The Router Project
The Router project was a second project that fused the use of computers and machinery to create a product. The result was a simple channel-in-material maze game. It was achieved by first creating the maze design with Innovator software, transferring the design and all its' measurements to the computer "brain" of a machine router, and then letting the router create the maze in a blank square of commercial grade dense foam.
The top left photo shows the design of the maze plus an isometric view. Note at the lower left there is a list of coordinates with X-Y-based instructions for the router. Also note that the upper left view of the maze is centered on the 0,0 location of a coordinate plane. Thus, the router takes all of the instructions on where to cut based on x,y coordinate locations. Inventor was the starting point and was where I made the maze pattern design. The software system was attached to the router hardware, making a seamless transition from design to production. The large photo at the right shows the maze in process of being cut by the router and the lower left photo is the final maze product resting on the source material. The bottom two pictures show the final maze front and back, with the back of it having been laser engraved with my name and class number. |
What I LearnedThis project was fun in that the output is essentially a toy, which was fun to design. I learned that the router machine works based on math (x,y coordinate plane) to do its cutting. Outside of the physical aspect of the router, I think the tool is a complement to the milling machine. It just depends upon the design under consideration and the requirements for removing material from a blank. Like with the brake bracket project, the critical element in work like this is to design with precise measurements and carry those through the production process.
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