Luke Schiesser Project 4: Desktop CNC

Process

    I knew from the start that I wanted to make something related to my hobby of modeling. What exactly I wanted to make, however, was much harder to decide on. I played around with the Hawaiian Islands, segments of the Grand Canyon, and even the shoreline of British Columbia that my brother and I kyaked around for a month. I eventually settled on a river by my house in Austin, which was pretty simple but still topographical.


    Once I had the terrain I wanted, I sliced it in Fusion to fit onto a 120mm x 92mm oval Warhammer base. This would be for a plane with a transparent plastic stand. As one of my larger models and the first one I ever bought, I wanted to give it something extra and put some extra work into it. I tapered the edges to match the slope of the base and cut out a cross shape for the transparent stand to fit through.


Ryan walked me through using the CNC machine, and though it took some time to cut, there were no major problems. 

Result


    I was told that the CNC wouldn't be able to cut out the cross and that I would need to use the laser cutter, but it  did better than I anticipated. I did have to use knives, files, and other hand tools to finish carving it out, which was extraordinarily loud. By filing back and forth to enlarge the cutout, the base became the world's worst impromptu violin.

The plywood material I worked with did not respond well to the minor terrain variations, resulting in some sections chipping away and leaving a blocky, almost digital pattern. I sanded these areas to smooth them out, as well as around the tapered rims. I did have trouble fitting the transparent stand through the hole I had cut for it, but with some extra sanding, filing, and elbow grease, I got it in there.



Reflection 

    I had several problems with my laptop being unable to handle the terrain I wanted to use. When I loaded up the topographic maps I wanted, the number of triangles often crashed my computer. Even getting to the stage that allowed me to simplify the geometry was difficult. I probably should have used a beefier computer.

    I was also very worried about the terrain overhanging the oval base. This led me to overcorrect and drastically shrink my terrain size, but I plan on fixing this by adding extra materials like terrain paste or small rocks. I held off on doing this for grading purposes, but this is my final goal.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing Elizabeth Johns

Image
Introduction A photo of me, Elizabeth! Hello! My name is Elizabeth Johns and I am an Accounting major with an English minor at Trinity University. I am from San Antonio, Texas and have lived here for most of my life. Last Spring, I transferred to Trinity University from the University of Texas at San Antonio where I pursued architecture for three semesters before settling on accounting as a major. Currently, I am on track to graduate with my bachelor's degree in Fall 2026.  Interests My main academic interests involve accounting, where I plan on eventually becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and working on the tax side of accounting. Outside of accounting, I like to read and write, which is why I am also pursuing a minor in English. In particular, I really enjoy Shakespeare and I am taking my third Shakespeare class this semester. My favorite plays of his are Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet .  When I am not studying accounting, I have a personal interest in using m...
Read more

Introducing Dr. Wilson Terrell Jr. (Dr. T.)

Image
  Introduction   My name is Dr. Wilson Terrell Jr., and I'm the Associate Provost - started this position in June 2022. In addition, I'm an Associate Professor of Engineering Science in the D. R. Semmes School of Science - started at Trinity in 2003. I graduated with a B.S., M.S., and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Fighting Illini - home of the best deep dish pizza Papa Dels). Interests I have always love "making" since getting my first Lego set. While in high school, my favorite classes were math, physics, and chemistry. My physics teacher encouraged me to attend a summer engineering program at the University of Illinois, which helped me to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. Here at Trinity, I primarily teach upper division mechanical engineering type courses and labs, and freshmen engineering design. This is the second time I have taught this course, when it was a pilot called ENGR 2191, Special Topics ...
Read more

Introduction: Shumyla Lopez

Image
Introduction: Shumyla Lopez My name is Shumyla Lopez, I am a senior psychology major - I began my journey at Trinity August 2022. This is an image of me getting ready to eat my very first pazookie (which is crazy! The dubai chocolate was good though).  Interests I am from Stevenspoint, Wisconsin, but I more often say that Weslaco, Texas is my home as I lived there most of my life. I moved down there in 2010, so a lot of my childhood memories remain in the valley.  My academic interests has been psychology since I arrived at Trinity. I am hoping to one day attend graduate school and achieve my dream of becoming a clinical psychologist. I am a research assistant for Dr. Carolyn Becker, where much of my research focus has been related to eating disorders and food insecurity in older women. Some of the ongoing projects that I am co-leading involves a project called Life Hacks. Our current aim is to target subclinical anxiety and depression in college students by teaching cognitive...
Read more