Used a new router bit. The result is a bit better.
Added a hollow out pattern on the other side also.
Attachment 351976
I've followed your thread since your first post. I just wanted to say your results are amazing. I imagine there would definitely be a profitable market for selling these. They are honestly works of art. I wish I had a machine and the skills to do these myself. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks a lot Coherent.
BTW, earned not even a penny.
All to my friends.
yes, it is the opposite side.
i turned off the LED inside the egg shell while i took the photo of this side.
E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.elephant-cnc.com
--------------Jinan Blue Elephant CNC Machinery Co., Ltd-------------
Hi UVVVVW,
I would love t have a copy of the VB6 program. Is it possible to have it?
thanks
Sorry Tonino, not prepare to open source at the moment. :cheers:
UVVVVW,
Until I saw your Re: CNC egg shell carving thread, I thought that I was the only one to have built a CNC machine to carve egg shells! Nice to know that I am not alone. I took on the project as a challenge. I didn't really want to carve egg shells, but I did want to build a machine that would.
I have moved through several design changes over the years. My current machine has 4 axis. Two linear and two rotary. One of the rotary axis is dedicated to keeping the axis of the cutting tool Normal to the surface of the egg. I chose to design the machine with the cutting tool fixed. I thought that would give me more flexability with the tools I could use.
I attach a spindle for mounting only to the bottom of the egg so that carving can continue to the top.
Like yours, I use the machine to probe the surface of the mounted egg to get a profile but since (so far) I cut through the shell, I do not require that a point cloud be built. I make one probe pass from the top of the egg to near the bottom and assume symmetry.
Currently I use a dental air turbine for the carving tool (much like artist that carve by hand) but I find them to be to delicate for hours of constant use. I would be interested in what you have found to be reliable. Yours looks electric which is what I prefer.
I use AutoCAD with some lisp routines, Vectric's Cut2D, Excel with some macro's for serious number crunching, and Mach3.
Developing a point cloud to enable relief carving as you have done will be the last frontier for me. I worked on it for a short time but then moved on to something else. With goose egg shells being only 0.011 to 0.015 inches thick, there is not a lot of room for error in relief carving.
I completed the current machine design several years ago and after an initial flurry of carving, have not done much with it since. I carved a few eggs for friends and family. One friend wanted several dozen for wedding party gifts. OMG! It is not as much fun when you are under the gun to meet a deadline. I gratefully declined.
Riky Tiky Tavy
Hi RTT
There is a way to keep it going. You go commercial - but very high end. You need a polished wood box and with a shaped velvet lining and ...
Do NOT try to hit the discount end of the market.
Cheers
Roger
Hi Riky,
I am glad that I'm not alone also
Mine is a simple 3 axis machine.
Dental air turbine is good.
I saw quite some people use it to carve egg shell by hand.
But I don't want to use it, as it is quite noise.
And air compressor is required.
I am using a blushless DC spindle for the carving.
70K rpm, not as high speed as the dental air turbine.
But much more silent.
Of course, cannot cut the egg shell as fast as the dental one.
I use Inkscape and Photoshop for the graphic design.
And use the Inscape laser plug in and Artcam for the Gcode generation.
I wrote my own program for the post processing.
I have not much pressure. Just some gifts for friends.
BTW, people like the lithophanes
Hi UVVVVW,
Your CNC lithophanes have given me a renewed interest in carving. I believe I will dust off my machine and start experimenting again.
I have ordered a more durable (I hope) dental turbine with ceramic bearings. I have a new idea on mounting/holding the turbine that I believe will make the turbine more reliable. Noise is not a problem because the carving is done in an enclosure.
I have done a poor job of documenting my processes form start to finish and if I'm away for several months to a year, I have to retrain myself.
Riky
Internal engraving.
First trial to engrave an image inside an egg shell
On the inside???
OK, that's new.
LONG shank with ball end and come up through hole in bottom of egg? Still with only 3 axes?
Or large egg and right-angle dental drill?
Cheers
Roger
Hi Roger, good to see you through the internet again
On the inside???
(yes)
LONG shank with ball end and come up through hole in bottom of egg?
(normal 0.2mm flat tip 30 degree engraving bit. not really long shank one. not a hole in the bottom, but a big hole in the back. you can see it in the 3rd pic)
Still with only 3 axes?
(yes, same machine)
Or large egg and right-angle dental drill?
(normal 90mm long goose egg. not right-angle one, just normal spindle. i use a brushless DC spindle)
CK
==
Ah - I see. Very clever too.
Cheers
Roger
My first gourd