2011 SoCal Camp Shopbot !!!

[billp]

Magic,
Gabe has informed me that he's got a forklift that will raise up to 30 feet, so bring your bungee jumping gear !
To all of you in the area who recently got the e-mail from Shopbot reminding you about the Camp please note that we will start around 8:30 AM with coffee, etc., and it will run until approximately 4 PM with a pizza type lunch in the middle of the day.
Also even if you are not entering the "bridge building/bungee jumping" competition please try to bring something that you have made with your Shopbot for the "Show and Tell" sessions. We ALL learn from seeing what others are doing...

[billp]

The recent e-mailing from Shopbot has bumped up the numbers of those planning to attend. I have 25 names here, and Gabe has another group on his computer as well. Again it would help us to plan for the daily supplies, etc. if we know you'll be coming that day, so please drop me a note at -campshopbot at gmail dot com to confirm with us. Thanks !
PS- Gabe I have a bridge ready ( non conforming specs of course,but Shopbot cut anyway.....) !

[magic]

Bill

I've noticed that prospective buyers sit through a lot of technical talk before they see the show and tell so they leave early. Have you thought of doing the slide show and maybe some of the show and tell then turning the meeting over to us for a bit - while you take the prospects aside and answer questions they are concerned with.

Just seems that people who don't own a machine have no interest in weather the first models had cables.

Anyway if sales improve, tell Ted and maybe I can get a hat... or a spindle or a sticker.

Magic.
P.S. If anyone is building a cantilever bridge, I'll bring the lever.

[Coleman Becker]

I think that is a brilliant idea. If I was a Potential buyer would like to know what the machines are capable of and what other people are doing first. So i can think of what i can do with the machine and how it will help my business, learning how the machine works and how to program comes second. As I say, "First comes and idea, how to take that idea and make it happen takes a mind of its own."

[billp]

Generally speaking we've always tried to avoid using Camps as sales events, but obviously there ARE people who are coming to see a machine for the first time so they will have plenty of questions. Usually we try to cover many of these during the sessions, or let others share their own experience during breaks, etc. but I'll be glad to try something like this once we all get there and I can identify how many people we're speaking about.
In reality the best solution for anyone interested in learning about a Shopbot would be to arrange to have your own personal "demo" with someone you meet at a Camp, or through contacting Shopbot directly. While we tend to cover more general topics in the condensed time frame of a Camp a demo is where you can ask specific questions regarding your own needs without running the risk of putting others into a catatonic state while we explain some of the nuances of everything from software, to dust collection. This is one reason we ask people to identify their use of the machine early in the day. Then others with similar interests know who to target during breaks, etc.
I have no way of telling which of the people on the current list own a machine or not, so let's see what we find out the morning of the Camp...

[fsrdoug]

I have a question on the bridge. How are the bridges going to be supported under the ends? Are there 2 stands 1 meter apart and the bridge rises or drops from there?
I'm "gravitationally challenged" and my design holds me so all you lightweights might as well give up. (Yes this is a challenge to those who thought they might not build a bridge)

Doug

[magic]

Gabe said he and his dad would hold the ends on their shoulders and whoever gets on the bridge could be carried around, while Bill feeds them grapes and i fan them with a big wood palm leaf.

[gabepari]

I have a question on the bridge. How are the bridges going to be supported under the ends? Are there 2 stands 1 meter apart and the bridge rises or drops from there?
I'm "gravitationally challenged" and my design holds me so all you lightweights might as well give up. (Yes this is a challenge to those who thought they might not build a bridge)

Doug

Couple of tables, spaced 1 meter apart.

Can't wait to see some creative engineering.

Gabe

[Coleman Becker]

how are we going to test the weight and see how much it can hold?

[fsrdoug]

how are we going to test the weight and see how much it can hold?

How about if I stand on your bridge first and if it holds me then I'll stand on mine?
Doug