Recently in Project Examples Category

We made some of these custom fit iPad frames for a show in the Department of Art's Quarter Gallery. This version is cut from MDF, however the frame could be cut from any type of wood. It could also be stained or painted according to display needs.

SFDS is a Fabrication and Design shop located in Brooklyn, NY. They create props, furniture and scenery for a variety of clients and use the CNC router as a major tool in their shop. Below are just a few examples of some of the exciting work being created.

This piece was part of FriendsWithYou's Rainbow City installation from 2011 in NY.

One of the SFDS employees, Kevin Kleber, has a fantastic Tumblr site called cnckevin. It has many great images of the projects he is working on there.

Former University of Minnesota Professor Ali Momeni (currently a Professor at Carnegie Mellon) is teaching a class at CMU titled Digital Fabrication for the Arts. Students are using Rhino/Rhino CAM along with a lasercutter and 2.5 axis router to create a wide array of work.

See examples below, visit their blog for links, references and more work examples.

A new book has just come out that focuses on the use of the CNC Router and lasercutter with print processes. It's called Post-Digital Printmaking: CNC, Traditional and Hybrid Techniques by Paul Cantanese and Angela Geary of Columbia College in Chicago. The book covers the brief history of technology in printmaking and explains exactly what it means by "Post-Digital"- using technology to create a number of matrices that can be manipulated in physical ways. It also features chapters going inside the studios of various artists who use the CNC as an integral part of their practice.

On page 39 you'll notice a page devoted to the Artemio Rodriguez print that was routed here on the Department of Art's router by technician Robin Schwartzman for the 2010 Mid-America Print Council Conference.

This book is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in learning more about integrating digital technologies with printmaking. Not convinced? You can read a thorough review over at Printeresting.

Doug Haffner creates signs, murals and themed environments using the CNC as one of his key tools. His journal tracks new projects and steps in the process.

The Big Box Menagerie was a project made by Dept. of Art Router Tech Robin Schwartzman as part of Sideshow Soo, hosted by SooVac at the Pat's Tap Block Party in August 2012.

The initial digital drawing was done using Adobe Illustrator. The vector lines of both the box and animals were then imported into EnRoute4 as .eps files, where she created dimensional reliefs in the wheels, detailing and banner. Everything was toolpathed in EnRoute and cut on the Forest Scientific here in the Dept. of Art.

The pieces were painted and assembled together to create the final box. Participants could crawl into it and pose with their favorite animal for a photo.

The Cutting Room, a commercial routing shop in the UK, is doing a number of large scale, beautiful projects. They make anything from doors and panels to lettering and signs to desks and benches.

Graduate students Daniel Dean and Ryan Wurst worked on a project for the Minneapolis Arboretum called Underground Sound. This field of sonic flowers allows viewers to listen to the sounds of the earth via giant megaphones.

The mold for the megaphone was designed in Rhino and imported into Enroute as an .STL. We created all the toolpathing in EnRoute. The form was cut in pieces on the CNC router using a 1/2" wide by 3.5" tall ball nose bit. Because our router only has a 6" z-clearance, Daniel glued together panel board to be 3.5" deep and divided the megaphone up into various sections. Once cut, the sections were glued together to create the final form, which was then used as a mold for the fiberglass.

The router has been busy, as we've been creating some signs for different areas of the Art Department, including the Tool Crib, 3D lab and e-studio.

The Department of Art CNC Router Technician Robin Schwartzman completed her giant letter project THINK AND WONDER, WONDER AND THINK for Northern Spark this past June. Each letter was 8' tall by varying widths. They were designed in EnRoute and cut in pieces out of 1/2" MDF using a ShopBot Buddy with a 4' x 8' bed and 1/2" end mill bit. The router belongs to the shops of American Woodworker Magazine, where editor Randy Johnson was very generous in volunteering his time and knowledge to help make this project happen.

Here you can see the daytime view. Each letter was painted red with exterior latex paint.

This is a nighttime view of the word WONDER from the Guthrie Theater. Photo courtesy of Mill City Times.

And here is a panorama shot focusing on THINK taken during the festival.