for this machine.