Poker Chip Tray

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shashster
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Poker Chip Tray

Post by shashster »

So I am a CNC Noob. I want to make some poker chip trays but I am stuck with how to make tool path that can cut out a 40mm channel to place poker chips. Googling has failed me and i'm wondering if someone could give me some words of wisdom how to accomplish this or point me to someone that has already described this.

Many Thank.

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gkas
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Re: Poker Chip Tray

Post by gkas »

shashster wrote:So I am a CNC Noob. I want to make some poker chip trays but I am stuck with how to make tool path that can cut out a 40mm channel to place poker chips. Googling has failed me and i'm wondering if someone could give me some words of wisdom how to accomplish this or point me to someone that has already described this.

Many Thank.
shahster,

This is from a work in progress of mine. I drew this from the spec of the project by "The Wood Whisperer" https://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/. The 40mm slot on his project isn't quite correct. A lot of sanding would be needed. When I put the 2 trays together, they didn't lock correctly when I added real chips. The files do, however, have all the correct procedures for using a moulding toolpath to cut the slots. Play around with some cheap wood to get it right. If you go to the WW site, you can get the pdf and Sketchup files. I didn't post them because of the copyright. The CRV files are all mine. They need some minor cleanup for fitting. They're right in the midst of that as they stand.
Poker Chip Tray Sides - 2 Piece.crv
(177.5 KiB) Downloaded 231 times
Poker Chip Trays_2.crv
(362.5 KiB) Downloaded 186 times

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FixitMike
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Re: Poker Chip Tray

Post by FixitMike »

Use multiple parallel fluting toolpaths. Note that the vectors are used to determine the path of the center of the end of the end mill, so the full width of the channel is wider than the lengths of the vectors by the tool radius on both ends.
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Rcnewcomb
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Re: Poker Chip Tray

Post by Rcnewcomb »

some words of wisdom
Watch the video tutorials

Watch them again and follow along



The tutorials will help you know when to use:
a profile toolpath
a pocket toolpath
a fluting toolpath
a V-Carve toolpath
a moulding toolpath
a 3D roughing and finish toolpath

There are at least 5 different ways to do what you described. Take the time to learn the basics so you can decide which method is best for you.
- Randall Newcomb
10 fingers in, 10 fingers out, another good day in the shop

shashster
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:40 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Shapeoko 3

Re: Poker Chip Tray

Post by shashster »

This is from a work in progress of mine. I drew this from the spec of the project by "The Wood Whisperer" https://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/. The 40mm slot on his project isn't quite correct. A lot of sanding would be needed. When I put the 2 trays together, they didn't lock correctly when I added real chips. The files do, however, have all the correct procedures for using a moulding toolpath to cut the slots. Play around with some cheap wood to get it right. If you go to the WW site, you can get the pdf and Sketchup files. I didn't post them because of the copyright. The CRV files are all mine. They need some minor cleanup for fitting. They're right in the midst of that as they stand.
This is super helpful thanks so much. I was also taking inspiration from the wood whisperer but couldn't figure out the tool paths. hopefully I can do some experimenting this week!

Rick O.
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Re: Poker Chip Tray

Post by Rick O. »

When making chip trays, it is a good idea to measure several stacks of the actual chips that will be stored in the tray. Otherwise, the slots may not be quite the right length, or width, to hold the desired number of chips.

Both the thickness of poker chips and diameter will vary slightly, depending on the grade, manufacturer, and wear. Most modern consumer-grade chips are proprietary blends of injection molded polymer with a metal washer inside, so are slightly thicker to allow for the metal weight and still allow the composite coating to have reasonable wall thickness.
Also, consumer chips sold as having "inlays" generally just have a label stuck into a slight recess molded into the chip. That vinyl or paper label might be thicker than the recess, changing the overall thickness of the chip a tiny bit. These slight variations are not especially noticeable on a single chip, but add up when making a stack of 20 to 50 chips. Metal-core consumer-grade chips may also warp slightly if monogrammed with a hot-stamp machine, which also affects the height of a stack of chips.
A stack of twenty-five traditional casino-grade chips (8.5 to 10-grams) will usually be about 1 chip shorter than a stack of modern consumer type (11.5 to 14 gram) chips. In addition, chip diameter might be slightly larger. Commercially made Lucite chip trays are molded in two different sizes to fit these different chips styles: 40mm and 41.5mm.
RickO

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