So I'm 17, I will be a senior in high school when school starts next week. I go to a magnet school in cali, which has emphasis on science & technology. Due to such emphasis they require students to produce a "senior project" to present to a panel of judges to graduate, I was thinking of doing something very special. After reading several possibly misleading posts about CNC machines and how easy they are to use, I was thinking about buying my own, milling my own plug, getting molds off the plug, getting the fiberglass from the molds, and building my own kit car.
If this sounds too far fetched to do or complete within 10 months please let me know what I am getting into. Before anyone says what "experience" I need, my father is a auto mechanic, has restored over 10 classic cars completely, knows welding, fiberglass, etc.
The guys here say it could take years to put a tube chassis car together, unless your dad is a wizard in this stuff and will be putting in lots of his time to help you.
I have experience with Autodesk Inventor which I've used to design my own robot for class, etc. I just want a genuine answer, is it possible for someone with the resources I have access to, to complete such a project. Please tell me how hard it is to mill the car plug, to get the mold, to to get the fiberglass or to build the car. I would appreciate it if members would let me know how expensive it is to purchase a CNC milling machine, I know it will be cheaper than buying a pre-built body kit, can choose whatever I want to make, I ensure the accuracy. What are those CNC machine kits I've heard about?
Depends on your budget, the larger the machine the less slices you'll need to do. The Aventador thread is good on CNC information... some of the harder parts are putting the electronics together with tuning the machine and learning Mach3 software.
Kits
Pricing guide to DIY CNC mill and router kits « Ponoko – Blog
Is it better to mill a unibody plug to get a unibody mold? If so then I would need a 5axis instead of 3axis? Which would be easier?
A 3axis machine can make pretty much all shapes if you cut it in enough slices and glue all the foam section together. 5 axis machine are in the 10k+ price range I think.
I know there are certain computer requirements and software, I have all of that taken car of, built my own computer, it is a true BEAST, I can get the necessary programs, and I have the necessary space to complete such a project. I just want to quickly describe the process, or what I think is how this works. With a CNC machine I can use it to make a foam plug from any 3d file, I can transfer these files from games like Forza 4 or Gran Turismo 5 which have basically 100% accurate designs of these cars, interior as well. Once I mill the plug, I cover it in the molding material, then I have the mold. Then I get the parts by filling the molds with fiberglass (I am not sure how this works, or what technique is used PLEASE someone tell me). Then I have the body kit. I would also love to know if I can mill the interior of the car, and if that would work? So then I can get the molds of the interior? More info on that please. I
Sounds about right, yeah you can do interiors, carving custom foam seats maybe a challenge.
f I go ahead with this it is almost written in stone for an Ferrari Enzo, maybe a Reventon. I would really appreciate if anyone could bring all of these questions to rest. Oh, and this would be my first car too
. Thanks, I'll throw more questions as I remember them!!! I appreciate anyone to take their time and help me out!
If you love those cars, Reventon bodies are already out there and I think some builders in Spain have made an Enzo. You can fly out there, buy the kit, and ship it back yourself.
~ Chris.
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Originally Posted by Z3usee
