Finger/Box Joint Software

[Bob Eustace]

Excellent concept Gert. Hope you perfect it.

[khalid]

Excellent as usual What programming language you use

[zeykr]

Very Nice!

[Burkhardt]

Thanks guys, this is a fun project. And probably more useful than mazes for other wood workers. I am envisioning to expand this with a kind of box/drawer wizard so that you just input the outer dimensions and it cuts everything automatically from a board or a sheet without drawing a single line in CAD.

On the practical side, I am struggling a bit with the clamping. The boards have to be held down flat better than 20/1000" or the joint will have visible gaps on the inside. That is easy with plywood sheet but boards are usually a bit warped or cupped. A surface skim would help but is not really practical. Any ideas?

Khalid: I am almost embarrassed to admit but I never got the hang of VB or other more modern visual tools. All my PC code is written in text based Liberty Basic (and compiled with the R.T. Russels' Liberty Basic Booster tool). It makes the GUI a bit more work since it is not as simple as dragging boxes on the screen but I have all the code in one piece. I am just not a professional and old dog refusing new tricks. For microcontroller code I use Forth, an even more arcane programming language.

[dlcw]

On the practical side, I am struggling a bit with the clamping. The boards have to be held down flat better than 20/1000" or the joint will have visible gaps on the inside. That is easy with plywood sheet but boards are usually a bit warped or cupped. A surface skim would help but is not really practical. Any ideas?

Here is the board clamp down method I use. It is comprised of 3/4" MDO with tracks. I made simple hardwood hold down clamps for the tracks. I put the MDO on the CNC table, turn on the vacuum and it sucks the MDO flat as a pancake. I make sure my boards are flat using traditional flattening methods (jointer, planer, etc.) then use a wide drum sander to take any snipe out of the board. Then sand it using an ROS.

[Greencarvings]

This has already been done.

http://johnminor.com/bxjnt/


http://johnminor.com/dwrmkr/

[Burkhardt]

This has already been done.

http://johnminor.com/bxjnt/


http://johnminor.com/dwrmkr/

Well, it shows that great minds think alike

Interesting web based program and it does use the same principle of surface rounding. But if I see it right it can only do full depth finger lengths, even width and apparently no half-blind joints. This was actually the difficult part where I got stuck for a long time.

So, looks like there may be some additional utility in my program and I will surely continue to work on it. I find it also more convenient having a stand-alone program. I can make a change to the joint definition, check the resulting tool path and look at a cut simulation in less than a minute.

[khalid]

Khalid: I am almost embarrassed to admit but I never got the hang of VB or other more modern visual tools. All my PC code is written in text based Liberty Basic (and compiled with the R.T. Russels' Liberty Basic Booster tool). It makes the GUI a bit more work since it is not as simple as dragging boxes on the screen but I have all the code in one piece. I am just not a professional and old dog refusing new tricks. For microcontroller code I use Forth, an even more arcane programming language.

Ohhh ....Thats a hell of work you doing then. However, this make you a perfect programmer. I bit you can program anything what you have in your mind
If you learn Visual Basic then you can make a CAD/CAM software without spending too much time on GUI
I really appreciate your efforts and programming skills

[Burkhardt]

You guys are bad company. It never occurred to me that I need a thickness sander. But since some of you mentioned it and I had a bit of trouble getting the boards flat enough, I ordered a drum sander. Oh well, I am telling my wife that will help keep me busy in retirement in a few years.

Obviously I can not afford one of the nice professional machines (or would have the space). But looking at reviews for moderately priced machines I opted for the Jet 16-32. I hope this is not a toy but let's see how far that will get me.

I did cut the parts for my first real project. Since the program is not totally reliable yet I used simple 1/2" BB plywood. I will do the next project in some prettier lumber.

This is a simple 14" x 9.5" x 4.5" box. My software makes the tool paths for the 4 side boards including joints, bottom/top rabbets and side cutout. There is still a bug making the rabbet come out to the side (see 2nd pic).

I used VcarvePro for the top and bottom as well as for slicing the lid off the finished brick with a 1/16" x 2" dia slotting cutter in the spindle. Now, I hope nobody will tell me I need a table saw to do that better.

[scottp55]

Here you go G. (For your new cabinet saw)