The cutting begins!

After weeks of practicing turning the Sketchup designs into tool paths using the trial version ov VCarve pro, I finally started cutting the wood. Although the design may have to be tweaked as I learn more about using the Shopbot, the first session was more productive than I expected. I cut all the matrix bracing stays (vertical separators) and did an experimental cut (one that after a few minutes was clearly wasn't going to work).

The laminate panel (chipboard and 1/4" finished plywood looks like it worked  much better than I had anticipated. The rolling on the the glow and lots of clamps seems to have done the trick. The only issue is a gentle warp which makes cutting difficult as the sheet has to be very firmly secured to the sacrificial  board. And there is a tendency to break though the tabs if there aren't enough of them.

These two videos show the Shopbot in action. It is remarkable to see the finished pieces taking shape. It's as if, after staring at them for months on the screen in the CAD program, they were being slowly beamed¹ down from the virtual world of Sketchup.

What was also gratifying was that the toolpaths worked exactly as envisioned. Of course that was perhaps a little less surprising since VCarve has a very sophisticated preview for exactly that purpose. 

(Note the passage of time - the first was show at about 3pm, the second at about 6pm. Some of that was testing and altering tool paths, but the cutting does take some time).

The only remaining question is the 45 degree cut at the top of each panel. Since they are still fairly firmly attached to each other, I might try using the router here....

¹ Gratuitous Star Trek reference