Don't know if anyone else has posted this but I ran across a cool machine at my local Sears today: http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... 0921754000#.
Seems perfect for profiling cores and making molds but didn't really get the chance to check out all the specs.
Cheap personal CNC - Craftsman CompuCarve
Moderators: Head Monkey, kelvin, bigKam, skidesmond, chrismp
Cheap personal CNC - Craftsman CompuCarve
- Kam S Leang (aka Little Kam)
here is another one that was previously discussed.
http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=723
http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=723
I looked into that thing, its the same as the carvewright in the other post, craftsman just bought the rights to distribute. The problem with that thing is the software. You cant import .dxf's or any other files, you can only use their designs. I downloaded their trial software and just couldnt get it to do what i wanted. Maybe someone else could figure it out.
They say they are going to be able to import drawings int he future, then, yea it would probly be able to do whatever you wanted like profiling or cutting base material.
They say they are going to be able to import drawings int he future, then, yea it would probly be able to do whatever you wanted like profiling or cutting base material.
You can't import DXF files but you can import images.
I messed with the software a bit because a cabinet builder friend has one. What you need to do is open your DXF in an image editing program and then add grayscale to create the cuts. 100% black will cut all the way through 50% half way, ect. I guess it's similar to DEMs, which are how satellites are used to map the relief of the earth.
You could could go crazy with core design. It doesn't move real quick because it's really designed for detail, so cutting a basic core would not be the best use. Some time I might try it out but I've yet to build a pair of skis so don't listen to me.
Cheers!
I messed with the software a bit because a cabinet builder friend has one. What you need to do is open your DXF in an image editing program and then add grayscale to create the cuts. 100% black will cut all the way through 50% half way, ect. I guess it's similar to DEMs, which are how satellites are used to map the relief of the earth.
You could could go crazy with core design. It doesn't move real quick because it's really designed for detail, so cutting a basic core would not be the best use. Some time I might try it out but I've yet to build a pair of skis so don't listen to me.
Cheers!
CompuCarve
sorry it took so long for me to post but better late than never. before i start just wanted to give props to the site, forum, and all the participants...great stuff.
in the interest of keeping this short i'll just point out some drawbacks of the tool. we made about 4 pairs of skis this winter using this tool to do core profiling, mold and template cut-outs, base material cutouts. i can break down the limitations of the tool into these two categories-profiling and cut-outs.
as someone noted before the tool is extremely slow, even in the "draft" quality setting. profiling a complete core takes almost 3hrs. the way the tool is setup it has to cut perpendicular to the long axis of the core so as you can imagine it has to slowly steps through each cut. we sped this up by planing the core all the way down to the thickest section but it still took nearly 3hrs. another issue is to my knowledge the software does not have a quick and easy way of doing linearly sloping surfaces. there is a feature to do domed surfaces but the slope has some curvature into it. we used this feature and i think it ends up effecting the way the ski bends so you need to compensate for this in your design.
because the tool is made to do small pieces of wood, long cuts (at least cuts that are the length of the ski) are difficult for it and you need to place the cutting piece on rollers to keep the tool from losing its x-y axis. however even with the rollers sometime the wood can slip and you loose accuracy in the x-y plane. this is especially effects cuts that are deeper than .25" as the bit needs to make multiple passes to achieve this depth thicker than this. so cutting molds pieces or other templates that are thicker than .25" is not advisable. instead we cut thin templates into .25" masonite and used our router to cut the thicker pieces. with that said the tool is extremely cool for cutting thin pieces such as base material and .25" masonite templates. as long as the tool only has to make one pass it seems to be pretty accurate.
lastly the tool does "jam" a lot so you have to have patience with it and clean it after every job. the main issue i found was that when you are loading pieces that are not exactly straight you can have issues with it zeroing itself. so when carving or cutting make sure that the pieces you are using are as straight as possible.
i will try and add some pics to the post when i figure out how to do that. hope this helps and happy ski building!
in the interest of keeping this short i'll just point out some drawbacks of the tool. we made about 4 pairs of skis this winter using this tool to do core profiling, mold and template cut-outs, base material cutouts. i can break down the limitations of the tool into these two categories-profiling and cut-outs.
as someone noted before the tool is extremely slow, even in the "draft" quality setting. profiling a complete core takes almost 3hrs. the way the tool is setup it has to cut perpendicular to the long axis of the core so as you can imagine it has to slowly steps through each cut. we sped this up by planing the core all the way down to the thickest section but it still took nearly 3hrs. another issue is to my knowledge the software does not have a quick and easy way of doing linearly sloping surfaces. there is a feature to do domed surfaces but the slope has some curvature into it. we used this feature and i think it ends up effecting the way the ski bends so you need to compensate for this in your design.
because the tool is made to do small pieces of wood, long cuts (at least cuts that are the length of the ski) are difficult for it and you need to place the cutting piece on rollers to keep the tool from losing its x-y axis. however even with the rollers sometime the wood can slip and you loose accuracy in the x-y plane. this is especially effects cuts that are deeper than .25" as the bit needs to make multiple passes to achieve this depth thicker than this. so cutting molds pieces or other templates that are thicker than .25" is not advisable. instead we cut thin templates into .25" masonite and used our router to cut the thicker pieces. with that said the tool is extremely cool for cutting thin pieces such as base material and .25" masonite templates. as long as the tool only has to make one pass it seems to be pretty accurate.
lastly the tool does "jam" a lot so you have to have patience with it and clean it after every job. the main issue i found was that when you are loading pieces that are not exactly straight you can have issues with it zeroing itself. so when carving or cutting make sure that the pieces you are using are as straight as possible.
i will try and add some pics to the post when i figure out how to do that. hope this helps and happy ski building!
