Folks, could you help me design a CNC setup for cutting these various curved rafters only? The CNC shop I usually take these to has been so busy the last few years that it sometimes takes weeks to get them back.

The widest pieces I'm cutting is 2x12, the longest would be 12' so I’m thinking a 2’ wide x 12’ long table. Could the router travel up and down a single strongback above the table? I only work with clear wr cedar and Calif. redwood ~ 2” thick so don’t need a powerful motor. I'm hoping to just set the CNC table on one of my shop benches when I need to use it.

How do I get started with this design? Are there any good resources I could check out? I'm in the San Diego area if that matters.

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Some more images of the structures I need the CNC work for.

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What you propose will not work. The quality of a cut is directly related to the rigidity of the cnc. Sure you could chop and extend a table top cnc with a 2' wide gantry but you will trash thousands of dollars of cedar trying to get a halfway decent cut that will take hours of run time and hours of hand work to clean up. If shop space is an issue then finding another cnc shop is your best bet.
Cedar and redwood may be soft and light but routing them can be tricky. You can pull large slivers off the workpiece if the parameters are wrong or the work isn't held firmly. The shop doing your pieces is doing very clean work. Can you negotiate with them to be more timely?
I cut a lot of solid on my cnc. It is not straight forward to do compared to sheet goods. I cut 11' components on my 4x8 router by flipping them in jigs so you are not restricted to looking for 12' machine beds. But I would advise you look for a mid weight machine at a minimum. Camaster, Shop Sabre, FMT etc.

Are all the pieces the same, or is there a lot of variety?
Portable router with straight bit with bearing, and use an existing piece as your template. Would have to do multiple passes, but should be pretty quick.

Yeah each rafter has a diff shape depending on where it sits under the compound curved roof plane, the shop uses a 3/4 roughing bit in a few passes and gets a very clean job for the most part. He was often screwing the pieces down and we'd just fill the holes.
I can't get that vg cedar anymore so use the redwood which is very stable stuff to cut.

my idea seems very doable we'll come up with a nice design!

As Tom mentioned, what you propose is not for the faint of heart. Chipping, blowout, broken bits due the the depth of cut, work holding etc. Very few people know how to do this well.

If it were me I would look for an older pod and rail machine and if you can't get good hold down with the pods design some pneumatic vises for holding the 2X12.

Still a lot of work in tooling, speeds, feeds, LH or RH rotation and where to use each one.

Google man door making on a CNC. That'll give you lots of ideas.

Done well it'll change your world. Done poorly your wife will end up dating because of the amount of time you'll be at the shop. The kids need a father after all. :)

What's your budget for this set up? How many of these parts do you need to cut per month?

Dan I have no idea what this would or should cost. It's a custom one-of CNC setup. Could I pay anyone for consulting to help me design this?

Have a cnc shop cut patterns for you. Then bandsaw out the rafters and clean them up on a pattern cutter on a shaper. Making a cnc machine is not easy of cheap. Just making a 3'x14' base will take some really skilled welding to not get a twisted and warped assembly. Then who machines the top of the mounting points for the linear bearing and drive mounts? With the price of skilled labor in a fab shop and the price of materials, I bet you end up in the $50,000 range.

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Perhaps you might consider something like the Shaper Origin, if shop space is constraint.

https://www.shapertools.com/en-us/origin

Sorry about the wrong picture added to my other post.

I own a Shaper Origin and it basically uses a trim router with a 1/4" or 8mm collet. It would not be the tool to profile cut rafters. Cutting patterns would be fine.

We've got you covered. The machine pictured has a work envelope of 16" x 156" (other sizes available) with several options for Z axis panel passage. Three, four or five axis spindles and many options for automatic tool changers, drill heads and secondary router spindles.

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Joe,

I checked out your website and your work is beautiful. When I get home to measure my outdoor space I'm going to hit you up for a custom designed pergola. I think it needs to be about 30' x 20' but I will confirm. I live about 80 miles south of you!

Cheers!