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10. Textile Scaffold

Inspiration

Shobori textures & CNC milling

inspo

  1. Sonja Cabalt - Sculptural textile & foam artist whose work explores organic, cellular forms.
  2. Gabriela Delgado -Fashion designer known for tactile surfaces, inflated geometries, and experimental silhouettes.
  3. Wang Xiang - Wooden CNC Panels - Designer creating flowing, parametric wooden panels using subtractive digital fabrication.
  4. Wallace Negrão Nepomuceno - Artist working with CNC-milled foam, generative patterns, and sculptural topographies.

Inspiration

inspo

  1. Lucia Villanueva

  2. Shatrovskayanatalya

  3. Di Hamill

  4. Geonoid Geometry Heart Artist Unknown

CNC milling

CNC milling workflow used during the assignment, including safety, design preparation, VCarve setup, roughing and finishing toolpaths, machine zeroing, ShopBot operation, troubleshooting, and final post-processing.

safety

Photo take from Asli Aksan documentation.

1. Safety Guidelines

Before using the CNC machine, the following rules must always be respected:

  • Tie long hair, remove jewellery, avoid loose clothing.
  • Only the operator may sit or stand close to the machine.
  • Keep the CNC bed and surroundings free of clutter.
  • Turn on ventilation/dust extraction before any cut.
  • Know the location of the emergency stop and exits.
  • The emergency stop cuts machine power but does not instantly stop the spindle.
  • The spindle stops only when the key is removed.
  • Never leave the CNC running unattended.
  • Do not use the machine if tired, stressed, or distracted.
  • Always check tool tightness and ensure the collet is properly secured.
  • Keep clear of the spindle path; do not place hands near the moving gantry.

fire1

I liked a lot of (Flora Houldsworth documenting)[https://class.textile-academy.org/2026/flora-houldsworth/assignments/week10/]

2. Machine Anatomy

The CNC mill has three axes:

xy

Key components:

  • Spindle: holds and spins the milling bit.
  • Collet: tightens around the bit; must be fully secured.
  • End mill: cutting tool (5 mm, 3 mm, ballnose, flat).
  • Dust skirt: improves dust extraction during milling.
  • Sacrificial layer: material under the workpiece to protect the machine bed.
  • Gantry: moving structure controlling X/Y movement.

3. Workspace Preparation

Before mounting the material:

  • Vacuum the CNC bed.
  • Ensure there are no leftover screws in the sacrificial layer.
  • Check that the gantry can move freely in X, Y, and Z.
  • Clear all objects from the path of movement.
  • Verify the ventilation hose is securely attached.

workspace

Material Fixing

Materials are fixed using screws or double-sided tape.

tape

  • Screws must be placed away from all toolpaths.
  • Zoom in on your CAD design to plan screw placement precisely.
  • Ensure the board lays flat with no warping or bending.

4. Bit Types and Milling Basics

Common CNC Bits

  • Flat end mill (3 mm / 5 mm / 6 mm)
    For roughing and general pocketing.

  • Ball-nose end mill (3 mm / 6 mm)
    For smooth 3D finishing surfaces.

Feeding Directions

  • Climb milling: cleaner finish on many materials.
  • Conventional milling: safer for less rigid setups.

Feeds & Speeds (General Guidance)

  • Feed rate: measured in mm/s - depends on bit size & material.
  • Plunge rate: how fast the bit enters the material.
  • Spindle speed: rotation speed (RPM).

Settings depend on:

  • Material (foam, wood, wax, composites)
  • Bit diameter
  • Depth of cut per pass
  • Machine limits

5. Preparing the Digital File

Important design notes:

  • Remove tiny stray lines and micro-segments.
  • Ensure all shapes are closed.
  • Check model orientation.
  • Export as STL.
  • Design pockets, contours, holes with machinability in mind.

6. VCarve Pro - Job Setup

  1. Create a New Job in VCarve.
  2. Enter the material dimensions:
  3. Width (X)
  4. Height (Y)
  5. Thickness (Z)
  6. Set Z-zero:
  7. For foam: top or bottom depending on workflow.
  8. Set XY datum position:
    Always bottom-left corner of material.
  9. Import the STL (for 3D milling) or vectors (for 2D milling).
  10. Orient and centre the model.
  11. Confirm job setup.

flora1

7. VCarve Pro - Toolpaths

7.1 Roughing Toolpath

  • Choose roughing bit (e.g., 5 mm flat end mill).
  • Set the step-over to 80–90%.
  • Select roughing strategy (raster / offset).
  • Choose the machining region (model boundary).
  • Set depth increments.
  • Calculate and preview the toolpath.

flora1

Save as ShopBot file.

7.2 Finishing Toolpath

  • Choose finishing bit (e.g., 3 mm ball-nose).
  • Set step-over to ~0.5 mm for smooth detail.
  • Select finishing strategy.
  • Calculate and preview toolpath.

Save as ShopBot file. G code. SBP.

8. Zeroing and Machine Setup

8.1 Zeroing X and Y

Move the spindle to the front-left corner of the material.

X

  • Press Zero X
  • Press Zero Y

This defines the job origin.

8.2 Zeroing Z with the Probe Plate

X

Steps:

  1. Place probe plate on material.
  2. Attach alligator clip to bit.
  3. Tap plate to confirm circuit (light turns on).
  4. Press Zero Z.
  5. Remove the clip immediately.

shopbot

9. Running the Job on ShopBot

  1. Turn on the machine.
  2. Install and tighten the correct bit.
  3. Zero X, Y, and Z as described.
  4. Turn on ventilation/dust extraction.
  5. Insert the key and turn on spindle.
  6. Open the roughing toolpath file.
  7. Start the job.
  8. Keep hand close to the pause button during first seconds.
  9. Once roughing finishes, load the finishing file.
  10. Run the finishing job.
  11. Wait for the spindle to stop completely before approaching --- must turn off by the key as the spindle is a seperate entity.

machine

10. Troubleshooting

The CNC is cutting in the wrong place

  • Check XY zero position.
  • Ensure job origin matches VCarve setup.
  • Re-zero X and Y.

Bit is cutting too deep or too shallow

  • Re-zero Z on probe plate.
  • Ensure probe plate is clean and flat.

Machine makes unusual noises

  • Pause immediately.
  • Check if the bit is loose.
  • Check for incorrect feed rate or spindle speed.

11. Post-Processing

  • Vacuum dust from the board.
  • Remove screws or tape carefully.
  • Pry the material off without bending it.
  • Sand or trim any rough edges.
  • If milling molds, check the alignment of both halves.

Crystallisation & Shibori Scaffold Recipes

** Crystallisation Recipe**

Ingredients

  • 1 litre of water
  • 700 g of crystallising agent (commonly alum or sugar, depending on experiment)
  • Heat source (hot but not boiling)

Method

  1. Heat the 1 L of water until hot but not boiling.
  2. Slowly add 700 g of your crystallising agent.
  3. Stir continuously until fully dissolved.
  4. Your solution should reach a strength of 4.5× saturation (very concentrated).
  5. Pour into containers, jars, or onto materials you want to crystallise.

** Observations / Examples**

  • Fish skin
    → Crystallised in ~15 minutes (very fast).

  • String art (frame + petri dish cover)
    → Nothing for 2 hours
    → Introduced a bit of air flow → Crystallisation began rapidly

  • Tear drops (small mesh squares) → Need a bigger dish to allow bigger forms to be made.

  • Dissolvable foam (goal: crystal tear drops)
    → Dissolved too quickly → No stable crystals formed.

When experimenting with crystallisation:
- Crystals grip onto textured materials more easily - the rougher or hairier the surface, the better the formation.
- Allow the mixture to cool slowly to encourage larger, well-defined crystals.
- Avoid stirring or shaking during cooling; but if you prefer smaller crystals, an occasional gentle shake can help.
- Position your materials closer to the bottom**, where crystal growth tends to be stronger. Just be careful they don’t fuse with the crystals forming on the base - hanging your samples prevents them from becoming one big lumpy rock.

mesh

Shibori Textile Scaffold

Materials

  • Natural fabric (cotton, silk, linen)
  • Leather works well
  • Tying materials: string, elastic, clamps

Method

  1. Fold, twist, bind, or compress the fabric using Shibori techniques.
  2. Tie securely to create resist patterns.
  3. Place the tied fabric into boiling water for 20 minutes to set the structure.
  4. Remove and allow to cool completely.

shobori

Bio composites

moulds

Recipes

Bio silcone recipe

BIO SILICONE [Gelatine]

96g Gelatine
96g Glycerine. 480ml Water [initial Bio Silicone recipe doubled]

Orange lamp shade coming soon

Bio composite casting

Design process

grasshopper

3D model

  • Allow a 3.0mm Gap Above Model [within Material Set Up]
  • Save the Roughing and Finishing Tool Paths seperately
  • Import them individually to ShopBot and cut one at a time [starting with Roughing]
  • Do not move the material between the different Tool Paths.

Referencing files

  1. Flora Houldsworth ↩↩↩

  2. Milling essentials ↩

  3. CNC Milling ↩