Considerations for this method
Limitations for milling context buildings
In foam, buildings can be about 2" tall. Tall buildings must be at least 1/4" apart. Shorter buildings (<1") can be 1/8" apart.
In wood, buildings can be about 1" tall. _______
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Material choices
| (image) | METHOD | MATERIAL | COST ($/sf) | TIME: file prep | TIME: fab | TIME: assembly | TIME: total | GREEN QUOTIENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNC milling - smooth terrain | white foam | $7.80 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| CNC milling - smooth terrain | plywood | $39.58 | 9 | 2.25 (no buildings yet) | ||||
| CNC milling - smooth terrain | hardwood (poplar) | |||||||
| CNC milling - smooth terrain | high density foam | $82.78 | 7 | |||||
| CNC milling - stepped terrain (fine) | white foam | $7.80 | ||||||
| CNC milling - stepped terrain (1/16" contours) | white foam | $7.80 |
File preparation: Rhino
- Generally, the rhino file prepared for milling must contain the following layers:
- Stock: a box, at the world origin, representing the size of the block of your milling material.
- Topography: a single NURBS surface for smooth terrain, or a series of flat surfaces for stepped terrain.
- Features: layer(s) with NURBS surfaces for roads, water, etc.
- For each features layer, there should be another layer with boundary curves for each feature surface.
- Buildings: If buildings are to be milled with the base, include a layer with NURBS surfaces at the tops of buildings.
- A layer with boundary curves for each building top surface.
- Buildings too large or too small to be milled with the topography need pockets. Include a layer with curves outlining the bases of these buildings (at the z depth you want the bottom of the pocket cut).
- Final contour: a layer with a curve tracing the four outside edges of the topography layer, and the same curve projected to z=0.
- This file can be imported directly into Mastercam.
File preparation: Mastercam
- See the CNC tutorial for more detail. In general, you will need to use a template MasterCAM file, import your geometry, assign it to pre-defined toolpaths and adjust the toolpath parameters for your material.
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