CNC basics

Hi!

Welcome by Lesson 1 . Today we're going to learn to work with Easel. Easel is online software to design CNC cuts. Though Easel isn't exactly made for the machine we will be using in class, it will work. In the end we only need the G-code from the software to feed that to the machine.

- G-code????????? O__0 sorry??!?!?!?!

Okay, relax! You are not going to learn any code. The software writes this code for you. The CNC machine reads the code and knows what to do. G-code is just constantly telling the CNC cutter where to go and how deep to cut. 3D printers also work with g-code. But your end result on the computer will endup with a single file and a bunch of codes. I'll teach you how to feed these codes to the machine in a later lesson.

Watch the video:

So....you now have an idea of what it all is, let's get to work.

We're going to work with EASEL. Easel is free software from inventables.com.

I could write a whole instructable on how to use it, but they have an awesome instruction website. So go THERE first!

So...you're now all set to do the first assignment: We're going to make a tile wall. We're not going to really use tiles, but pieces of wood of 6' by 6'.

These are the requirements:

All tiles must be sized 6 inch x 6 inch but with a thickness of 0,71 inch, made out of plywood.
Your design should be unique. I will check for plagiarism. You however can use other designs for inspiration for your own idea.
Please use appropriate images. I won't accept images depicting violence or adult content as official entries into the assignment.

Now....where do we start? Follow the instructions on the video and when you're done call me. We'll extract the gcode and carve it on the CNC cutter!

Good luck!

Mr. Pieter