Aluminum Saber Skeleton Mini Model

This is a beautiful little project for people that are into 3D designing and CNC machines. Keep in mind this project requires some kind of CNC machine to cut all the puzzle parts. A waterjet Cutter works perfect if you have one handy or know someone that does. That is the only requirement for the project that might be a bit difficult to complete.

There are quite a few small parts that you need to keep track of that can't be lost.

Lets get Started!

You will need the following to complete this DIY:

• 2D CAD software (Autodesk or built in CNC machine drawing software that will except .dxf files.)
• Waterjet cutter is preferable but other CNC should work too.
• Welder
• Scrap Material
• Paint

The first step is the get your CAD file ready for cutting. I have included the dxf file with all the parts in it for the project.

One thing to note; if you wish to make your dino bigger, the way this is accomplished is through the material thickness that you will be using.

I used 1/8" aluminum for mine. if you want to make your bigger simple scale your drawing up to the thicker material size.

You MUST use the slots on each parts were one piece slides in to the next when putting it together as the reference point for the scaling. When your finished scaling the opening of the slot of each part MUST match the thickness of the material being used. If you don't do this then it either won't fit together or it will be too loose when putting it together.

This is the fun parts!

Get your welder ready and have a helping hand there to help.

Start to play around with the pieces, try this one there and that one here, you will be able to quickly figure out which piece goes were.

Once you are confident were all the pieces go, get your welder started up and if the structure is stable enough it won't fall apart on you. You should be able to tack-weld all the pieces together with a helper there to hold the pieces together for you if needed.

Once everything is tacked in place give it a few more tacks to make sure it won't fall apart on you.

That's it, you should be ready for painting.

This step is totally up to you.

What I did is I took it to my local powder coating shop to get powder coated. This might not be the most cost efficient for most people. The reason I chose powder coat is because it gets into all the corners easily so there is nothing unpainted.

You can always buy Rustoleum paint from your local hardware store to give it that nice look from all angles.

Once painted leave it sit for a few hour and this masterpiece should be ready to fill that empty spot in your showcase.

Using 1/8" Aluminum Material mine turned out the be about 6" high by 15" long.

It never fails as a great conversation started when someone walks into my office :)

I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did, If there are any questions that I could answer I would be glad to help out.

~Will