Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello friends
i want to carve neck for my guitars .
very new with cnc concept.
i have a VMC near my neighbour hood.
so want to know which is better CNC or VMC.
can any one provide 3d drawings for the necks?
waiting for ur replies

CNC means Computer Numerical Control....which describes any machine with automated movement directed by code.

VMC is a type of CNC machine...Vertical Machining Center...the most common type of production milling machine where the spindle moves up and down vertically. 3D movement occurs by the up and down motion of the spindle (z movement) and the table to which the stock is affixed moving horizontally (x y movement). VMC machines are prevalent in a typical CNC machine shop that makes metal parts. A machine shop that has a VMC is likely only cutting metal and will likely not cut wood.

The usual CNC machine used by luthiers, door makers, and other wood workers a called a CNC router....which is not a VMC. On a router the stock is attached to a flat, stable tabletop and the cutter travels the x, y, and z axis by means of a gantry suspended over the tabletop which holds the spindle.

I don't do cad work for others but there may be someone else on this board that is interested in working with you.

_________________
I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

Thanks sir for ur reply.
can u tell me which is more useful?
i should search for a CNC router to carve necks?
and 3 axis machine will be useful for us?

A VMC is more useful for cutting metals.

A CNC Router is more useful for cutting wood.

3-axis is usually enough for guitar work. Software starts getting pretty expensive beyond 4 axes.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

CNC routers aren't all moving gantry, and VMCs aren't all knee mills. Nice CNC routers are fixed bridge, and -really- nice VMCs are fixed or moving bridge.

And that isn't really all that important...but I am using the frame from a fixed bridge CNC router to make a fixed bridge CNC mill which I'll call a VMC once I put a tool changer and an enclosure on it.

You're likely to get a higher standard of work out of a shop using a VMC, but less likely that they'll agree to cut wood and even less likely that they're very efficient at it (so it'll be expensive).

_________________
Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

The CNC cops will bust you.

_________________
http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

yes sir
he is charging per hour basis. which is not very cost effective
may i know how many hours it will need to carve a neck from VMC.

Setup and program optimization are the big costs, and the time to machine varies as a result of those. You can carve a neck to a finish that needs less than 30 sec of sanding in 12 minutes if you're set up right, but it'll take two hours if you're not. Making the CAD files, the toolpaths, and the fixtures to hold a neck being machined takes many hours.

You want to find someone who already makes guitar necks if you hope to get a low price with small numbers.

_________________
Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services