scanner sled

[DWD]

Here is a picture of the sled I built and used successfully. Unfortunately I encountered a Z axis problem when I was carving my first scan. The part that scanned is reallly remarkable and I am very pleased.

The dimensions were taken from the scanner documentation.

[BobHill]

DWD,

Looks great. What thickness is your MDF?

Bob Hill
Tampa Florida

[DWD]

The MDF is actually some 5/8 floor under layment. This is heavier and more stable than normal MDF. The sides are from a piece of 3/4 pine flooring. I used pocket screws and glue to attach the sides. I used double sided tape to attach the masonite. While the sled is heavy it is very stable and worked fine. My Machine is going back to LHR in the morning so I will not be able to carve the object I scanned.

[BobHill]

Thanks for the information. Tomorrow is the day I've set ashide for making my sled and ginding something to scan. Hope you have a fast return of your machine.

Bob

[pontiak]

Hi. I'm new to all this. Just what is the sled for? Thanks Mike.

[BobHill]

Pontiak,

There are two reason for making a sled. for using the 3D scanning probe, you need it to have walls for the pressure rollers (stabalize the work piece so it'll move properly on the belts which have sandpaper traction). The other reason is when carving on less than minimum requirements (at least 1/4" thick wood and at least 7" long and at least 2½" wide) you can make the sled so your wood fits this within the minimum limits and you won't waste as much wood. for instance I make model wooden ship from scratch, and my frames are many (like 115 frames in a 41" LOA hull) and they each are sistered (two frames per station welded together) with each sister having seven parts (grain always longitudinal). Thes parts are very small and each sister part is only 3/32" thick (whole frame is 3/16" thick). You can see where I could waste an awful lot of wood having to have the needed 3½" on each side left clear for the rollers as well as leaving enough wood on each width side for rollers. Thus the sled, which is reusable, makes the machine happy and me happy for being able to use the wood as needed without waste (which otherwise can be far more expensive than usual. I use some pretty exotic woods sometimes (like ebony, European boxwood, etc.).

Bob Hill
Tampa Florida

[smartalecy]

ok...I can see the need for the sled, I just don't know how to use it. Do you have to figure out the measurements of where the carving will fit on the sled and create the pattern to allow for the sled size? Any hints to using the sled would be appreciated.

[autobody]

Here is the sled I built.

I was planning to scan a ship I had carved and then cast in plastic, however I found that with my sled sides at 2¼" higher than the top of the base, that the probe wire will hit the sides if I need to scan within 1½" of either side.

I am making another bed to screw on top of this one (½" thick russian birch plywood on top of the existing ¾" ply) that should allow the scanner to clear the sides, hopefully allowing for a wider scan area.

Thanks ~Mike

[smartalecy]

The sled looks great and I'm pondering building one...just wondering how to do the measurements for projects without messing up alot of wood. I'm trying to get away from leaving the three inches on each end and 1/2 inches on the sides of each project. The sled will allow me do it, is this correct? I assume I would consider the thickness of the sled on all depth measurements for carving. Is there a particular placement of the project on the sled to get the best results or easiest measurements?

[Malfunction]

The dimensions of the sled can vary but the maximum width is 14.5” and
the maximum depth is 2-1/4” from the mounting surface to the top of the
rails. There is no maximum length but any sled over 3 feet long will
require additional stand-alone outfeed support rollers. The support rollers
should be adjusted properly to avoid letting the sled sag or rise, as any
transition going on and off the rollers will be reflected in the scan data.
The vertical rails must be at least as high as the object being scanned. If
the object is taller than the vertical rails the machine or object can be
damaged.

http://www.carvewright.com/downloads.html

the description of the sled is on the probe manual, page 7 or 8 i think.

i will hopefully get around to building mine tomorrow. not that i have a scanner, but i assume it will save on the 7 inches required to keep the material under the rollers. i am not sure though. maybe one of the old timers can chime in and answer the question .