More and more often, Engineers are ushering in GrabCAD models into the physical world. Greg downloaded a copy of a P51 by GrabCADr Sorin and CNC machined it out of a block of wood (read about the P51 here). What was simply a long set of codes, voxels and compression algorithms is now a wooden toy for your desk or your kid.
The entire model was prepped in Edgecam 6.0, an older version from nearly a decade ago. " I graphically selected tools and machining sequences in Edgecam to control how fast and at what depth of cut to machine the surfaces of the model." The resulting GCode was sent to a 1998 Haas VF2 CNC mill. It took only 30 minutes to program, 30 minutes to prep the tools and clamp the wood down and 2 hours to mill the entire piece.
To get a better look at Greg's machine, watch this great video below made with a GoPro Camera. "I was milling out a piece of delrin to a specific part model for a friend who was building something."
If anyone else has had experiences downloading models and 'physicalizing them' via 3D Printing, CNC or otherwise, send us photographs and your story to jf@grabcad.com. We'll put something up on the blog!
