[Jewelry making - Article 00619] - Re: [Orchid] CNC under $30K?

[Andrew Werby]

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Chuck

    It's certainly possible to get a CNC mill for that amount of money
    or less that will hold those tolerances. But an Additive Rapid
    Prototyping system that's that accurate would be difficult to get
    for that price unless you got a used machine or a special deal on a
    new one. Either alternative would probably get you there; the CNC
    option would work with RhinoCAM, while you'd need other software like
    Magics for instance, with the RP system, to clean up the geometry and
    generate the supports that make it possible to build the parts in
    space. A CNC system would let you make parts in any material the
    machine could carve, but it's limited to surfaces that can be
    reached by your cutting tools. The RP systems allow more design
    freedom, since there are no restrictions like that - you can make
    parts with all sorts of undercuts, balls within balls, even whole
    gear trains where everything turns if you rotate one part. But of
    course if you need to cast and/or finish these parts, you'll still
    need to reach them somehow.. 

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com
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