Over the last few weeks I’ve been experimenting with the cnc mill of fablab Genk, making samples and trying out different stuff to expand the range of possibilities with the machine.
One of the things I’m working on is a definition where you could make a picture of some objects to create a box from it. What I want to do is to have grasshopper read the photo and turn it into the curves on right scale for cnc milling. I did a first basic test for defining and testing the idea, by drawing & scaling the curves from the contours manually in rhino.
Then I made a marker holder for writing with the cnc. Since the Colinbus CAMsoftware overrules the spindle speed to the maximum RPM when putting 0 in the gcode I had to make an external fixation. My first test with a basic marker didn’t work out properly, since my material wasn’t perfectly flat. The tip got pushed in on the heighest side, ensuring it didn’t write on the lower parts.
So I did the same test with a marker you have to pump up, which worked out great. I also tried writing on fabric like from tshirts. It’s important to get the z-height perfect, which was the hard thing since there’s no automatic z-height-leveler.
I’ve also been making some texture samples for the sake of testing and showing the grasshopper postprocessor and its possibilities.
And finally I’m trying to learn and apply Python scripting in grasshopper for expanding my possibilities by following some tutorials.
It’s nice how your mind keeps going by making things yourself and by staying curious for new things to learn.