(PART 2) Magic Board Now Captured in true 3D

Here is a glimpse into how the boards look post 3d scanned and digitized. Too many minutiae of procedures between this new post and the previous post there were literally 100's of steps just to get to this stage.

This method of attaining this type of detail takes some time to gather, there are no short cuts with this method. All of the popular over the counter machines and turn key shaping systems rely on the slice method of rendering to cut boards. The problem with slices is the CAD surfaces are in interpolated numeric’s (interpolated meaning interpreted, surfaces created by numerical algorithms and not the actual surface of the board). Shapers with a keen eye will notice that the interpolated surfaces once cut is not remotely close to the actual shape. (Actually, it doesn't take a keen eye. It's quite evident.)

The process I prefer is done with absolute numeric’s. Working with absolute numeric’s there are no distortion issues as associated with slices and interpolated numeric’s when scaling.

All these steps are taken before the board is shaped or glassed. To scan and digitize a board in absolute numerics is a 2 day process alone. Not including the time to clean up the shape.

This is what the actual board to be scanned looks like after the surface has been cleaned up.

This is just an outline preview from the tool paths compensated. The red lines indicate 12" at nose, wide point, 12" tail.

Tool paths, when generating tool paths I prefer to keep different sections of the board on different levels. Hence the different colors = different levels. Levels allow me to control different aspects of the shape individually. If you look closely there are 5 different levels of deck and rail cuts, each section can be controlled individually. The tightest toolpaths are at the apex of rail line for full rail detail, this detail is also on the bottom tucked rail. Complete rail detail top and bottom.


Here's another board going through the same process.

This a preview of what the actual finished outline looks like on the CAD.

This is what the toolpath of the tool looks like in the CAD. If you notice, the lines are much fuller than the actual shape, this is because the colored lines are cutter compensated. The lines are the actual path of the tool used, not the actual shape itself.