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Post by chuck26287 on Apr 5, 2016 21:46:48 GMT -5
Well, this was a learning experience that also solved a problem. My folks had remodled their main bathroom, and when replacing the 40 year old flush mounting ceiling light/fan combo, they discovered the ceiling installation hole was abnormally large, and they couldn't find a modern light or light/fan assembly that would entirely hide the old ceiling opening.
I told my Dad we could do him up some sort of 3D decorative plate assembly to surround the fixture flush with the ceiling and cover any opening in the ceiling. They shopped the Vectric online 3D website and found a nice square with an open circle in the center that was unused. That unused center area scaled right up to the size needed for their new light/fan assembly (round), and I had my first 3D project on the table... literally.
We were originally going to do it on a maple panel made from leftover wood from the custom vanity, so I wanted to do a test in MDF before scrapping his expensive, one piece only maple panel.
It took over 12 hours to complete the 3D finish tool path. For some reason, the job sheet estimated over 21 hours. Haven't figured that out yet.
In the photo below with it engraving on the table, it's at 5 hours and 8 minutes.
Once I gave them the test piece, my mom said she'd be happy with it being white to match the ceiling, so they're going to prime then paint the MDF piece and see how it looks. That stuff mills like butter. I hope it primes and paints well. I'm anxious to see how the finished product will look painted and on the ceiling. Note in the photos with the light/fan, the light is actually upside down.
  
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Post by seanathan on Apr 6, 2016 13:08:56 GMT -5
Well, this was a learning experience that also solved a problem. My folks had remodled their main bathroom, and when replacing the 40 year old flush mounting ceiling light/fan combo, they discovered the ceiling installation hole was abnormally large, and they couldn't find a modern light or light/fan assembly that would entirely hide the old ceiling opening.
I told my Dad we could do him up some sort of 3D decorative plate assembly to surround the fixture flush with the ceiling and cover any opening in the ceiling. They shopped the Vectric online 3D website and found a nice square with an open circle in the center that was unused. That unused center area scaled right up to the size needed for their new light/fan assembly (round), and I had my first 3D project on the table... literally.
We were originally going to do it on a maple panel made from leftover wood from the custom vanity, so I wanted to do a test in MDF before scrapping his expensive, one piece only maple panel.
It took over 12 hours to complete the 3D finish tool path. For some reason, the job sheet estimated over 21 hours. Haven't figured that out yet.
In the photo below with it engraving on the table, it's at 5 hours and 8 minutes.
Once I gave them the test piece, my mom said she'd be happy with it being white to match the ceiling, so they're going to prime then paint the MDF piece and see how it looks. That stuff mills like butter. I hope it primes and paints well. I'm anxious to see how the finished product will look painted and on the ceiling. Note in the photos with the light/fan, the light is actually upside down.
View AttachmentView AttachmentView Attachment Looks great! You may already know this, but you gotta be careful priming and painting mdf just because itll absorb so much and get "fuzzy". Some people recommend Zissner 1-2-3, some recommend thinned glue with saw dust...it just depends on what works for you. Ive always gone the 123 route with good success (as long as i sand diligently). |
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Post by chuck26287 on Apr 6, 2016 13:49:32 GMT -5
Looks great!
You may already know this, but you gotta be careful priming and painting mdf just because itll absorb so much and get "fuzzy". Some people recommend Zissner 1-2-3, some recommend thinned glue with saw dust...it just depends on what works for you.
Ive always gone the 123 route with good success (as long as i sand diligently). Thanks! We knew it would absorb moisture some, but I have to admit I wasn't expecting it to be quite as bad as it was after priming. But, as you said, some sanding and repriming/sealing, and some more touchup sanding, and it should be good to go. Fortunately, residing on the ceiling, it won't be too closely examined. It does still look real nice. It would be nice to do one out of white Corian, but that would be real heavy. I'll bet it would sure look great though! |
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Post by branson on Apr 6, 2016 22:16:34 GMT -5
I've almost exclusively done 3d work since getting my machine, and 9 hours seems very long for that box. It looks really good, but I'm wondering as you do more 3d work if you are going to be able to speed it up any. I have done a lot of playing with settings in aspire/vcarve pro and have gotten 12 hour cuts down to 3.5.
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Post by chuck26287 on Apr 6, 2016 22:59:12 GMT -5
I've almost exclusively done 3d work since getting my machine, and 9 hours seems very long for that box. It looks really good, but I'm wondering as you do more 3d work if you are going to be able to speed it up any. I have done a lot of playing with settings in aspire/vcarve pro and have gotten 12 hour cuts down to 3.5. I sure hope to speed it up. That being my first ever 3D tool path, I haven't had any chance to play with any parameters. I'll take a much smaller design and engrave it multiple times to see the effects of changing specific parameters, and learn what decreases time without decreasing quality. Definitely a learning experience ahead of me. |
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Post by branson on Apr 6, 2016 23:02:14 GMT -5
I've found that running it in simulation making small changes in the V-carve program helps get a rough idea of the time differences. Even though I've always had a margin of error you can at least get in the ball park without wasting material. Also when you go the the time summary in V-carve I've found setting the scale to 1.9 gives me the most accurate estimates.
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Post by chuck26287 on Apr 6, 2016 23:17:05 GMT -5
Thanks. I haven't done anything with time estimates other that seeing what it said on the job sheet for that project. It estimated the finish tool path at 21 hours. I about died. It was already running, so I let it go. It actually finished in 12.5 hours. I'll definitely look into that scale factor and try 1.9. Will also play in the simulation mode for a while.
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