DICLAIMER: If you use Autocad, Rhino, or a host of CAD products, you will probably scoff.
A photo essay:
Yes, the pads on the board are not the ones I cut from the machine. These ones I made by hand. They took me an hour.
The ones off the machine took about 8 hours (7 of which were design time). They are on my current board but I don’t have a pic of it.
Red
That’s pretty cool. Would it really take 1 hour to cut the pad out once you have the design down?
Flexible foam is tricky to cut because it bends out of the way, so I run the machine slow. About 20 minutes cut time for a pair of pads and a few minutes setup. Then cut pads apart and trim excess at corners using high tech templates (the dishes in 2nd last pic).
I’m happy with the contouring I can get with the machine - way better than manually.
This started out as a project to learn 3D layers in S3D.
Seems to me it would be faster and cheaper to make two templates from aluminum and sandwich the foam between them. Then hand cut with a hot knife.
As for your curve templates… Never ever use your wifes good China as template.
Artz
Been making my pads by hand for 20 years.Three steps. Cut outline from template (mine are cardboard). Disk sand outline and camber top edge. Ball nose router sheen off top layer and custom profile/ cross hatching, etc. To attach to board draw around pad as template, sand, use a good glue (3M spray, contact, etc.). Use turps to clean off excess glue.
Have a CNC sitting idle. Needed to learn S3D layers. Seemed like a fun project.
AND I didn’t end up with two left hand pads owing to inattention when making them by hand!