NOOB Question about Fusion 360 and Millright Capabilites

[scottacus]

I'm a model boat builder and was wondering if the combination of Fusion 360 and a Millright CNC would be capable of making thin walled (1/16" thick) boat hulls from wood blanks that could later be planked with thin veneer? 

Boat plans usually take the form of "ships lines" that are drawings of the profile of a hull at set distances both along the length of the hull as well as across the hull from side to side.  Would it be possible to use Fusion 360 to draw these profiles as frames and then use the software to connect the frames in a smooth fair lined fashion to turn a series of cross sections into a 3d hull that could be milled both inside and out?  The hull that I'm looking to mill is 16" long, 3 to 4 " wide and a little over 2" tall so a Carve King looks like it would fit the bill size-wise.

I've worked through a series of Fusion 360 tutorials to get a feel for the software but what I know about its capabilities would probably not fill a thimble...  Thanks in advance for any insight into this!

[Bruce]

Two sided milling should be doable in F360.

Here is a video example

[scottacus]

Great video, thanks! Clever using the pins as indexes for flipping the piece into the exact same orientation for the second side milling. Can the Fusion 360 software handle the fairing of lines?

[rowiac]

scottacus,

I believe what you are asking is if F360 can do lofts, and yes it can.

www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/fusion-tips-and-tricks-lofting/

[scottacus]

Thanks lofting looks like exactly what I'm looking for! Funny but that is the same term that is used for this process in model ship building.

Looks like I'm going to be ordering a CNC machine in the near future!

BTW is there a way to have this forum send a message to an e-mail account to let you know that there has been a reply to a topic?

[Hommer Woods]

Nov 8, 2018 20:09:34 GMT scottacus said:

Thanks lofting looks like exactly what I'm looking for! Funny but that is the same term that is used for this process in model ship building.

Looks like I'm going to be ordering a CNC machine in the near future!

BTW is there a way to have this forum send a message to an e-mail account to let you know that there has been a reply to a topic?

There is info on the notification settings in this thread.

millrightcnc.proboards.com/thread/1641/blind

[Bruce]

haha we just talked about notifications just the other day!

[scottacus]

Thanks!

[rowiac]

Nov 8, 2018 20:09:34 GMT scottacus said:

Thanks lofting looks like exactly what I'm looking for! Funny but that is the same term that is used for this process in model ship building.

Yes, I think the 3D mechanical design industry stole the "lofting" term from the shipbuilding industry.  From what I understand, they used to make a full-scale (ship sized!) layout in the "loft" of the building (up on the second floor) and used that as reference for building the ship's hull by dropping reference points from above down to where the hull was being built.

Now that could be an old wife's tale, but I remember reading that somewhere.

[scottacus]

I've heard that explanation before as well so I think you are right about the origin of lofting.

I took the plunge yesterday and put in an order for a Carve King with the protective surface option. I've got a couple of questions about getting started in CNC:

1) Are there ready to go test files that can be used with the machine to get it up and running quickly? Something that drives a pen or marker around on paper or something that cuts with the tool?

2) How do you protect the bed from being cut during the router runs? Do you always put a sacrificial layer under the work piece or is the machine just that good?

[Bruce]

Congrats on your purchase of a Carve King.

Answer 1: I rigged up a pin with a rubber band to test my first run of my CNC. I then got some of that foam insulation board to do my first cuts in so I didn't break any bits.

Answer 2: If you do a lot of profile cutting, (cutting out a shape all the way through the work material) you will want a spoil board. Do a Youtube search on "CNC spoil board" or waste board. Some just screw the spoil board to the work piece and clamp the whole thing to the CNC bed. Others take the time to install a permanent spoil board in the CNC. Then they flatten or level the spoil board so it is perfectly flat with the router. Just depends on what you're work projects requires.

[Derek the Admin]

Bruce is right on both accounts, as per usual.

[Bruce]

I found this instructable to make a fancy spring loaded pin for CNC plotting.
www.instructables.com/id/Coil-over-Pen-for-CNC-Plotting/

[Derek the Admin]

That looks pretty cool. Thanks for the pointer.

[scottacus]

That is a pretty cool looking system! Does the Dewalt used on the Carve King accept a 1/2" collet because that is what that system looks like it needs?