# No fingers were harmed in the making of these moldings



## DS

So, this just popped up at work the other day. 
The outsource door manufacturer at work decided to not make the radius corner applied molding doors that they assured us they could make. I'm not sure why, but, left high and dry to make these corners ourselves, there were two ways to do it. These could be hand made - by that I mean templating with a jig and hand held router, then meticulously trimmed and mitered, etc.

Or, I could whip this out on the CNC machine.

About a 20 minute cycle to produce 24 pieces and voila! Perfect fit!










No fingers were harmed in the making of these moldings.

Aside from cutting the copious amounts of sheets goods for our casework, it is handy to be able to whip something like this out from time to time.

What kinds of impromptu projects have you run on your CNC machine?


----------



## DS

One of the assembled panels.

These will be painted white with an antique glaze, eventually.

For those taking notes, the tools used on the CNC were a 5/8" diameter Low Helix Up Spiral (2" Active cutting length) for the bulk stock removal and a 5/32"R Plunge Double Ogee bit from Magnate for the profile details.

A 1/32" Onion Skin was left to connect all the pieces which were later separated with a utility knife.


----------



## lumbering_on

It's not a sport until someone loses a finger.

I'm glad it worked out, but I hope you got both a discount and an explanation as to why they couldn't do the moulding.


----------



## oldnovice

My current CNC project is in aluminum so it does not qualify as a wood poject.
I am replicating a pot metal lever that cranks an antique revenue stamp machine, however, replicating it as a 3D model for machining has been a challenge.


----------



## lumbering_on

> My current CNC project is in aluminum so it does not qualify as a wood poject.
> I am replicating a pot metal lever that cranks an antique revenue stamp machine, however, replicating it as a 3D model for machining has been a challenge.
> 
> - oldnovice


I didn't realize that pot metal could be cut on a CNC. I thought it was usually molded. What do you use to cut it?


----------



## oldnovice

*lumbering_on*, I am not machining pot metal, I am machining an aluminum replica of the pot metal part.


----------



## Kazooman

> My current CNC project is in aluminum so it does not qualify as a wood poject.
> I am replicating a pot metal lever that cranks an antique revenue stamp machine, however, replicating it as a 3D model for machining has been a challenge.
> 
> - oldnovice
> 
> I didn t realize that pot metal could be cut on a CNC. I thought it was usually molded. What do you use to cut it?
> 
> - lumbering_on


He said his project was aluminum. The original he is copying was pot metal.

*Ooooops,* I didn't see that he had already straightened out the misunderstanding.

I think you are right, machining pot metal on a CNC would probably generate a lot of shrapnel.


----------



## lumbering_on

> *lumbering_on*, I am not machining pot metal, I am machining an aluminum replica of the pot metal part.
> 
> - oldnovice


Sorry, I just noticed that when I re-read your post. I'm not a tool-and-die maker so I thought I was missing something - apparently, it's reading comprehension.


----------



## DS

Hans,
Replicating nearly anything as a 3D model is definitely challenging.
Is this being done in Fusion 360?"



> My current CNC project is in aluminum so it does not qualify as a wood poject.
> I am replicating a pot metal lever that cranks an antique revenue stamp machine, however, replicating it as a 3D model for machining has been a challenge.
> 
> - oldnovice


----------



## oldnovice

The modeling in Fusion 360 has been a challenge because I still fall back on the way I did things in Creo even though the basic concepts are the same the methodology and terminology are quite different.

The reasons I am trying this in Fusion 360 are I want to learn how to use it as FREE version of Creo is too limited and Fusion 360 includes CAM. I hope to become as proficient in F360 as I am in Creo so I can eliminate using Creo altogether!


----------



## DS

More CNC fun…





































Doors by outside supplier, panel inserts in house on our CNC.
Since these are paint grade, they are in MDF. We did a couple others in Alder.


----------

