Members cobalt-60 Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 In brief, I very much want to start my own small, custom electric guitar company. I'm primarily an artist, but have always loved music, especially electric guitars. I'm obsessed with them, and have long dreamed of designing my own. I have a very specific vision for how I want them to look, sound and feel. Funky 60s guitars, but with more refined details, consistent styling, vibrant modern colors and patterns, and unique, personalized details. This isn't just put better tuners on it, I'm remaining these guitars from the ground-up. It will be several years until I can get the start up cash, but I want to start looking into how to do it. So far, it seems the most efficient way to produce small batches of them would be a CNC machine. I really don't know anything about them at all, I'm just a designer, except they supposedly can cut any shape and would be perfectly suited for the job. Or so I've been told. The ranges are pretty steep, from 10k and 100k. That's about all I know. Can somebody school me on the types, variations, uses and give me an idea of what I need and am in for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 I haven't ran a CNC milling machine in nearly 30 years but back then they were simply programmed with a sequence of numbers corresponding to X, Y and Z cutting positions and angles. You stick an endmill in the chuck and away you go. Of course you'll want to single step through your program the first time you run it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Turbodog384 Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 When I was in college about 12 years ago I had a class where we used a very small one with wax blocks. I'm a cad operator. Basically we drew whatever we wanted to cut in the cad software and then let it write the code. Put the block in the machine, sent the code and it cut what we drew. It was pretty basic, after all it was in a classroom. I'm sure it gets a lot more complex than what we did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cobalt-60 Posted June 16, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 When I was in college about 12 years ago I had a class where we used a very small one with wax blocks. I'm a cad operator. Basically we drew whatever we wanted to cut in the cad software and then let it write the code. Put the block in the machine, sent the code and it cut what we drew. It was pretty basic, after all it was in a classroom. I'm sure it gets a lot more complex than what we did. It can do scaling right? Not just cut out 2-D shapes, but do slopes and what not, like say the arm and stomach contours of a Strat, or the arch of a Les Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Turbodog384 Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 The scaling yes. If you draw it to scale in the cad software then it will cut out your desgin. What we used was a very small and basic CNC machine. We basically just cut out patterns in wax blocks, so I really don't know what all that machine could do. There are machines and software out there that would do it if you had the money to spend on it. I couldn't tell you what machines or the cost though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Timmylikedthing Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 Hi. Check out Haas for metal. Cheap but good enough for what you're going to do. If it'll cut metal it will cut wood. Haas are like the "squier" of cncs. But in this case, I squier will do. Try looking for a CNC Router. It's essentially a CNC mill for wood. I always wanted to try a guitar body at work, but the fixturing is a bit of a hassle. Good luck!Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brokepick Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 You might want to look at some of the factory videos from the Taylor Guitars website to see what they are doing with CNC machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MahaloVision Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 Until you get the cash or arrange financing, you can always use small shop production methods such as template routing and jigs. Over the long term, CNC is hard to beat. For the near term, and for small runs, templates and jigs would be more economical. When considering the upgrade to CNC, you'll also need to factor in the cost of CAD/CAM software, training, subscription and support. Depending on your design workflow preferences, you might also want to pick up DesignStudio or just go with the basic 3D Engineering applications like SolidWorks or ProEngineer. You may also want to consider picking up a good laser cutter/engraver. I was looking for one about 4 years ago, but didn't have the $25k to drop on it and didn't have the space to operate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Procreatur Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'd opt for Solidworks if you have the cash and are not familiar with CAD/CAM software, and use Mastercam to do the programming with. I think you would need at least a 3 axis to be efficient and diminish set up times, which are critical, and sometimes lengthy. Since it wouldn't likely be running all day every day, look for a machine with some versatility as well so that you can do other things with it(for other people) to cover the operating costs initially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cobalt-60 Posted June 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 This one looks pretty good, somebody on their forum has made hollow body guitars. http://www.shopbottools.com/ Where do I go to learn about using these things? Will the manual cover it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Tone God Posted June 18, 2009 Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 I'm sure it seems quite romantic to be able to throw a piece of material into a machine, hit a button, and a short time later there is your part. Its not that simple. Unfortunately to get to that level you need alot of steps that you are skipping. There will be alot of hardware and software companies that will tell you that with their products you won't need to know much or hire a specialist to run CNC gear. They are full of it. I have yet to see any software produce efficient clean error free g code. I have yet to see a machine that someone with no machining background be able to produce a top quality end product. What this means is that either you have to acquire those skills yourself or you will need to hiring someone with those skills. All of this is added cost which you have to add to the price. It doesn't make much sense to go CNC unless you are doing LARGE numbers, thus bring down the cost per unit, so I wouldn't be investing in CNC gear right now. If you are at mid level you can outsource to a shop to do it for you. If you are small then you should go with some kind of jigging system. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cobalt-60 Posted June 19, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 19, 2009 Well, I don't know how to use plunge routers, scroll saws, or even know what a jigging systems is, so I'm gonna' have to learn something one way or the other. Also, from what I gather, doing pickgaurds by hand is a total pain in the ass. I may learn how to do the body work by hand, and then outsource the neck shaping and PG to someone else in the meantime though. I understand it's not a simple device, that's why I'm looking into it now, a few years before I'm going to have the cash to get my hands on one. If I decide to go forward with it, I plan on educating myself as much as possible before acquiring the thing. I haven't heard anyone mention any coding in regards to the Shopbot or it's programs though. You have to learn the software, but no raw coding, as far as I can tell. There's a guy instate that hosts a workshop for other users, independent of the company, this Sept., I plan on going. There are other uses I have for the machine too, signs, custom cabinets, contracting, and my own sculptures. I'd like to be able to do just guitars and art though, and turn the guitars into a full-time business. I very much like the idea of doing all my own work, independently. I'd like to just run the whole thing out of my garage hooked up to a solar panel, which is what the guy hosting the workshop does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlackHandThrone Posted June 22, 2009 Members Share Posted June 22, 2009 http://buildyourcnc.com/default.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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