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Cnc Bait-Making Wood-Carving Machines Under $1400

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I agree with Hughesy, this sort of caper needs money thrown at it. Others have been down this road, sorry cannot remember user names. You are limited to machining two halves, to be glued together, which may not be a bad thing. But, the main drawback is the machining time and you are still left with surface finish problems to solve.

 

If you are mechanically savvy enough to be thinking this route, then you are probably capable of designing and building a duplicator. Yes, you have to make the master by hand, but the reproduction times are down to 2 or 3 minutes. You can probably make the machine for a couple hundred too.

 

Dave

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Hobby 3D CNC technology already exists, and several free 3D software design tools are currently available, so it seems that a lure-making machine could be plausible for people wanting to pursue making their own baits in an automated fashion.  The cost of the associated table-top equipment; however, might indeed be twice the originally posted number.. 

 

If there were such a machine, and it were capable of CNCing only balsa wood, how many do you think could be sold at a $2,800 price point?

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I tried using a lathe on a hardwood blank that I would've normally shaped with a belt sander.  I was really surprised at the results.  It cuts sanding time by about 75%

 

I've been trying to post a pic of this unfinished lure just to give you an idea but it's not accepting the pic even after being re-sized.

 

If you're interested PM me your email and I'll gladly send you a pic.

 

s54

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I have a small CNC Taig I use for cutting baits and molds...  It takes alot more time than you'd think between CAD modeling the bait, programing the machining of the parts and then actually cutting them.

 

The Taig is a pretty good all around machine and there are a few people selling them ready to connect to a computer that would cut balsa baits with no issue.  You'd still need software (CAD) to generate you baits, plus software to run the CNC mill, a computer and mills, clamps, etc.  You can probably get a pretty good setup for $3500... if you check EBAY you might find something used for a bit cheaper.... 1400 would be real tough unless you went with something fairly cheap and small like a MAxNC 5.... but you'd be limited with a machine like that.

 

The real benefit of CNC is repeatability.... otherwise it's fairly time consuming and with smaller machine speed and size is an issue.

 

  J.

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Hello Guys and Gals - I'm new to this forum and lure making in general, although I am not new to fishing or rapid prototyping. I think I can provide some avenues of support for this topic from my design engineering background.

 

One option for subtractive machining (CNC) would be a small, low horsepower tabletop unit. Ive had my eyes on this model for some time now. DIYCNC.com

For under 1000.00 you can have a prebuilt unit ready to go (minus software)

 

Another option would be calling a rapid prototyping firm (SLA, FDM, etc), I use  Laser Reproductions here in columbus on a weekely basis. Great guys and pretty cost effective for making molds if you value your time at all. Google them and check out their capabilities.

 

Here's the catch, no matter what you will need a CAD file to send to your own machine, or a rapid prototyping firm. I dont want to break any forum rules with this post by selling my services or advertising.

 

All I will say to you is PM me if you would be interested getting help making molds, baits, or CAD file generation. I am in process of taking someones carved bait and recreating it in CAD so that a master can be made as well as a mold. I essentially do this process for a living, just not with fishing lures :|  but maybe someday!

 

Here's a couple pictures of what I have done with a couple of my own designs, these are built with a 3D printer(google it if your new to this technology!!). First timer here, be gentle haha

 

Walk alot, top

Walk alot, iso

Crankbait #1, iso

Crankbait #1, iso

Crankbait #1, top

Crankbait #1, inner

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The 3D CAD program of interest here is the free "123D Design" program by AutoDesk (the folks that make AutoCAD).  Thus far, the initial assessment of 123D Design indicates that it is quite easy to use compared to other free 3D CAD programs previously investigated (e.g., Blender).

 

OhioAngler - Which 3D printer do you use?

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B B - I have direct access to a Dimension Printer, its about 8 years old but with a resolition of .010" a little bit of sanding is all the prep required for painting.

 

Also, with the CAD software, I use Solidworks and Pro E. Both being very expensive for the average Joe, but very powerful for surfacing detail that making a quality lure requires. I am not saying it cant be done with free software, just might require some practice. Ive been using CAD for 8 years now and it still causes me headaches at times. Dont give up if your new to it! A little practice goes a long ways!

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One option for subtractive machining (CNC) would be a small, low horsepower tabletop unit. Ive had my eyes on this model for some time now. DIYCNC.com

 

I believe that the correct web address is http://mydiycnc.com  The one you listed is not a available site.

Your correct, I was in a hurry yesterday. Excuse my inaccuracies, I'd love to see some of the work others have done with 3-d printing, or CNC! Anyone out there?

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I use CATIA V5 for all my design, one of the top engineering industry design tools. It would be fairly easy to get a free copy as I believe Dassau (the owner) put free copies out there, so engineers can learn the software, thus improving its popularity.

 

The problem is that it is complex and difficult to learn unless you have someone to show you the way.

 

Dave

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The referenced MyDIYCNC machine price surely is attractive.

My friend has one. Said he had issues with electro-static discharge, and the motor controller case was not very good. But once he fixed those he said its not a bad machine.

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I use CATIA V5 for all my design, one of the top engineering industry design tools. It would be fairly easy to get a free copy as I believe Dassau (the owner) put free copies out there, so engineers can learn the software, thus improving its popularity.

 

The problem is that it is complex and difficult to learn unless you have someone to show you the way.

 

Dave

 

I found Hexagon 3D to be useful for the modeling software. Its free and I found a really cool website with nearly 100 video tutorials on a wide variety of topics. The nice thing about the Hexagon crowd is they tend to focus on lifelike shapes/creatures which matches well with fish. 

 

I wouldn't recommend it for any serious engineering work but it certainly does its job for manipulating a fish. 

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I wonder if we can start a thread of CAD images, or would they have to go in the gallery. It is part of the build process, so I think it is valid as a thread, to show what is possible. I never visit the gallery, so I wouldn't be interested in that.

 

Maybe Gerry and the mods could give a ruling.

 

Dave

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I used inventor to design my bait. Although I am only using this as a template at the moment. I am in the process of trying to figure out a simple fixturing process to machine these from blanks. As of now I am leaning towards a two operation process, one for each side. Then I would manually remove the ends. I have seen a few duplicating machines on youtube that have the fixturing down pretty good.

 

I have put this project on hold as I debate on just switching my materials from wood to foam.

 

1195_27_12_12_1_43_56.jpeg1195_27_12_12_1_42_31.jpeg

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A-Mac thats great! Have fun with it! If I see enough of a demand for CAD modeling practice help Im thinking about doing a tutorial on model feature organization/design intent.

 

Not sure how much experience you have with CAD programs but I'm always willing to help!

 

Its one thing to build a model that looks the way you want it to, but its a completly different story to build that model with the robustness required when you start tweaking dimensions and dont want to go back and rebuild half the model. I use these platforms for a living and I'm still learning these techniques so its not an overnight deal, but for me it beats carving a model by hand(even though I hail to the guys on here that do).

 

One cool feature you should check out is to import a JPEG of a crawdad, shad, bluegill, etc. and use that image as an underlay to create your sketches for buidling the surface model. Takes a little bit of the artistry learning curve out of it, because its all about the ratios between the physical features of the animal to make it look "real".

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