CNC modeling done.

[45WinMag]

Will start CNC build soon. Modeling is done, now it's time to work my way through the CAM process. Some guys at the TechShop are Fusion 360 gurus and said they will help walk me through some of it. They said they could also offer some tips for fixtures and indexing.

This is the Rhino 3D model for the internal routing along with top routes for single humbucker, humbucker plus single coil, and two humbucker. The internal routes will be done first. The top will be cut separately with a template and inset into the body. Then a channel will be cut along the boundary between the top and the body. The channel will be filled with liquid polymer. After the polymer hardens, one of the top route profiles will be cut depending on what pickup configuration I want.



This is the same file imported into Fusion 360 for CAM work.



The neck isn't pictured, but it and the fretboard are modeled and uploaded to Fusion 360 also.

My modeling is still a little messy, but I intend to do some additional shaping of the top and neck by hand. The main reason I want to use CNC for this is to improve the precision of my neck joints. My previous neck joints are decent, but a lot of that has been luck. I want to remove luck as a factor.

I'm also going to model a 7-string version.

 

[emoney]

Good for you. Looking forward to the build thread.

 

[Skyjerk]

The polymer will form some kind of binding strip inset from the edge?

 

[45WinMag]

The polymer will form some kind of binding strip inset from the edge?

Yes. Inset 1/4". Similar to this pic, only a uniform distance from the edge all the way around. I don't think I would try this without CNC.

The polymer I will be using cures to a cream/ivory color, with options for black or white dyes.

 

[Skyjerk]

Yes. Inset 1/4". Similar to this pic, only a uniform distance from the edge all the way around. I don't think I would try this without CNC.



The polymer I will be using cures to a cream/ivory color, with options for black or white dyes.

Thats very cool. Does the stuff scrape smooth like ABS?

 

[45WinMag]

Thats very cool. Does the stuff scrape smooth like ABS?

Don't know yet. I'm going to test it in some scrap first. If it doesn't work out, I'm going to route the channel for one of the common ABS binding widths and just wedge binding into the slot.

I was just playing around in Rhino, and I think modeling my 7-string neck is going to be easier than I expected. It looks like the stretch and taper tools will allow me to tailor my existing neck model to a different width and scale length. I'm going to model a new fretboard and alter the neck model to match its length and taper. This is going to save me an enormous amount of time, as the neck was by far the most time consuming part of the model. The body and topcarve will be the same as the 6-string, I will just have to do a new neck plane, pickup cavities, and tailpiece holes.

I really wish somebody made a 7-string wraparound bridge. I may model one and take the CNC mill classes so I can cut metal at the TechShop. They have a really nice Tormach CNC mill.