CNC Woodworking Room

The CNC Woodworking Room is one of the rooms at North Forge.

Room precautions

edit at CNC Woodworking Room/Precautions
The following is a general overview of precautions for the CNC Woodworking Room. Please consult training documents and SWPs for more specific information as there is a lot that can go wrong with the CNC equipment.

Safety

DRAFT: Do not operate CNC machinery unattended

edit this at template:Do not run CNC tools unattended

Do not operate CNC machinery unattended. A camera feed while you are in another room does not qualify as attending the tool.
The law (see 16.13) says that we can not leave a machine unattended unless the machine or part has been (a) immobilized and secured against movement; or (b) enclosed by a safeguard to prevent access by any other worker to the machine or part.
- The Shopbots themselves are not enclosed. The CNC Woodworking Room contains tools in addition to the shopbots, and those tools may be used by other workers. This means we must not run our CNC machinery unattended.
And here is some anecdotal evidence on top of it
We have actually had at least 2 fires on CNC equipment at the fablab

for all	Safety1 Flagging as contentious safety concern.

other safety concerns

Fire: always use appropriate feeds and speeds, use appropriate tools for the job, always watch the CNC so you can respond quickly
Dust (wear min. N95)
Noise - wear hearing protection. Note that it can be hard to tell if the tool has stopped when you're wearing hearing protection.
Projectiles: tools and workpieces can shatter. Use appropriate feeds and speeds, make sure the tool and spindle won't crash into the workpiece, fixtures/clamps. Clean the tool holder with compressed air so the tool doesn't slip.

Housekeeping

The CNC equipment generates lots of dust. Please clean the floor and equipment thoroughly
Fire code prohibits storing wood stock in the CNC room (fixtures and spoilboards are OK). Store fixtures and spoilboards on the red cart - make sure it is labelled with your name and phone number or it may be thrown out.
Overfilled dust collectors can cause fires. Empty the Cyclone dust collector after every job. Empty the main dust collector when the dust is halfway up the viewing window (around 1 garbage bag worth).
Turn off the vacuum and dust collector when you're done.
Turn off the room exhaust if you are the last one in the room.

Workholding

Do not glue, nail or screw into the main spoilboard.
Don't cut more than 1/16" into the main spoilboard - do a small test piece with a secondary spoilboard if required.
- Rule of thumb: Add 0.01" to your depth of cut when cutting all the way through - this should go through the material while minimally cutting into the spoilboard
- Always measure your stock with calipers (don't rely on nominal thickness or tape measures)
Vacuum system may not work with pieces smaller than 24" x 48"

List of tools

The CNC Woodworking Room contains the following tools:

List of PCs

The CNC Woodworking Room contains the following PCs:

List of Training Sessions

The following Training Sessions are available for this room

Training Session	Trainer(s)	Cost	Duration	Tool(s)
ShopBot CNC Router Training	Paolo Riva	$94.50	180	ShopBot 3-Axis CNC Mill