CNC Inlay

[jb2060]

Hi All,

As the other thread has been moved to the Gallery I thought I would start up a new thread for some of the CNCed inlay I have done. I will add to this from time to time if I do some interesting Inlay jobs.

This one is from a couple of years back. It is a faily straight forward design but the art deco symbol had about 16 pieces in it which fitted together nicely to form the finished product. I also devised a method for creating a dark border around light coloured shell which sits in light coloured timber. As part of the process of cutting the pocket I cut a 0.5mm border pocket around the outside of the inlay pocket. After the shell has been glued into place I sand the shell back to level. I then clean out the surounding pocket and fill it with Black plastibond. When that has hardened I sand back again to level.

I also threw in a couple of photos of the 24th fret inlay with the customers Initials. Also the Pickup rings were made using my CNC machine too.

cheers, jb

[John Steele]

Hey Jason;
Thanks for the posts. I have been looking at CNC for a while now as an alternate for some inlay & cutting out templates.
Did you build your own machine or purchase it ready made? I have seen plans for building 3-axis that would be sized to suit my needs. Looks like the key is the axis motors and controllers. I imagine the smaller they are the slower they cut. Also, how difficult is it to go from CAD to g-code? It appears that you have to define tool paths (stops?) in a logical manner to fit the job.

Thanks again
John

[Allen]

It's pretty amazing at how well that turns out. How long would you estimate that doing a one off inlay such as this one takes in programing etc.

Obviously for multiple copies the time and cost savings would be immense, but I'm just wondering if it is much of a benefit for the very special "One Of's".

[jb2060]

Hi John,

I built my own machine. You can see it on my guitar thread -
viewtopic.php?t=1842

There are many plans out there for CNC machines but I made mine from scratch but based on the design of a friend of mine from Perth. The stepper motor vary in torque rather than speed - some of the smaller steppers run fast but not strong. Who ever you buy them off will offer that advice basedon your build and the type of jobs you will cut. Check out the www.cnczone.com - There is truckloads of info there.

CAD is the hardest bit - the applications I use are very intuitive and generate the gcode based on a visual representation. I use Vectric Vcarve Pro Cut 3D and Photo Vcarve - to run the gcode on the CNC machine I use Mach3.

Allen,
The inlay work depends on the complexity of the design and limitations in the size of the shell. I actually scan the shell pieces on my scanner and then import this into Vcarve. I can then draw my design on top of the scan. I can definitely say that it is quicker than the traditional method but that doesn't make me a better inlay artist - as you know good design is everything - that said, I could take someones great design and code and cut it (it is still their design). I use a 0.4mm shell router bit to cut some of my inlay and that gives me a lot more flexibilty to cut complex and enclosed shapes. I have thought about offering this as a service to luthiers who don't have the facility (along with custom bridges and maybe rosettes) - my problem is time. I might throw the idea out there at some stage and see if anybody is interested. BTW - I was very very impressed with your dragonfly inlay .

cheers, Jason