[JerryBurks]

To test my new CNC machine I borrowed a Mandelbrot fractal pattern I found on the Internet and converted into a V-carve file (I guess that is covered under the Fair Use copyright doctrine).

Looks like the machine is working alright. This was done at 80 ipm feed rate in Maple in 43 minutes with an Amana In-groove cutter, size is 12" x 6". No sanding, just as it came off the machine.
MapleFractal.avi - YouTube

The result looks pleasing IMO but I am wondering now what to do with that thing. I could just prepare it to hang on a wall, or complement it with a different wood inlay or maybe fill it with epoxy as a cutting board. Anyway, I guess it will end up on in a gift wrap for a relative in short time

[HobbieZones.com]

WOW !

Yep epoxy it and set on Dining Table.

[aussiefreebs]

Just awesome!!! I can't wait to do these things. Great work Jerryburks!!!

[CarveOne]

That is interesting. Hadn't thought of doing one of those. It's a wonder that it didn't fry your processor while thinking about all of the next moves...

CarveOne

[groswald]

"To test my new CNC machine I borrowed a Mandelbrot fractal pattern I found on the Internet and converted into a V-carve file (I guess that is covered under the Fair Use copyright doctrine)."

Probably not fair use. Fair use covers editorial and educational use. This probably would not count. Especially if it ends up on your dining room table as an art piece.

That said, I doubt that any part of the Mandlebrot set can be copyrighted since anyone can reproduce it, in its entirety, from the underlying mathematical function. Some of the nifty color renderings can probably be copyrighted, but not the base set.

All that said, I am a student of copyright (software engineer and photographer), but not a lawyer.

Regards,

Randy

[PaulRowntree]

That is terrific Jerry; it looks like you are done!

[DonFrambach]

Very nice! (and inspiring!!)

[JerryBurks]

It's a wonder that it didn't fry your processor while thinking about all of the next moves...

CarveOne

No kidding....this is a 3MByte file with 115,000 lines of G-Code. That means the controller had to process an average of 45 lines of code per second and probably much more when it came to the detail patterns. But it may help that the actual path interpolation and pulse timing is not calculated on the PC but on the USB controller board with a dedicated microcontroller. The PC only has to feed the commands. Actually I did get a buffer error message once but the machine continued just as well after clicking the OK button.

....... it looks like you are done!

Well, maybe 95% done, but the rest (the moving dust covers for the screws and linear guides) can wait until I have had some fun with the machine. Although, given the history of my projects, that may take a while.

The point was mainly to see if the machine can run higher speed and still be precise, something my old machine just could not do.

[JerryBurks]

"To test my new CNC machine I borrowed a Mandelbrot fractal pattern I found on the Internet and converted into a V-carve file (I guess that is covered under the Fair Use copyright doctrine)."

Probably not fair use. Fair use covers editorial and educational use. This probably would not count. Especially if it ends up on your dining room table as an art piece.

That said, I doubt that any part of the Mandlebrot set can be copyrighted since anyone can reproduce it, in its entirety, from the underlying mathematical function. Some of the nifty color renderings can probably be copyrighted, but not the base set.

All that said, I am a student of copyright (software engineer and photographer), but not a lawyer.

Regards,

Randy

Hm, maybe it was not a good guess then....but I would consider the whole forum here an educational facility and yes, the generating algorithm is just math.

[vtx1029]

Nice :cheers:

I need to get one of them cutters

[fizzissist]

If the algorithm to generate it isn't itself somehow copyrighted, the output can't be.

You've still got the code, so that future's in your hands...for this part? I'd mount it under glass (to keep the itty-bitty bugs out of the crevices) and make a nice frame for it.

Another interesting piece using the same program might be a laminate of different colored plastics, alternating with white,,,or? Varying shades of gray to black?

...Beautiful piece!

[slowlearner]

That is what I call art.

[CarveOne]

If you guys want to generate your own Mandelbrot and Julia sets you can download freeware software for generating your own images from this UK web site.

The link above is just one of many available. It is based on mathematical formulas. Some of the software may be copyrighted but I don't think the actual formulas are.

CarveOne

[jsheerin]

That's really cool. I'm going to have to try one of those on my router. I'd definitely hang that on my wall.

[louieatienza]

Does anyone remember Fractint? I used to sit at my computer for hours, entering different values for each fractal equation, to see the results. Then mesmerize myself with color cycling!

[JerryBurks]

Oh Dear, I should not have started this fractal madness. But I must admit it is fun.

After using the prefabricated fractal from the Internet I started playing with UltraFractal (not free but reasonable) and this is probably the most complex piece of software I have seen in my life. But with some patience I got a few more interesting carving patterns. No copyright concern and actually if someone wants to use it I would be happy to share. Still got to actually cut it and see how it looks like in real life but below some V-Carve previews.

I am beginning to wonder if there is a market for such fractal wood sculptures, but I guess that is something to keep me busy when I retire....

[CarveOne]

Does anyone remember Fractint? I used to sit at my computer for hours, entering different values for each fractal equation, to see the results. Then mesmerize myself with color cycling!

That one came out in the early days of the first PCs, Atari, and TI computers. I know it goes back a long time. Wikipedia has its history.

I played with it on my early PCs when I first got a VGA video card. There is a homepage or two for it available but it appears to not have kept up with modern computers.

CarveOne

[louieatienza]

That one came out in the early days of the first PCs, Atari, and TI computers. I know it goes back a long time. Wikipedia has its history.

I played with it on my early PCs when I first got a VGA video card. There is a homepage or two for it available but it appears to not have kept up with modern computers.

CarveOne

One of the things that got me into computers as a child was watching a program on TV where Benoit Mandelbrot was demonstrationg fractals on computers. He used the values as height maps, and created virtual mountainsides with virtual valley, and all done with fractals. Used to spend hours tweaking the stock fractal equations in fractint... damn those were the days...

[CarveOne]

I saw all of that also. Had no clue what that was all about. Recently the NC PBS stations had a program on the history of fractals and said that it eventually was found to be useful in accurately mapping shorelines to improve the accuracy of maps. I'll take their word for it, as I'm too math-challenged to disprove what they said.

I tried using a low resolution Julia set image in Vcarve Pro. I was able to generate a simulation that looked "ok" but it needs to be a higher resolution image to get better results.

CarveOne

[JerryBurks]

I saw all of that also. Had no clue what that was all about. Recently the NC PBS stations had a program on the history of fractals and said that it eventually was found to be useful in accurately mapping shorelines to improve the accuracy of maps. I'll take their word for it, as I'm too math-challenged to disprove what they said.

I tried using a low resolution Julia set image in Vcarve Pro. I was able to generate a simulation that looked "ok" but it needs to be a higher resolution image the get better results.

CarveOne

I think what made the my first attempt look that good was that it was a fractal that tweaked a checkerboard pattern according to a fractal formula. That works well for a partial 3-D method like V-carving. But I have not seen this checkerboard as a plug-in for the usual fractal design software.

After all like with the visual image output of the fractals, you probably need to spend some serious time to learn what works and what does not for the carving. Maybe I keep playing with that for a while and either get more interesting results or give up.

JB