MAKERTORIUM 2013 ENTRY

Cyborg CNC

'Cyborg CNC' is the practise of combining your home router table and a set of 2-D laser-cut templates with some manual labour to cut/carve a 3-D object. Cyborg CNC is an alternative to using an expensive 3-D CNC milling machine. The type of object that can be cut using this method is (probably obviously) only a subset of the objects able to be cut with a full CNC machine, but if the shape you're after falls within the subset, Cyborg CNC can be a very cheap way to make 3-D objects using gear you may already have in your home workshop.

In Part 1 of the project article, I explain how a 2-D template can be used to carve a 3-D object.

In Part 2 of the project article, I use Cyborg CNC to cut a NACA Series 4 airfoil out of timber for use as a centreboard in a dinghy I'm building. To do this, I've put together a free application that will allow anyone to enter the parameters for any (uncambered) NACA Series 4 airfoil and save the resulting template description for use with a laser-cutting service.

Project permalink: https://chrismolloy.com/naca.

At Makertorium 2013 I exhibited a partially-cut and a completed airfoil/centreboard, together with a poster summarising the project articles.

2xSat Transparent Canoe

Challenge: build a canoe with a transparent skin in two days (two Saturdays, hence the '2xSat' name), for under NZ$300. The project article documents the full design and build process so that anyone can duplicate the project.

Project permalink: https://chrismolloy.com/2xsat.

At Makertorium 2013 I exhibited a completed canoe, together with a poster summarising the project article.