[BlackDotSurfing]

Hi,

I am a surfboard shaper and looking to develop my business. I have found extremely helpful guides for CNC hot wire foam cutters online (www.8linx.com) The guide on that site is very simple and easy to understand for any skill level. However, I am going to need a cutter that cuts up to 12 or 13 feet. The majority of boards I'll make will most likely be anywhere from 5' - 8'. The guide on that website suggests anything 8' and over should switch over to a belt driven machine. I can't seem to find any good information on how to switch over.

I was also thinking of an alternative to the hot wire cutter for 1 reason. Surfboards have a piece of wood down the center of the board called a stringer. The hot wire is not going to cut throught that, so I'd have to cut each side of the board and then glue the stringer in last. I'd rather glue it and then cut it. Reading the forums I came across the suggestion to make a 3-axis cnc router to cut a surfboard. Does anyone have any tips or links to guides that may help or clarify this for me?

I appreciate your time.

Salvatore Amico
BlackDot Surfing
Owner

[Senna]

I think most CNC board shapers nowadays are of the router type... here's a quick look at just one type...

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ejRCXxa4u0"]YouTube- CNC Surfboard Shaping Machine - AUTOMATICA[/nomedia]
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8viItUSoKx8&feature=related"]YouTube- KMS3200 shaping machine[/nomedia]

Senna

[BlackDotSurfing]

Yeah, I have been doing alot of research today on building one. I have found some great plans for lead screw driven routers that I prob will modify to work with a belt or chain. I have read up on how you factor threads per inch on the lead screw and the steps per turn and come up with how many steps per inch the motor will go.

Threads/inch divided by thread starts = turns/inch

turns/inch(screw) X turns/second(motor) = Seconds/Inch (how long it takes the motor to travel one inch based on its specs)

then

Steps/Turn(motor) X Turns/Inch(Screw) = Steps/Inch (how many times the motor will actually turn in order go one inch, the higher the more precise)


How do I factor in a belt or change into this mix?

[meanshapes]

Blackdot,

My company specializes in board shaping systems. I have been at it for sometime. This is a great place to get help on your project. Besides building a machine that will properly handle TWISTED BLANKS,,,,,software is very important in this application. Especially if you are a shaper and want a hassle free way to design a board and get it milled. We also sell a kit machine we call the PS.K47 you can get information about our software and machines at www.precisionshaper.com

If anything maybe you get some idea's about how to design your machine

See you,

Meanshapes

[307startup]

You should get together with this guy: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23235