Initials on a wax block are boring and expensive! Do you have a better way to teach G & M code basics?
Solution:
Sure do! How about doing initials, or a simple graphic on a wooden yo-yo? That’s right, a yo-yo. Students love it!
Special thanks to Chris Lallier who put it all together with the help of Jim Hanson and myself. Also, a very special thanks to Chuck “The Godfather of CIM” Spangler, who has been doing plastic yo-yo’s for many years!
All you need to do is download the zip file below, and order the Yo-yo kits WITH sleeper string; that’s right, a SLEEPER string, and you are off to the races. Yo-yo’s are about $1.50 each; much cheaper than wax or Renshape, and kids can do “testing” on the product after it is finished and assembled. A great all around project. You will however have to build the fixture to hold the yo-yo’s
The yo-yo blanks can be bought at Casey’s Woodin Maine, and they do take PO’s. Tell them Chris & Jim sent you!
In this file you will find all of the information and files that you need to build a Yo-Yo holding fixture. This fixture is designed to firmly hold wooden Yo-Yo halves while they are engraved with a CNC Machine.
Technology teacher Chris Lallier from SUNY Oswego has put together a killer project for teaching basic CNC programming. The project consists of a wooden yo-yo that is engraved, using CNC, on both sides. Students are then able to paint, stain, sand and assemble the project, giving students the opportunity to learn about more manufacturing processes.
Special thanks to Chris Lallier who put it all together with the help of Jim Hanson and myself. Also, a very special thanks to Chuck “The Godfather of CIM” Spangler, who has been doing plastic yo-yo’s for many years!
The Yo-Yo kits, unassembled, are available at Casey€™s Wood Products, and cost less than a dollar each if you order 50 or more. The best part is that this is the DELUXE model: with a sleeper string! It was the only place that sold them in smaller lots, and you can buy them individually as well. We looked into plastic ones as well, but they had to be purchased in lots of 250. This would make a great promo for open house as well!
The project consists of a teacher built fixture to hold the halves in your machine, and then provides you, the teacher, with a student driven activity to produce the final product. Also included is a step by step guide on building the fixture, a complete parts list, the Inventor, EdgeCAM, and NC files, as well as student templates.
The whole project, including all the above files, is available in the downloads section for your use. The file is a .zip file, and just needs to be downloaded, and unzipped, in order for you to use the files.
Chris Lallier is a Student Teacher from SUNY Oswego graduating in December 2011. He is a Technology Education major with a background in residential construction. While working summers with his family construction business he was introduced to CAD home building programs, structural design, manufacturing processes and planning techniques. He was inspired to move into the field of Technology Education so that he could teach others about the topics that he found fascinating. He is currently teaching three college credit courses at Cazenovia High School; Principles of Engineering, Design and Drawing For Production and Computer Integrated Manufacturing. Chris is looking forward to a long and rewarding career of learning and teaching students about all things Technology.
Yo-Yo Files
Technology teacher Chris Lallier from SUNY Oswego has put together a killer project for teaching basic CNC programming. The project consists of a wooden yo-yo that is engraved, using CNC, on both sides. Students are then able to paint, stain, sand and assemble the project, giving students the opportunity to learn about more manufacturing processes.
The Yo-Yo kits, unassembled, are available at 
The project consists of a teacher built fixture to hold the halves in your machine, and then provides you, the teacher, with a student driven activity to produce the final product. Also included is a step by step guide on building the fixture, a complete parts list, the Inventor, EdgeCAM, and NC files, as well as student templates.
