Black LED Acrylic
Pre cut sheets of Chemcast Black LED acrylic can be purchased from TAP Plastics. This acrylic allows the colors of the LEDs to shine through and features a nice matte finish.
Acrylic Sheet Size:
- width: 100mm
- height: 100mm
- thickness: 1/8in (~2.8mm)
Bantam Tools CNC
In this project, we're using the Bantam Tools desktop CNC milling machine to cut out the heart cover. An 1/8in single flute upcut endmill is used to cut the acrylic.
Generate Toolpath
The acrylic heart cover was designed in Fusion 360. A 2D contour is used to create the outline using an 1/8in flat end mill. The stock acrylic measures roughly ~2.8mm thick and 100mm x 100mm. Max roughing stepdown of 0.2mm is used for cutting multiple depths.
Feeds & Speeds
- Spindle: 16400 RPM
- Cutting feedrate: 1500 mm/min
- Plunge feedrate: 46 mm/min
Download GCode
The toolpath was generated using the Othermill(otherplan) post processor and exported from the manufacturing workspace in Fusion 360. Download the zip file below and make sure the gcode's file extension uses .nc
Bantam Tools Setup
Set the material to generic using the dropdown menu. Enter in the width, height and thickness so they match our stock material.
- width: 100mm
- height: 100mm
- thickness: 2.8mm
The material placement is set to be aligned at left of the spoilboard origin.
Plan Setup
Open the gcode .nc file using the open file button in the plans section. Set the XYZ placement and enter the values below:
- X: 2mm
- Y: 2mm
- X: 0mm
Milling Tools
Select the 1/8in Flat End Mill from the dropdown menu in the milling tools section.
Install & Probe End Mill
Change the tool using the change tool button in the bantam tool software. Install the 1/8in end mill and select it from the dropdown menu when it's prompt. The tool will slowly plunge and touch the spoilboard to probe the tool.
Secure Stock to Spoilboard
Use the shiny side of the black LED acrylic to adhere to the spoildboard. Strips of double-sided tape is used to adhere the acrylic stock to the spoilboard. The acrylic is placed at the lower left corner of the spoilboard.
Start Milling
Once the end mill and stock has been installed, it's time to start milling! The cutting job takes around 7-8 minutes to complete.
Vacuum Snow
Once the cutting job is complete, you'll want to clean up the acrylic swarf shavings. A tiny tube style attachment can be quite helpful as it can get into all of the nooks and crannies.
Remove Acrylic Heart
Use alcohol to soften the adhesive from the tape. A palette knife or spatula can be used to get underneath the stock to pop it free.
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