Extreme Finger Painting With A Router

Most of the time, CNC machines are used for very precise and exacting. There is another way that allows for a more “hands on” approach to routers and mills that allows for a lot more creativity and freedom. The touchCNC these guys whipped up allows anyone to finger paint with a friggin router.

From the forum post the guys sent in, they wrote a simple Android app for a tablet that allows for router control via a touch interface. There are three parts to the software. An Android app sends finger positions to a java server running on the CNC computer. This server dumps gcode into a text file. A vbscript inside the router software keeps reading from the specified file. With all this, finger movements are translated directly into machine movements.

The controls are fairly simple, like a real-life representation of Microsoft Paint. Of course there’s a ‘tap GOTO’ command that moves the router to a specified position. The router bit is lowered onto the work piece with a ‘long tap’ and stays lowered until the finger is released.

You can check out the code for touchCNC, but the guys are working on a few additional features like converting the tablets gyro output to gcode. Until then, enjoy the videos the guys posted after the break.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGr4-Wz8b6o&w=470]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8EaDFxyYQU&w=470]

12 thoughts on “Extreme Finger Painting With A Router

  1. So…. reading the headline I feared this would be some sort of horrific “Scared Straight” or “Blood on the Highway” story about router safety.
    Thankfully I was wrong. I would much rather do this type of “Extreme finger painting with a router” than what my imagination conjured up.

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