RE: What do we want?

I'm glad someone asked what I want... My desires are not "normal" machining
stuff. I work in the tourist and entertainment industry deep in the
background. You rarely see me actually interacting with a tourist!!!! I do
however design and build the displays and some of the machines that are an
integral part of the show. Much of the stuff I do is big. In fact it often
is the actual room! Doors, frames, walls, ceilings, floors and the stuff in
the room. This means I need a big cnc router. I built a gantry router with
a 30 inch by 60 inch work area. I can expand this machine to 60 inches by
ten feet easily (Well sorta easily!!!) in the future. I want to do more
with animated machines. Most of the animated machine parts are not square
and straight. An example would be the "jaw bone" of an animated character.
Or how about a mechanized tongue! I would like to be able to take a project
from the doodle stage to the machined parts without an extreme amount of
conversion. I have noticed that all conversions are NOT equal! I'm not
really a machinist. I came into this from being an artist that needs to
make things that move. I took a job as a machinist and learned just enough
to be a large part of the problem! Machinists often try to tell me
something can't be done or won't work and I go ahead and make the thing
anyway and it usually does work.

I can also see EMC used as an animation controller! But that is another
story... You would be amazed at how many computers and PLCs and such things
like that go into a haunted house!

As you may have guessed I often use things for purposes they weren't
originally designed for.

This can be fun!

I want to use EMC and the rest of the design software and hardware to build
and also control an animated ghoul. It is a lot better than what is
currently the state of the art.

Thanks,

Clint Bach

PS. Why not push the envelope as far as we can?

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bertho Boman [mailto:boman@...]
> Sent: Monday, October 18, 1999 2:25 PM
> To: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@onelist.com
> Subject: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] What do we want?
>
>
> From: Bertho Boman <boman@...>
>
> I see many comments and requests for CAD being integrated with
> the "CNC" or "CAM". Maybe my definitions are not well defined
> and I guess it depends on goals and how we work.
>
> I know there are very high end systems where everything is
> integrated and machining centers are tied together with the design
> systems (car manufacturing for example) but I do not think that
> is our goal, at least it is not mine.
>
> I see several levels of system requirements but would like
> comments and suggested typical programs for each.
>
> PHASE 1: When I design a new product, I spend days and often
> weeks to put the system together so that all the individual
> hardware and subsections fit and work together. After that, I
> create drawings and specifications of the different components
> and normally send the drawings and DXF file out to get prototypes
> made. If the parts can reasonably by made manually, I make
> my own prototypes. I am in the process of converting my mill to CNC.
>
> This point seems to me to be a crucial dividing line. My work as
> an engineer is over and I put on my machining hat and go and
> get dirty.
>
> PHASE 2: Actually, once I am in the shop, I would work in the
> shop office first and create "the machine control file". I like
> to be able to load the "data" from the previous design program or
> from a customers data file. Hopefully, the customer will have
> it as some data file, DXF, or what not. Presumably, at this
> point I will need a program to generate G-codes from the data file
> together with my manual interaction for tool selection and
> desired tool path. I envision this program as an intermediate step,
> a converter, from the engineering world to the machining world
> and the output would be G-codes although I have seen references
> on the list to other unfamiliar systems. The G-codes can be
> saved and just reused for future production. It would be important
> that the converter program can show tool path and machine
> operation to catch blunders. Even better, hopefully, it can also show
> clamps and fixtures.
>
> This is to me the second major dividing line. Now the data is
> ready for production manufacturing (hopefully) and it gets to the
> flying chips part.
>
> PHASE 3: From the shop office the G-codes would be sent to the
> machine on the floor. There the G-codes and tools and DRO
> functions would be displayed and the part would be machined under "CNC".
>
> There are other desired software features that would be nice, for
> example, reverse G-code to DXF and some type of quicky
> "manual" CNC for very simple operations on the floor.
>
> Phase 1, design stage. I have seen Rhino mentioned and there are
> many other CAD programs available at a tremendous price range
> from free to $$$$$$$. I am using AutoCad for my part and I am
> not doing any fancy curved surfaces, at least not yet but it is
> tempting with CNC available.
>
> Phase 2, conversion. I have zero experience with programs to
> convert. Suggestions??
>
> Phase 3, machining. I have used several different programs but
> they have always been supplied by the machine manufacturer. I
> guess the prime candidate here is EMC and there are expensive
> commercial software, often tied with hardware manufactured by the
> same company.
>
> After all that writing (I'm competing with Arne) comes a few questions:
>
> Many of the "free" or low-cost programs that are discussed here
> seem to blur the definitions between the phases that I have
> tried to create. Maybe the phases are wrong.
>
> Why would anyone use a program that can not accept G-codes? Time
> to put on flame proof jacket again! Why a CAD program that
> runs a milling machine? Of course, it would be great if one
> program could do all but then it is usually mediocre instead.
>
> So, what are the recommended software for the different phases or
> how should I re-split the definitions?
>
> Bertho Boman
>
> > Welcome to CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@...,an unmoderated list for
> the discussion of shop built systems in the above catagories.
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> List Manager
>