Machined Artwork

I have been interested in fractals since they first turned up in the popular literature, and wrote a number of programs to draw them on the screen. When I first got my CNC mill running, I had to try cutting some space filling curves in flat material.

This is the 'Sierpinski Snowflake' at about order 7, so that is about 384 vectors, I think. It was cut in black Plexiglas with a carbide 'flame point' Dremel-type bit. The work area was kept wet to prevent the chips from turning into a melted mess, which they do some, anyway. Spindle speed was 2720 RPM. The feed rate was VERY slow, as this was done with my antique Allen-Bradley CNC control, which has a very slow block processing time. After picking out the chips from the cut, and generally cleaning up, I rubbed some crayon into the cut, and then wiped with a cloth. The background in the picture is a tree that was behind me, blocking some of the light.

This is the 'Hilbert Curve'. It was done in the same way as the Sierpinski Snowflake above. There is no coloring agent in the groove, just the 'fuzzy' residue of the cutting process.