Re: Digest Number 67

Message: 4
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 14:08:48 -0500
From: "Robert Campbell" <rcamp@...-dfw.com>
Subject: Re: Design to part - what to use

Andrew,

When you get a laser scanners I would be interested in getting one.

[I wasn't thinking of purchasing a laser scanner myself, unless I found one
at auction or something. They run $50k and up. (if that doesn't put you
off, I can steer you to some of the manufacturers). What I was thinking of
doing was to negotiate a group rate with somebody who already owns one and
puts out scans at a fairly reasonable price, hoping to get closer to
affordable. Let me know if this interests you- laser scans are the best
way of getting complex 3d information into a computer that I've found,
although there are some new photogrammetric systems I have yet to check
out.]

I want
to scan wood carvings and be able to reproduce them on my cnc router. I am
also interested in building a rotary indexer for my cnc router so that I can
reproduce carvings in the round.

[That wouldn't need to be too complicated- just a lathe-bed arrangement
with a surface plate and stops at strategic points, like every 90 degrees,
or every 120. The major problems are having enough z-axis room (most CNC
routers have very little Z, perhaps because they're designed for
sign-carving) and finding long enough toolbits to reach the low spots in
your carving.]

I am currently looking at Model Mill. It looks nice and can import DXF
files from Rhino.

[Do they have a URL? I'm always interested in new programs. How much does
it cost? I just found out about a program, Visual Mill, that can now deal
with Rhino's native 3dm NURBS format, but haven't got much information on
it as yet- if it works well and isn't too expensive I might sign on as a
reseller.]

am also planning on getting a copy of Rhino at some
point.

Bob Campbell

[You can download a demo good for 20 uses or so from their site, so you can
try it out. Let me know when you're ready to purchase it- it think I've got
the best price around,]

Andrew Werby
http://www.computersculpture.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: Andrew Werby <drewid@...>
To: <CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@onelist.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 26, 1999 5:44 AM
Subject: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Design to part - what to use


> From: Andrew Werby <drewid@...>
>
> "Dan Mauch" <dmauch@...> wrote:
>
> >Subject: Re: EMC-Making chips
> >
> >I think the catagories should be
> >
> >Design
>
> [I'm a big fan of Rhino. It's a spline-based (as opposed to polygon-based)
> modelling program that offers a better way of defining curvy geometries
> which is more accurate, with less data to choke the computer. I
> participated in their development process, and I thought it was a model
for
> how this should be done. They made the beta program available for free to
> an unlimited set of users, ranging from tool-and die makers to architects,
> shipbuilders, animators, and even sculptors. The people writing the
> program not only listened to the feedback they got, but actually put in
the
> changes that people requested as well as fixing the bugs that were
> reported. This went on for about two years before they were satisfied they
> had a program that was worth selling- and then they have continued the
> development process with feedback from their customers, who can download
> the latest beta versions for free, as they are written.
>
> It was a very strong program when it was released, and has gotten better-
a
> notable new feature just added is "Surface from a network of curves" which
> radically improves the quality and controllability of the surfaces one can

> make. Another thing I liked about it was the price- they are selling it
for
> $795, which undercuts their competition significantly. Because I got a
> number of copies wholesale when they had a special introductory price, I'm
> still selling it for $400.]
>
> >CAM
> >DXF/HPGL to G code.
>
> [For converting 3d DXF, STL, and VRML surfaces (as opposed to 2d DXF or
> HPGL) I like DeskProto, which comes from the Netherlands. It requires a
> minimum of input from the user- all you have to do is import the geometry,
> scale it to the machine you're using, choose a toolbit, set the spacing of
> the passes and determine the milling strategy, and it does the rest
> automatically, generating gouge-free toolpaths (in multilple passes, if
> desired) which have no problem with large-size files or complex curving
> forms. They just came out with version 2.0, which offers some new features
> like vastly improved part shading and the ability to rotate the part
> geometry on an axis determined in the CAD program, which makes indexing
> possible. I'm selling this program for $1450, which represents a
> substantial discount off list price.]
>
>
> >G code interpreter for stepper
>
> [As a way of introducing myself to this new way of making things, I
> researched the miniature milling machines available, and got one from
MaxNC
> that took me the rest of the way, smoothly interpreting the g-code output
> from DeskProto to carve out complicated parts. The machine I got, the
MaxNC
> 10, was the cheapest CNC machine I could find, and I was agreeably
> surprised by how well it worked. Since the program works in DOS, I could
> dedicate a cheap 486 machine to running it, and it handles files of
> unlimited size. All their machines plug into the printer port, so it
> wasn't necessary to add cards to the computer to run them. The 10-2 was,
> however, somewhat small for my needs, so when the new MaxNC 15 was
> released, which is not only larger but has stronger motors that run twice
> as fast, I got one of those too, plus their rotary table attachment. (This
> needed a 2nd parallel port) I've persuaded them to let me be a
distributor
> for their company, and I'm offering my customers a 5% discount off their
> already rock-bottom prices, which means you can get a 3-axis CNC mill for
> as little as $1230.
>
> For customers wanting a bigger machine capable of cutting steel (the
MaxNC
> machines are recommended for materials up to brass in hardness) I've
> recently added the CNCJr to my list of offerings. These are basically
> cnc-converted mill-drills, with their own g-code interpreter. a 2hp
spindle
> motor, and steppers on the x, y, and z axes. I'm also offering 5% off
their
> prices, so you can get one of these 600lb machines for $4418. ]
>
> >G code interpreters for Servos
>
> [I'm still looking for something that will do this, to convert a big old
> servo-equipped CNC mill I recently purchased. EMC sounds like a good
> solution if I could get over my Linuxphobia- otherwise a card with an
> onboard processor looks like the best bet. ]
>
> >
> >Some of the above catagories may be combined depending on the software.
> >BobCad and Vector will let you design a part then use the Cam features to
> >produce the G code. Autocad will only produce the design.
> >If there are HPGL convertor programs that would be nice also
> >Dan
>
> [Perhaps another category that should be listed are 3d input devices, like
> digitizing arms and laser scanners. I've been talking with some of the
> companies involved with these about offering arms and scans at a discount-
> let me know if there's any interest.]
>
> Andrew Werby
> http://www.computersculpture.com

Andrew Werby - United Artworks
Sculpture, Jewelry, and Other Art Stuff
http://unitedartworks.com