Custom Centrosaurus Dinosaur Model: CNC Laser Cutting

Today we’ll review a relatively simple custom centrosaur dinosaur model I designed a long time ago and cut with our Austrian CNC laser in CNCROi.com‘s shop.

Models are how I began, I taught myself to design and build them and sold these models and kits all around the world for the better part of the past decade.

As CNCROi.com does totally custom work for a wide variety of customers, I though it would be fun to review a simple model to give you an idea of the flexibility we can offer your business, using a dinosaur model as a prop.

Making a custom dinosaur model is really no different from designing a custom corporate award, making unique plaques, coasters or going into flat pack furniture production for me, it’s really all the same and the process start to finish is straight forward as well.

In this case, it’s a dinosaur model that fits in my hand, but this could have been made to be 10 ft tall, it could have been transformed into just about anything, from a small key chain into a larger exterior wooden sign.

As for materials, again, as we make everything on-demand, CNCROi.com could have cut this out of solid Corian just as easily as acrylic, laminate, lamacoids or even engraved this dinosaur model in perspective into solid stone.

The incredible flexibility we can offer you using an endless mix and match of materials, sizing options and color variations is endless.

In this case, it’s simple 1/4″ or 6 mm plywood, the above picture shows it with masking still on while the one below shows the results after it has been removed.

The masking on the surface protects the dinosaur model from smoke and resin stains, there is still a little that gets through but it’s a fraction of what would be there otherwise and sanding plywood isn’t advisable so it’s the best way to efficiently make something.

Plywood doesn’t need any special glues either, just normal white carpenter’s glue is more than adequate for this application, the spacing with the Lego blocks you see below is to prevent the wheels from being glued at an angle.

Generally, we make these types of model flat packed, and then the end-user glues them together however they with.

Now that the glue is dry, you can see that all the laser burned edges provide a wonderful contrast to the dinosaur model, that’s what is nice about wood, built-in contrast!

Of course, there is more than one way of integrating contrast onto wood, including old-school method of just traditional wood burning.

As you saw in the above video, our CNC router by contrast, produces no wood burned edges so it must be added after the fact.

The disadvantage to traditional wood burning it that it takes a lot more time to achieve a similar result that our CNC laser produces at the same time it’s cutting things out.

Here’s a video of me cutting this same model but using our CNC router so you can get an understanding of the benefits that each of these technologies offers you.

Before the first cut or engraving is done, we produce a 3D model, it helps us communicate to you and you to us, what you want and don’t want in a custom model.

This is why we can offer you endless flexibility when it comes to making custom projects such as these, across a huge variety of media and design options.

We always start-off virtual and work our way to physical, that way, we waste electrons and not material, making production efficient and far more cost-effective when it comes to repeatable personalized results.

If you are wondering how we can convert a design into something bigger scale, check out this custom kangaroo shelf I designed and cut, this could have just as easily been this centrosaur dinosaur model as the steps are the same.

The custom centrosaur dinosaur model can now be joined-up with its friends, they look like a happy bunch!

If you are looking for a custom dinosaur model or just about anything, contact me at CNCROi.com!