One of my many projects.

[GJMATHEWS]

http://www.camheads.org/picture.php?albumid=2&pictureid=15

This Lil' Slugger Craft and Coloring Table is a culmination of 2 different CNC machines. While it is made using mostly CNC Technology, the rails were cut and dado cut on a tablesaw and trimmed to length using an Up-cut saw.

In hind-sight, I could have surfaced my stock, cut the length and width and even performed the dado cuts for the base making the project 100 Percent CNC.

If you would like to see more of the table visit my photo album for more pictures and descriptions.

http://www.camheads.org/album.php?albumid=2

[james mcgrew]

excellent!!!!, man am i glad you are here

jim

[GJMATHEWS]

excellent!!!!, man am i glad you are here

jim

Thank you. I have seen some of your work and have to admit some envy.
Thank you for the compliment. Customers are always amazed, so it is nice to hear it from others in the industry.

Criticism is always welcome as well. I will grow from that also.

I am working on a bed for the Fourth Axis that is sure to amaze many CNC-zoners guys and fellow Camheads. I am also working on a 3D model and a Fourth Axis Program that will make the guys at Visual Mill stand up and take notice.

I wish I were independently wealthy. I would play with my CNC machines all day long and not worry about having to make profits to help my boss pay expenses!

Maybe I can get a grant from the government, or perhaps a billion dollar bailout loan!

Talk to you soon!

[james mcgrew]

now that is a tight kickstand!!

jim

[GJMATHEWS]

now that is a tight kickstand!!

jim

The cane is pretty tight also! Here is something else to think about. The girl that appears on the page "Determine Length" is 100% computer generated. You have to love Photo-shop! I am going to try to do a relief using the picture and carve her in the coming weeks.

How is this for a Youtube video title?

"CAMaster carves up beautiful young lady!" I am willing to bet the video goes viral in 30 days or less!

Happy New Year to all and to all a New CNC Machine!!!!

[Joey Jarrard]

Man I did not know you were that hard up for a date.

Ha ha

Joey:D:D:D

[GJMATHEWS]

Man I did not know you were that hard up for a date.

Ha ha

Joey:D:D:D

You would be amazed what you can do with a computer, CNC machine and a few well placed knot-holes in your stock models. If you position the 3D model just right...

Wooo hoooooooo! Man, I am goin' to hell for sure!!!! LOL. Happy New Year to all.

[GJMATHEWS]

Just ran these this morning on the CAMaster. We are producing 22 solid mahogany chairs. The stock was 88 by 20 inches and we ran 3 pieces. This is not glued up mahogany, this is one piece. Because of graining, the legs have to be positioned in this manner. I just recently sent a PM to Jim McGrew to ask him about some nesting software, I nest in Rhino and am quite good at it but if there is something easier, I'll try it.

Normally it would take our bandsaw operator about 5 hours to cut 16 legs from each board. Our CAMaster did it in 31 minutes plus 5 minutes to change out stock. The final step was to rough cut them with a bandsaw and flushtrim at the router table. All told, between the side rails, back rails and back legs, CAMaster saved us about 30 hours of payroll on this one job. Best of all, we were running a second job on another machine at the same time. We were also playing poker on the computer that CAMaster runs on because their software does not lock you out like some other machines do. [lol]

[james mcgrew]

now in my world that is impressive!!

jim

[GJMATHEWS]

now in my world that is impressive!!

jim

The mahogany or the toolpath?

[james mcgrew]

definatly both

[Eric Mims]

looks good. curious as to how much material you left to keep the pieces from moving.

[GJMATHEWS]

looks good. curious as to how much material you left to keep the pieces from moving.

Good point, 1/4 inch at first then we upped it to 3/8's for the bandsaw operator. Because of the length of the wood the piece would sag and cause some break off. Lost 3 legs on the first board at 1/4 inch, none when we went to 3/8. Great question Eric. It will help anyone that trys this process. Mahogany cut real nice also!

[james mcgrew]

eric, you and i have three head machines and guy has a tool changer all are capable of multiple bits and programming and even with a single head machine i run my last pass sloooooooww when compared to nest cutting on cabinetry.

a cabinet side will pretty much sit on its own, but have you ever seen a cabinet stretcher sling across the room at 400 ipm even with a strong vacuum!!!

in cabinet nesting we have to onion skin then cut thru, other wise it is faster to cut on the table saws!!

with fine solid woods i would still do it the way guy is

jim

[KeithG]

If you had V-Carve Pro you could leave small tabs to hold the pcs. in place. Then just sand off the tabs after separation and eliminate the bandsawing altogether. Just an idea. :D
Keith

[GJMATHEWS]

If you had V-Carve Pro you could leave small tabs to hold the pcs. in place. Then just sand off the tabs after separation and eliminate the bandsawing altogether. Just an idea. :D
Keith

I have tabbing as a feature with the ShopBot and in Visual Mill 6.0 and 5.0 For my CAMaster and my Fanuc Controller for my Kitako. Both programs allow me to set up tabs for holding pieces but I did not feel comfortable using tabbing with the mahogany because sometimes the tabs are generated in places where they do not work. As you can see the toolpaths intersect and there are large areas where there is no wood left between the legs. I I have had pieces break loose and wreak havoc because 1/2 inch upcut bits love to pick pieces up and shoot them around!!!!

We call moments like that at our shop, "A Depends moment!" When it happens, you wish you were wearing Depends! :D

[james mcgrew]

hey kieth!!!! where you been hidin!!!

jim

[Eric Mims]

thanks Guy. I've done some plywood before with onion skin, then a final pass, worked great. I actually did a 1/4" cut (onion skin left), then switched to an 1/8" cutter to finish so I could get sharper inside corners.

Also, I know with Rhinocam/Rhino, you can use the Rhino command CrvSeam to adjust where the toolpath will start.. that way the bridges might line up better (I don't like them on corners and also don't like my toolpath to turn a sharp corner when ramping itno the piece). I've asked Mecsoft to make it where you can manually set them...we'll see.

[GJMATHEWS]

Not sure what version you are using. Free Mill, Visual Mill 4, 5 or 6? Anyway, When my Crvseams start on a corner I use 3D approach in VM 6.0 to start the cut. The bit starts in at an angle backs-up to the crvseam then starts cutting. My corners are crisp sharp and true. I also use climb cut as often as possible as opposed to a conventional cut. If you have this feature, give it a try it works great. I'll have to talk to Ude or Utay, however his name is spelled. The last time I talked to him, we were trying to create new bits in the User Defined Bit field so we could simulate barley twist on the lathe. No luck as yet.

You can also change your approaches to a radial engagement and departure. It works great for plywood. Especially when my favorite compression bit gets dull and I do not have a new one handy. The Mecsoft software is a little pricey, however, as we all know, you get what you pay for, and we steal the rest off the internet!!! [lol] [lol] [lol] [lol]

[Joey Jarrard]

V carve allows you to pick where you would like to have the tabs. It is a very great tool. Keep up the posting.

[GJMATHEWS]

V carve allows you to pick where you would like to have the tabs. It is a very great tool. Keep up the posting.

Okay, this V Carve thing is getting raves from not only the folks here, but the folks on CNCzone and Sawmill Creek as well. If there is a trial version that will let me generate a few tool paths and actually cut them send me a link. I want to be able to use the software and all its features for a few weeks. The same for Photo-carve as well. It does me no good if all I can do is look at it on screen and not be able to actually save a file for cutting. If I can put it through the paces and think it worth the money I will have the company buy it. In my humble opinion, the company that makes it should be looking at me as a very plausible case study. Of course I am wee bit arrogant in my opinion and extremely arrogant in others opinions, but I have earned that through a series of broken bits, table fires, and CNC experience. Don't ask about the table fires though! I was young the Cut Feed was slow the Spindle rpm's were high and the vacuum fueled the spark in the spoil board. It wasn't my fault boss... Honest. Another depends moment!

[james mcgrew]

guy i will see what i can do, i am a big proponent of vcarve (now aspire) and i have all of there products.

oh, an on the arrogant thing, the way i see it what others think of me is
none of my business!!

:)

jim

[james mcgrew]

aspire has really brought software into a larger realm of clientle, vectric is not an "end all, do all" for everyone but it is a lot stronger than big iron and big software want it to be

here is the gallery's

http://www.vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4889&p=33059#p33059

main forum

http://www.vectric.com/forum/index.php

main page, they make all of thier software available for demo testing

http://www.vectric.com/

[Eric Mims]

Guy, I used Vcarve for a bit and some features are really nice, some aren't. For instance, you cannot import any 3D lines, so you can't do an engrave on a 3d path. The ability and simplicity to add tabs is a great feature. Has a pretty good simulation speed/quality (about the speed of the Rhinocam/visualmill Basic, but slower than the Pro/Full versions from Mecsoft).

If you are used to using Rhino to draft in, the curve/node editing is pretty worthless in Vcarve and would likely be frustrating. But to just import a 2d file and get some quick, clean toolpaths, it's a great program.

[GJMATHEWS]

Guy, I used Vcarve for a bit and some features are really nice, some aren't. For instance, you cannot import any 3D lines, so you can't do an engrave on a 3d path. The ability and simplicity to add tabs is a great feature. Has a pretty good simulation speed/quality (about the speed of the Rhinocam/visualmill Basic, but slower than the Pro/Full versions from Mecsoft).

If you are used to using Rhino to draft in, the curve/node editing is pretty worthless in Vcarve and would likely be frustrating. But to just import a 2d file and get some quick, clean toolpaths, it's a great program.

Eric et al,

I just got finished playing with the trial version of V carve and have formed an opinion based on my experience.

For the price this is excellent software for anyone getting into CNC.

Bottomline, there is no magic button with the exception of experience.

For the beginning CNC guy, I would strongly reccommend any of the Aspire products based on the limited time I played with the trial versions. About 45 minutes for V Carve and about 30 for Photo Carve.

For the experienced CNC operator who has been cutting and programming for a number of years, and already has software in place, Artcam for example, what you have is probably fine. We are already using Visual Mill 5 and 6 plus Rhino Art and Rhino Cam in our company. As for tabbing, in my case I can drop circles where ever I want to on the vector I am going to cut, trim the curves in Rhino, nest the finished vector make a closed curve and Visual Mill the entire path if I did not want to Onion skin the project. There are other faster ways as well, I will be touching on these in our website when we launch.

People as a rule of thumb hate change, but I recommend you try the trial versions from Aspire experienced or not. You may be suprised at what you find. Jim is right, this is some great software, price is fantastic and the learning curve is quick!!!!! You will be cutting beautiful projects in no time. [fantastic]

In my case, I have more software then you can shake a stick at, I use all of it and import and export from one program to another. I have to reproduce what a customer sends me not what I think they would like. I do not design furniture. People in Manhattan do that. I have to take there ideas and give them what they ask for. In the case of reproductions and restorations, the piece I make, needs to match the piece the customer sends me to less then a 32 of an inch. Carving details have to be even higher tolerances. Digital calipers are standard equipment in our toolboxes. Tape measures measure stock, calipers measure finished products! I already use Photoshop for generating vectors from photos, so why change? The process is the same. I already use Virtual 3D carving to sculpture .stl files, so why change. I already use Rhino to wrap 3D files on cylinders and Visual Mill create Tool Paths, so why change.

If I had to start over knowing only a little, Aspire is the way to go.

User friendly, lots of Post Processors, quick, accurate and it lets your creativity flow like nothing else I have used.

Will I change from what I am using now? No. Will I convince my boss to buy a full version copy. Yes!!!! I can see great rewards using this software in our shop for the guys that are currently struggling with our CAD software. Aspire products are very user friendly based on my short term play of the trial version. If I can get one guy in my shop to start making new products for market, then the software is paid for 10 fold. If not, it will be fun to play with!

Eric, one last thing, if you have Rhino 4.0, try the Cage Edit feature under the Transform tab and Softedit feature. They are fantastic.

[james mcgrew]

i know i am having a good time with it!!

jim

[GJMATHEWS]

Nice, I love the first piece! Two questions though.
Carving time for all the pieces?
Bits used?

[james mcgrew]

i ran the moulding in about an hour and a half with a 1/4 endmill for rough and a 1/4 ballnose for finish the moorish columns were the same

[GJMATHEWS]

Guy, I used Vcarve for a bit and some features are really nice, some aren't. For instance, you cannot import any 3D lines, so you can't do an engrave on a 3d path. The ability and simplicity to add tabs is a great feature. Has a pretty good simulation speed/quality (about the speed of the Rhinocam/visualmill Basic, but slower than the Pro/Full versions from Mecsoft).

If you are used to using Rhino to draft in, the curve/node editing is pretty worthless in Vcarve and would likely be frustrating. But to just import a 2d file and get some quick, clean tool paths, it's a great program.

Eric, I just took a look at Visual Mill 6.0 on my laptop. For profiling there is a command for Bridge Tabs. You can set the amount, the height, and the distance between tabs. I have never had to use it so I guess I ignored it. It is under the Advanced Cutting Tab. On the ShopBot it is part of the start cycle when you run a program. You could just turn tabbing on and set the distance, height and what not.

I still would not use tabbing for the chair legs though. Tabbing is great for small flat pieces that can be held down by a vacuum table. When you get into this custom one time run crap, like I am constantly doing, you go fast, furious and cautious. In other words, you go with what has always worked in the past and produced the best results with minimal waste. Onion skin or 1 inch stock intersections spaced evenly across the project.

No matter what method you choose, if the end result is good, its all good.

[GJMATHEWS]

A few weeks ago, Jim posted a referral for me at Wood-web. The fellow contacted me and as of 6/15/09 Concept Archery will get their first run of bow riser grips from New Wave Woodworking.

In the coming weeks I will continue to work more closely with this new customer to refine the CNC programming and get their cost lower.

The current process involves our 10 spindle machine and our CAMaster. All the jigs are produced and the first run of 20 went off with just some minor snafus here and there.

Thanks again Jim.