Let's Build a Stocker: Part 3

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Today, I'll be using the CNC to add patterns to the side panels. I'm carving the Slime and Dracky characters I wrote about in a spin-off article.

I lined up three of them to make a Slime Tower.

I make it sound easy, but since it's been half a year, I struggled because I forgot how to operate it and its quirks. I can carve the Slime with a 1/8-inch bit, but the Dracky has fine details, so I'll use a 1.5mm bit. That will take more time. Once I've confirmed it in the simulation, I'll open the nc file (which contains the gcode) for the CNC in Luban.

I'll confirm that the orientation and depth are correct. (This is quite important.)
Next, I'll secure the material to the Snapmaker 2 unit and set the origin.
I'll mark the origin on the material beforehand as well.

This is a photo during the cutting process. The side panel is 680mm, so it sticks out.
Because I failed to set the origin a few times, there are some extra holes.
(Updating the firmware in the middle was also a bad idea. Aside from that, even though I thought I had set the origin, for some reason, the Z-axis was off by 2mm. The behavior feels a bit strange.)
It seems the SM2 firmware needs to be updated individually for each module. You copy the firmware to a USB and execute it just like printing. Apparently, you have to repeat this by swapping the modules.

The process of finding the origin is a hassle. Once you return to Home, the subsequent operations are tedious and annoying. On the other hand, if you press the buttons too much, it won't stop and will punch through. I wish it would just go to the center for XY and about 5cm from the bottom for Z with one touch.
I'll just have to repair the holes made by the mistakes later.

This time, I also carved using 2D adaptive clearing. There were parts where the Dracky wouldn't pass through the narrow areas, so I carved the outlines additionally, and that worked well. Actually, isn't it standard to do it this way?
Ideally, you should consider the achievable thickness when designing.
I've forgotten a lot of things. I can make fine adjustments, but I have to redo everything: Sketch correction > Model correction > Manufacturing correction.
Moreover, if there are many curves, the PC response is quite slow. I want to replace my PC soon.
I've also started to get the hang of tips for creating SVGs. The one below has too many points.

I think if I drew it well, the number of points could be about 1/4 of this.
If I don't adjust the curves well and make them simple, the subsequent processes will also be difficult.
I gave up on fillets this time, but if I simplify it, I think it can be done.

G1 X5.247 Y15.414 Z-1.000 F400
G1 X4.942 Y15.444 Z-1.000 F400
G1 X4.665 Y15.449 Z-1.000 F400
G1 X4.390 Y15.432 Z-1.000 F400
G1 X4.076 Y15.387 Z-1.000 F400
G1 X3.782 Y15.321 Z-1.000 F400
G1 X3.520 Y15.239 Z-1.000 F400
G1 X3.263 Y15.135 Z-1.000 F400
G1 X2.974 Y14.990 Z-1.000 F400
G1 X2.720 Y14.837 Z-1.000 F400

It seems that in gcode, G1 is a straight line, G2 is a clockwise curve, and G3 is a counter-clockwise curve.
Unfortunately, they were all G1. I wonder if that's just how it is.
F400 is likely the converted feed rate. There doesn't seem to be a rotation speed.
Perhaps it's controlled separately with a dedicated code.
Either way, it's fixed at 12000 rpm in the settings, so it doesn't matter.

Well, one side is finished. Since 1x4 lumber is soft, the boundary lines aren't carved cleanly. Before doing it, I thought about applying a light coat of varnish to harden the surface, but when it came time to do it, I was too lazy and skipped it.
It would be nice if there were an easy way to harden the surface.
Maybe a quick spray of canned varnish would have an effect.

At first, I was cutting with a design knife, but it was too exhausting.
It seemed best to sand it with #240 sandpaper while tracing the edges vertically with a needle file.

After sanding, it turned out like this.

Depending on the lighting, it looks quite clear.
I failed the CNC settings for the Dracky's eyes. I couldn't tell even when looking at the preview, so I didn't notice. Maybe I'll just stick on some eyeball stickers.

All that's left is assembly and the final paint job, but I'm still undecided.
There are three plans for assembly.
・Maybe wood glue + finishers will be enough?
・Or the usual wood screws.
・Or maybe fill it with dowels? (Actually, I've never done that before.)

Painting is also tricky.
・Since I won't be placing wet items on it, oil finish (Watco Cherry).
・The usual oil-based urethane varnish (Asahipen).
・Beeswax polish that I don't use much.
・Try a paint I've never used before for a change.

While writing this article, I decided to use the following to plug the dowel holes.
I've never done dowel plugging before, so I'll give it a try.

This is a drill bit for extracting dowel-plugging material. By using scraps of the same wood, the dowel marks will blend in more naturally.
I mainly use slender coarse-thread screws, so I'll drill a narrow hole.
It seems 8mm is the smallest size available among the products sold.

That's all for today.