ABET
From SeniorDesign
Contents |
[edit] CNC Router Team
Jeremy Shively, Tom Blauvelt, Elliot Long, Paul Vincent
[edit] Manfacturability
The idea behind our project is not necessarily to make it easy to manufacture but rather make it easy for a hobbyist to build. The CNC Router will be designed in such a way that anyone interested in completing this project will be able to easily order the parts they need and follow our instructions to create a working product. We will write out an easy to follow, steps by step guide that will detail how to build the CNC Router. We will also make the source code for our project available for anyone to use and modify for their specific needs. Even though it is not a priority, our final product will be easy to manufacture as a result of using everyday parts.
[edit] Economic
There are financial limitations to our project. One of our major goals is to keep the build process as cheap as possible so the general public can replicate our work. We will research all the parts of the machine and tools needed to assemble it. With the knowledge gained we will be able to determine the value of each part and establish how much capital to put towards it. The software we develop will remain open source and will work with a typical CAD file type. It’s in our interest to keep the CNC router inexpensive because we alone are covering the expenses to construct and program it.
[edit] Sustainability
Our project will have a lifetime beyond our senior year of school. Hobbyist will be able to use our design and specifications for years to come to build their own CNC Routers at a low cost. We will ensure this by making all of our records pertaining to the project readily available for public use. While this information will be available on our wiki site we may post notes on our completed process to other hobbyists sites such as www.instructables.com. This would allow a wider range of people easy access to our material. This option would also allow for outside feedback from hobbyist through message boards allowing the project to remain viable through technological advancements.
[edit] Social
Many inventions that we rely on daily were thought up, designed, created, and tested in the garages of tinkerers and hobbyists who had great ideas but not a lot of money. CNC routers allow people to design parts on their computers, then consistently and easily cut those parts out of materials of their choice. The problem is that the typical, basic, off the shelf CNC router costs at least $3000. For a person that just wants to tinker in their garage, this is beyond their means. A lower cost, well designed, and easily manufactured CNC router would allow that same person to build their own CNC router that would enable them to start work on what they are really interested in. The lower cost also means that students who cannot afford to buy an off the shelf solution but want to learn more about CNC routers could follow our designs and have a working router in a short amount of time. By designing our CNC router to be low cost while still maintaining quality we will enable a new generation of tinkerers and hobbyists to contribute to society more fully.
