I found a FinnishKuksa STL file that would work as a Carvewright project

[Rocketman]

While browsing software for my regular cnc machines I ran across a project available as a download and it includes the STL file. The project is a wooden cup. It's machined in slices out of flat boards and then the slices are glued up. Once glued up the cup is machined inside and then flipped to machine the outside of the glued up pieces. With the length limit of the Carvewright you would have to slice the file and let the Carvewright pierce the individual sections. It would become a challenge to finish it without the right sanding attachments but it's an interesting cup and would be a conversation piece for any Carvewright owner.

Pictures of the cup, the whole machining process and the file download can be found at this link: http://www.estlcam.com/kuksa.php

[oscarl48]

Nice. Thank you for sharing.

I have not had much success doing double sided carves and my stl patterns have yet to line up perfectly. But here a quick mpc (Designer 2.0, sorry to earlier versions) I built to experiment if someone wants it. This is my version of the cup from the picture. I have not added any tabs yet so if you do carve it don't forget.

Edit: added the stl file I created for the project so folks can play with it. It's set at 4.5 inches tall so it would cut evenly using 3/4" stock.

[Rocketman]

That didn't take you long to whip up oscarl48. While you were doing that I was watching your YouTube video on animation. Nice work. I too like to play with the animation features. I've played with the Sketchup animation features and the Gmax animation features. I'm guessing by your Blender references you rendered that cup in Blender?

[oscarl48]

Yes. Once you get a feel for the software, Blender is relatively quick. I don't think I'll ever use the word easy with it but I am slowly mastering some of the basic modeling features. The cup model took about 10 to 15 minutes to make. The rest of the time was getting the light right to render the image of it and set the staging I wanted. You can set armatures in the models for simple manipulation and video animation. It has some really advanced features I haven't even touched. It took longer to get into CW and line up the patterns for the mpc.

[Rocketman]

I've played with Blender over the years but it seems I'm always looking for something else. The only thing good about trying so many kinds of software is ones ability to grasp the basics gets easier and easier. The learning curve for all the 3d programs I've ever used is indeed very steep. Gmax is the free version of 3d Studio Max and even though it's free it's by no means lacking of features nor is it easy to use. I spent tons of hours trying to get a handle on that program years ago. The more you know about modeling with many of these programs the more you realize how much you really don't know. There's a great plugin for Gmax called cnctoolkit that outputs 4 and 5 axis G-code for regular cnc machines. I found Sketchup years later and it's like an easy to understand version of Gmax. Both of those programs are limited until you start installing all the plugins available for them. Once tricked out with plugins either of those programs are light years ahead of any modeling your going to do with the Carvewright software. The Carvewright software does have it's own set of tools that at times are preferred to some of the more complex tools in my toolbox. The bottom line is no one program does it all and I'd be hard pressed to give any of them up.