DIY CNC - routing a guitar fretboard with Fusion360 and bCNC

[@cccreativewood2182]

Hi, Just a note to let you know that your instructions are great. They are the clearest I have been able to find , and when I have a question i can find the answer either by looking at the comments to the videos or by simply watching over again. In the process now of my first scratch build guitar, and it is going very well. My thanks to you, and i hope you are doing well in these troubling times. Warm regards

[@Audiohotshot]

That's great to hear! Have fun drawing!

[@sistershighwoods]

Please tell me how you set up the toolpaths for the fret slots!? Thanks!

[@Audiohotshot]

Please have a look at this blog of mine... www.audiohotshot.nl/routing-the-fretboard-with-fusion360-and-bcnc/ Hope this helps!

[@MarkGutierrez]

So you set the Z position for the .06mm bit on the stock? Not the fretboard? Fusion is smart enough to know the new Z height of the contoured fretboard? Do you run all 4 operations together? Or separately? If you run them all together how do you tell Fusion to pause for the bit change? Great vid and blog post!

[@Audiohotshot]

Correct. The z position for the fret slots operation is set from the top of the stock. Every operation is referenced from the same point. If I would reference from the top of the fretboard I would get an inaccurate z zero offset. I usually make different gcode files for operations which need a tool change. That also the reason why I try to minimize tool changes overall. In this case I obviously have to. So my first gcode file has all shaping operations with the bigger tool. The second file has only got the fret slot operations for the .06mm tool. Because of the different length of the tool used, I need to re-reference Z zero for the .06mm tool, x and y remain unchanged. Every gcode file stops at the end. Then I can make a tool change, and only re align z zero for the next operation with the second gcode file. Hope this is clear! Let me know :-)

[@deaneholland2464]

Great stuff, have you machined Richlite boards before and what feeds and speeds do you recommend for the tool paths, especially the 0.06mm bit? Cheers

[@Audiohotshot]

​@@deaneholland2464 I have not tried Richlite boards. I recommend you take a quick look on my website for specific details in regards to settings. I posted a picture with all settings for the fretslots and recommendations for the depth per pass (keep it less than 0.3mm, it'll crush your 0.6mm bit...) :-) Hope this helps! www.audiohotshot.nl/routing-the-fretboard-with-fusion360-and-bcnc/

[@rob182935]

Thanks for video, but how do you set a number of depth passes for the 0.6mm trace I don't seem to have that option?

[@Audiohotshot]

It is called "axial offset". You can find it in the Passes tab of the Trace job. There you can set the depth of the cut and choose axial offset passes as well. I did 0.3 per pass, but I strongly advise you do 0.1 orso (0.3 destroyed my 0.6mm bit, lesson learned there :-) Have a look at my article on my blog for details: www.audiohotshot.nl/routing-the-fretboard-with-fusion360-and-bcnc/

[@rob182935]

@@Audiohotshot thanks for the reply very helpful. I broke a few 0.6mm bits doing the fret slots, definitely the passes were too deep.

[@Audiohotshot]

I know, it hurts every time that happens.. :-)

[@patrickmohney6619]

Hello! Great video. I’ve been putting off the fretboard until last on my build. I’ve successfully milled the board itself and the perimeter. But my fret slots say it’s going to take 3 hrs to cut! I’ve broken two mills. Here is what I’ve got for setup. Shapeoko 3XXL .5 mm end mill 150 mm/min 10,000 rpm .5 mm/pass depth It runs well at that setup, but it’s taking 3 hrs. Any insight on your feeds and speeds? I see yours took about an hour. I’d love to even cut my mill time in half.

[@Audiohotshot]

You can read all the details on my blog; www.audiohotshot.nl/routing-the-fretboard-with-fusion360-and-bcnc/ This might give you an idea how to speed up the process a bit. Hope this helps!

[@patrickmohney6619]

Awesome! Thanks. I will check it out.

[@patrickmohney6619]

I see your note says to take off less than .3 mm. What did you end up with per pass in the end?

[@Audiohotshot]

Out of the top of my head; .1 mm orso.

[@patrickmohney6619]

I tried .2 mm. 24000 rpm. 900 mm/min. And it broke. But I’m milling white oak. I will keep playing with it! Thank you.

[@subd3]

Do you have a better explainer video for guys that are totally new to CAM. I feel ya really glazed over the details.

[@Audiohotshot]

Would you mind telling me what you feel is missing?