Model Making: Platform Crane

Completed a new model build the other day, the CNCKing.com Platform Crane which I designed a while back.

You can ready more details about the process here: http://blog.cncking.com/laser-cutting-assembly-platform-crane-b/

Timelines & ETAs

I had a prospective customer ask me the other day how long it takes to design, cut and build models such as this. That’s a tough question as I’m not under the gun to get these things done in any particular time or order… to me it’s just relaxing time, taking a break from the everyday as whether it takes me an hour or ten, it makes no difference to me. I don’t look at the time, it takes however long it takes.

Some clients have very specific timelines and deadlines for projects and those always get top priority over my free time model making, especially the more challenging projects that CNCROi.com takes on. Yet, it’s still nice to slow things down, get some splinters and getting my hands full of glue though the CNC laser eliminates splinters almost completely compared to the stuff I do with my CNC router.

CNC Creativity

What’s great about having 24/7 access to my own CNC shop is that I can always try new things, so if I don’t feel like building or cutting a model, I can just engrave stuff around the shop, go to the beach and find some interesting rocks to give to clients with their names on it or whatever… there are so many creative outlets once you have a CNC machine. Far more than I could have ever anticipated!

The more materials, applications and projects I get under my belt, the easier it is to show prospective clients the possibilities we offer their clients (or themselves). Ranging from easy stuff like laser engraving a custom business card out of stainless steel to a 3D model that they can use to demonstrate a product with using exotic materials.

BOOK TIME

I tell my friends that I rarely read books – I just write them instead and all these projects really give me time to delve into new design and material aspects of CNC’ing. I’ve written 7 books thus far and am due for another over the next year so it will be very interesting to contrast the knowledge and experience gained over the past two years to my previous volume.

There is a steady evolution and it’s always fun to see leaps in thinking thrown together into a concise  set of papers forming a book.