CNC Double Jigsaw

This instructable records the process of cutting an accurate 3D "Double Jigsaw" joint from a piece of wood. The process is mainly composed of three parts: 1) drawing designs on computer. 2) cutting the design from the wood. 3) rubbing the product for smoothening its surface.

For this experience of cutting a digital joint, we learned:

• How to build a 3D model on Rhino 7
• How to use Carbide Create to cut a piece
• How to use the cutting machine
• How to rub the wood product with tools

The following are the steps recorded in this instructable:

• Designing Phase
• Designing Phase
• Cutting Phase
• Final work
• Reflection

If you are interested in making a 3D-modeling joint, continue reading this instructable!

As the first few pictures show, the first step to make a digital joint is breaking the whole 3D piece into a 2D sketch. With a 2D sketch, the details and the structures of a 3D product could be understood better in the beginning phase. On the sketch paper, I drew the joint from two different views, which are Top view and Front view. I also predetermined the magnitude of each part of the joint so that it would be clear for me to draw on Rhino 7.

The second step is drawing the design on Rhino 7 based on the sketch on paper. Similar to the process of drawing the product's 2D views on paper, the drawing on Rhino also starts with drawing 2D views. In this case, I focused on drawing the Top view. After finishing the design in the Top view, I moved to the Perspective view to extrude curves into a solid 3D object.

*One important note: Always remember to set different parts of the object into different layers. In this way, it would be easy to edit one part without hurting other parts. In this case, I grouped the upper part of the block into one layer and the lower part into another layer*

With the finished 3D model drawn in Rhino 7, I exported the file with dxf version and opened the file through an app called Carbide Create. I used the "pocket" tool to hollow out the part where is left open in the design. I also used the "contour" tool to cut the outer part of the product. One final step is to edit tabs on the design to prevent the instability of the product during the cutting process because the unstable product would cause safety problems. In this case, I left three tabs in each design.

The next step is one of the most exciting steps in the whole process!

I initialized the machine to cut the design of 3D modeling. I cut the work with my peer to maximize the utilization of the space on the wood board. Seeing the machine doing the work for us is always a cheerful and peaceful experience.

Due to the tabs that I noted on the design, the machine avoided cutting the whole design completely out of the wood. Therefore, I needed to use knives to cut the design out of the wood completely. I also used rasps for the woods' abrasion. The machine does most of the jobs for us, but I still need to do some handwork for the product to make its surface more smooth.

In the end, as shown in the picture, the joint is finally made!

The experience of making a joint is interesting because it allowed me to went through the process of breaking a 3D product into 2D shapes and combing 2D shapes into a 3D shape.I think that such a experience prepares my 3D thinking for future products.