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Thread: New Indexer

  1. #11
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    Nov 2007
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    Vankleek Hill, ON
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    861

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    Good point Gary, it's my understanding that both Partworks 3D and Vectric Cut 3D allow you to do 2 and 4 sided cutting where side 1 is cut, rotate to side 2 and cut, etc. Not simultaneous, or equal to what CNC mills typically do but, no doubt, fine for what a lot of people need and the benefit of a direct, user-friendly interface.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    Let me back up a bit. Before I got a shopbot i had a legacy ornamental mill which in essence is a poor mans manual shopbot.

    So if i was making a spindle or baluster with my bit in the router i manually lower it to the surface of material and lock the depth on the router there. Then i measure whatever depth I want on the depth bar, lock it off.
    Then the mill turns the stock while i manually lower the bit into the material till it stops.

    I have found that with different bits i can create several different designs freehand "on the fly".

    And when i bought my shopbot and indexer i too thought you could control it manually similar to this. With independant axis control (coming soon) I think you will see new and creative ways for us to be able to use the indexer.

    Daryl...what i meant was, some guys to get independant axis control (B spins while you move x,y,z)have inserted a small lathe between the indexer head and tailstock
    http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/mes...tml?1245897845
    and soon that manual shortcut will not be necessary as this will be controlled within the software (with a small controller card upgrade on some models).

  3. #13
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    Mar 2006
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    daryl,
    "Does that mean that a person will be able to use the indexer as a lathe???"

    I don't believe you will be able to spin it like a lathe at those speeds to be able to put a toolrest up and put a chisel to the work but you will be able to spin the work while moving the x,y,z manually

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    mcgrew woodwork, columbia south carolina
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    909

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    like gary has said, vectric has announced that the rotary function will be on the next release of aspire and vcarve, there will be more on this a t the pittsburg and dallas camps

  5. #15
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    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vankleek Hill, ON
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    good point Jack. Based on my experience with a metal type mill and tooling, I don't see having to spin at lathe speeds as a necessity in many cases, as long as I can cut with the side of the cutter rather than the end. I find that the finish when using the end of an end cutter, regardless of how many flutes, really sucks as compared to what you get side-cutting, even with high end milling machines.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    Vankleek Hill, ON
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    Daryl, do you want this to revert back to your original question which I know you've been trying to get answered before?

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    Vankleek Hill, ON
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    Thanks for the info James, I had emailed them just a few days ago about this capability and their response did not allude to this at all. It will be nice to see what's new!

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Ellettsville, IN
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    346

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    I didn't see anything on their website about this. Interesting.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Hendersonville NC
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    525

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    It is buried in a long thread in the Hardware section. Here is what Brian said:

    "Vectric and wrapped toolpaths

    We have been following these discussions with a great deal of interest. When Greg visited Vectric a good while ago he was very keen on wrapped output from VCP / Aspire, as have a number of other individual and OEM customers. We have supported wrapped output of toolpaths from a particular OEM version of VCP for over 12 months but I have always worried about the lack of ‘ease of use’ as we can’t preview the result of the wrapped toolpath. This was not a problem for the OEM version as it was mainly diamond drag / very shallow engraving. We have always strived with the Vectric product range to produce software which is easy to use and also allows the user to visualise their results before they ever cut it on the CNC. Unfortunately with wrapped toolpath output this visualisation capability is lost. However the enthusiasm which has been shown for wrapped output on this thread has convinced me to change my mind and I have added the wrapped toolpath output option to the next version of VCP / Aspire (this will be a free upgrade for existing users as it will me a ‘minor’ point release). We are currently Beta testing and hope to be able to release about the time of the user groups.
    Brian"

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    mcgrew woodwork, columbia south carolina
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    909

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    sorry info already posted

    jim

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