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Yesterday and today Shawn Kirsch, from MultiCam Texas came to our shop. His task is to set up, dial in and test the new MultiCam.
New wiring has been strung, a new computer hooked into the system. Programs have been loaded, new tools chucked up, and everything dialed in perfectly. Everything is going well and now we are at the test stage of the setup. I've glued up the blocks to chuck in the rotary setup of the router and after lunch we'll be firing up the machine and doing some actual routing.
It is like Christmas morning as the excitement builds...
Then the fun begins.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Look out world, he he goes again. Dan is about to produce the unimaginable. Bill
-------------------- Bill Riedel Riedel Sign Co., Inc. 15 Warren Street Little Ferry, N.J. 07643 billsr@riedelsignco.com Posts: 2953 | From: Little Ferry, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Looks Cool as Heck Dan.. You are going to have a blast with the 4th Axis.. I can't wait to see what transpires from your Brain.
Keep us informed about the Enroute 4th axis setup. I am really curious if it a Wrapper type setup or true 4 axis Machining.(Which really opens up the Insane asylum) If its the latter I may just have to switch
Looking at your set up, I think you said it would accept 24" Diameter material. Are they talking 24 round stock or Square as a 24" Block is actually 36 from point to point or are you 18" Square 24 point to point.
[ December 09, 2011, 12:22 PM: Message edited by: William DeBekker ]
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The new MultiCam will take a 24" diameter round block of material. The maximum clearance for a block is 26" across. There are plenty of things I can do to cram a square block bigger than 18" in the machine. Cutting off the corners or roughly shaping it by hand is a good way to cheat.
Right now, by combining the MultiCam programing and functions with the EnRoute software we have three lathe modes.
One is true lathe mode. This turns the stock at a set rate and the spindle runs down the work much like a conventional lathe operation.
The second way is routing a file on a square side of the block, turning it 90 degrees (or whatever amount you want) and running the same or different file. This opens up all kinds of possibilities I never had before.
The third mode is to wrap a 3D EnRoute file around the centerline of the piece. Using this method you have to account for varying amounts of distortion, depending on how far you are from the centerline. We can do this already.
Then there is the full blast 4D routing where I will be able to create a 3D file, and have the machine route it by turning the block and moving the router head up and down and along the piece - all in a controlled fashion. In EnRoute this is currently not possible to do this but we are working on these things with the developers. The sky is the theoretical limit and it is our dream to go much higher than that.
Stay tuned...
-dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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With your creativity, You will love it Dan.. True 4 axis routing will make your head explode if Enroute gets to the point it can support it.
I know we talked about the Laser scanners at one time and that's where the true 4 and 5 axis routing comes alive. Trying to design on the PC for true 4 axis is a exercise in futility still, but by sculpting a detailed Mock up in clay, then Scan, then machining with true 4 axis is where where you will shine as you can make it any scale you want as you already know.
I'm not sure if you have played with Z brush yet but by using a Wacom Ciniq is about the closet I have come to being able to sculpt in the computer but I am not the best Artist for trying to demo this process. As you know I am a Technical guy and Free form Makes my Head explode.
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I am looking forward to seeing what it, and you can do together.
Talking of Z Brush, have you had a playaround with Scupltris, developed by a Swedish guy but now, he is at Pixologic and programme has been taken over by then, you can download and play with it, from Z Brush/pixologic website.
Didn't Aspire have a feature where you can rotate 3D objects machining 1 part at a time.
I just heard back from the factory in Europe where we are ordering a new machine, that we can have a gantry height of 700mm (27") without any loss of speed or accuracy, they use the same parts as they use on their huge 5 axle machines, and a rotating axle that can be mounted as needed on short or long side of table, it will be fun to compare things, mechanically at any rate as I lack the contents of Dan's brain
I have had a couple of tough years here with too many staff, and found myself chasing jobs, all sorts just to keep the wheels turning, have cut back there to try and get back to what I enjoyed doing before, and have fun at work.
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