4th Axis Owls CAMaster passes the ultimate test!

[GJMATHEWS]

Youtube video to follow. There are many more photos in my albums.

http://www.camheads.org/member.php?u=190

Just wanted to let the world know what a CAMaster CNC Machine and the Greek God of CNC "Geecodius" :D can do when the pressure is on. I know the name sounds Latin but what's a Greek God to do... especially since I am Polish and German!

[Russ Revels]

I can only think of one word to describe that. WOW![fantastic]

I hope I can do straight spindles.

Extremely impressive. Guy, you the MAN!!

R3

[GJMATHEWS]

Maybe the video title should be... "Man carves a pair of hooters on CNC Machine!" [lol]

Thanks for the compliment.

[Russ Revels]

That is definitely a fine pair of Hooters!

R3

[GJMATHEWS]

While others are trying to learn laser scanning and 3D work, I am in the process of perfecting it. The eye detail is lacking and there is a softness to the feathers that I can not overcome as of yet.
I have been in touch with the manufacturer of our laser scanner and we have talked about specialized software that will allow me to dial in for sharp angles.
For those of you who are thinking you can achieve the same results with a 300 dollar scanner, good luck. I have been using our scanners for close to 3 years now and I can honestly say, there is no other scanner on the market that compares.

[Russ Revels]

It may need a little tweeking but it looks good to me. It amazes me that you can get the feathers to stand proud like that. It looks like they are undercut.

I suspect that the guys that are working with the inexpensive scanners are just trying to get images and have no asperations of coming close to the work that you do Guy. I would be happy with just the illusion of an owl.

R3

[GJMATHEWS]

It may need a little tweeking but it looks good to me. It amazes me that you can get the feathers to stand proud like that. It looks like they are undercut.

The undercut is an optical illusion. Some undercutting can be achieved if the 3D model being carved is positioned on the axis in such a way that it tilts so the bit can carve the under-surface. The CAD/CAM software we use allows me to simulate a model long before I even start the machines. I can then reposition the model for best cuts and finished appearence.

Economy willing, we will be purchasing a 5th Axis machine at the next IWF. Then undercutting will no longer be an optical illusion.

For now, CAMaster is my new bestest friend! [fantastic]

Bill, Josh, Joey and Paul can be real proud of their work, as can the rest of the gang at CAMaster. I would also like to give a special "Thank you" to wives of the fine folks at CAMaster. I am sure the ladies have endured many many hours at home while these guys work till all hours of the night building our machines. I know for a fact, that for three days they were burning the midnight oil on my machine... I know this, because I was there, helping them burn it!

Thanks again guys. Job well done.

[Russ Revels]

I am certainly looking forward to getting my machine in a couple of weeks. I have been playing with a home made router made primarily out of mdf for about 4 years. It works but the table has sagged a bit and the z is weak and slow. I haven't been making anything for sale but with the new machine I may have to change that.

I have a cnc Taig mini mill that I use to make aluminum prototype panels and parts for my work. I have a 4th axis for it also but have never used it. A friend has rebuilt my controller box to include the driver for the 4th axis and so now I can start learning how to use it also.

Keep up the good work and photos. It is quite inspiring to see what is possible.

R3

[james mcgrew]

guy that is excellent!! i have seen the polhemus scanner first hand and am assured it's capabilities are first rate, as far as education my approach is to study low tech first and those i work with who are into research as a learning tool would truley admire this work, my hope is not to dicourage those who would like to learn to perfect the process on it's merits and not dismiss the learning curve involved, i have always been able to write a check for any of the items i have however taking the low tech method first has produced a shorter learning curve and a better understanding of the final results. at the end of the day i may purchase the polhemus, in fact there are some high tech scanners that are more expensive and are marketed more for medical and industrial purposes, the ultimate goal is to provide good information to all camaster owners while showing the price and comparison results so as to allow informed decisions about the technology available. we have a large project here in columbia that will involve using four local camaster machines and their owners to machine, we have recieved bids to out source the file's we need and one has proven better than the other's, the owner of the project is having a blast learning this with us and there is more than enough funding to do just about any thing we want!! so if we can ultimatly find a method or the best path to make this available to camaster owners for minimal or no cost at all then we are sticking with it. results will be posted soon as they are worthy!! i will admit i am on my third scanning method and it is a lot of fun just building the stepper tables!! yesterday joey and i worked out the dovetail jig to produce dovetail drawers on just about any camaster machine, if i could just get this scanner thing out of my head i'd get on to that!!!

your work is really amazing to me and i look forward to your post!!!

jim

[james mcgrew]

i have no need to machine it as i am limited to 3axis at this point but we may go this on paul's machine, this is a head scanned with one of the scanners, no where near the detail of guy's capabilities but in some cases good enough for christmas gift's!!

jim

[GJMATHEWS]

Here are a few more shots. It shows the ceramic file that we scanned and the owls as they are being carved.

[Angus_Hines]

OK I now have an indexer on my want list along with a 3D scanner. Any complaints with your hand held Guy?

ANd JAmes did you find anything out about that scanner and turntable deal?

[GJMATHEWS]

OK I now have an indexer on my want list along with a 3D scanner. Any complaints with your hand held Guy?

ANd JAmes did you find anything out about that scanner and turntable deal?

Angus, the scanner I use is called a FastScan. We purchased it almost 3 years ago. It is quite expensive, however, when you take into consideration that you can scan and mill in less then an hour in some cases, the price tag is nothing in our eyes. The owl was scanned, the file was exported as an .STL. In Rhino, I positioned it on the X Axis, mirrored it, added cones for headstock and tailstock, then took the entire file to my CAM software. 1/2 ball mill parallel finish at 25% stepover followed an by 1/8 inch ball mill at 15%. That is all it took.

Keep in mind, I have nearly 3 years using the scanner and software that I use, however, I can teach someone to get the same results in just a few hours. I will address computer needs on our website when it launches.

Out of the box, FastScan performs flawlessly.

The only drawback that I have found in both of our scanning systems is the lack of ability to create sharp angles. In woodworking, this is not to much of a problem. Most edges are broken for finish anyway. For metal work, it would be a problem. There are some software packages that are able to correct this. I can correct it in CAD software simply by drawing a line along the egde and sweeping a proflie curve along the edge. In the case of the owls, at this point, our handcarver can spend an hour or so making the edges crisp for production purposes and a few hours for custom purposes.

As for the indexer, I have a four foot one on our ShopBot and of course the cream of the crop 8 footer on our CAMaster.

Order of priority for these jim-dandy little items, get an indexer (4th Axis) first, learn the ins and outs, save up for the scanner and get that second. If you are a hobbyist and can't afford the scanner, there are companies that will scan your objects and create watertight STL files for you to mill.

Hope this answers your question.

[james mcgrew]

my wife was looking for a file on the net and i took a nap when i opened my computer this is what was on the search screen

our very own!!


http://www.polhemus.com/polhemus_editor/assets/New%20Wave%20Woodworking%20case%20study%20FS.pdf

[GJMATHEWS]

my wife was looking for a file on the net and i took a nap when i opened my computer this is what was on the search screen

our very own!!


http://www.polhemus.com/polhemus_editor/assets/New%20Wave%20Woodworking%20case%20study%20FS.pdf

Old news to me. We did that case study a couple of years ago. Back then I barely knew how to use the damn thing. In that time, I have become the "go-to-guy" for their company. I am without a doubt their number one advocate. I have fielded many a question from them and perspective customers. I have pushed their laser to limits that they never knew possible.

In part, I owe a lot of that to my boss Rudy. He gives me whatever time I need to explore the roads less traveled as long as I continue to keep the CNC Division moving forward. Sometimes I hit a dead end, other times we are practically having heart attacks because we do things that the experts say can't be done. Our company was the first company in the world, to use their laser in the woodworking industry. When we called them up and told them we wanted to scan wood, we could hear them laughing in the background. They came to give a demonstration and within 5 minutes, my boss was reaching for his checkbook. In the 3 years we have had it, I have probably scanned close to 200 different parts and used the models for the production of furniture in one form or another. If you want more info on the scanners' ability, send me an email and I will forward you some info.

guymathews@newwavewoodworking.com

[GJMATHEWS]

Finally got this video the way I wanted it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtd-xFukZQ4

It is a pain to find Public Domain music for the background sound, however, Scott Joplin is one of my favorite composers so The Entertainer seemed like a natural for this video.

[Russ Revels]

Good Morning Guy,

Your video is excellent!! High quality and easy to watch. The carving is fantastic. You have certainly set the bar high for us folks trying to learn and do some of the things you do.

Russ

[Joey Jarrard]

Good work Guy I need that on a disk so I can add it to our dvd please!
keep it up. [fantastic] [fantastic] [fantastic]

[GJMATHEWS]

Good Morning Guy,

Your video is excellent!! High quality and easy to watch. The carving is fantastic. You have certainly set the bar high for us folks trying to learn and do some of the things you do.

Russ

Russ,

Thanks for the input. I can offer you some insight that will make the bar seem lower.

When I started working for New Wave just over 3 years ago, the bar set for me was almost unobtainable. Telling 25 craftsman in the custom furniture industry that you were going to use a computer to build a chair and cut the parts using CNC technology for certain custom jobs was sacrilege. The first 6 months was very stressful to say the least. I was the new guy in a shop where the average employee has an average of 9 years with our company. Eventually, the CNC division started to emerge as a distinct possibility as the guys would seek us out for 2D parts cutting and a lot of circles for tabletops. Even a year later we still considered scrapping the whole department.

Today, I produce so many different custom jobs, parts and programs that I can visualize the tool path and fixture strategies in my head before I even start the job. On anything over 6 chairs, it is often faster for me to do the job then it is to have our most experienced cutter do the job. You can imagine the time savings on a production run of 100 chairs, not to mention the accuracy.

It is through sheer repetition of similar job, parts, carvings and 3D computer work that I have gotten so fast at what I am doing.

It used to be I would keep every file and tool path I made for future or similar jobs. Now it easier and faster to make new ones, then to spend the time searching the customer folders for pre-existing ones.

Your day will come, when you view your mini cobra as an indispensable tool in your shop. Even if you are only doing hobby work. A point in time will come when someone ask you if you can make a wooden salad bowl with grapes carved on the side. I can assure you of this. You will not even blink or worry when you look them in the eye and say...

"I can do whatever you want, if your checkbook can cover your desires!"

We got to that point about 10 months ago but we are still learning and developing new ways to make it faster and easier!

BTW, I love that little electric car of yours. It needs a nice aluminum sign on the back that says... "Screw OPEC!"

You have the machine and the ability. Hope to see it soon. [lol]