Atlanta Camp 2010

[don62]

Bill, touche'! my shopbotting experience has mainly been 2d, and on items where hold down can be clamps or screws. i am now venturing into 3d and items that would require vacuum systems. so those two areas are of interest. also i am one of the old prt guys who has not done any upgrades to my system, so seeing a newer system in operation would be of value. and i still use a router and would like to learn more about spindles. thanks, don

[billp]

Don,
We'll certainly have info on vacuum systems available, and hopefully David Buchsbaum will bring along some more of his cam clamps as another option for specific jobs.
Robert's machine is pretty current, and he has a good vacuum hookup that we can show everyone.
The Atlanta contingent usually brings in some pretty good Show and Tell items as well, so we'll try to cover all of the bases for you...

[billp]

To all Atlanta area Campers; as we're getting pretty close to the actual Camp date we're still asking for more input from you as to what areas you'd like us to cover at the Camp. We also need to know how many are planning to attend so we can figure out the supply requirements.
So far we've had a bunch of "the usual suspects" let us know their plans, but please don't assume that if you were here last year we'll assume that you're going to be back again. Drop one of us a note, or post something here on the Forum. Thanks!

[dnickoli]

This will be my first Camp Shopbot experience. I'm looking forward to it. Count me in.
Dan N.

[jporter]

Speaking about subjects to discuss or demonstrate: From time to time someone will mention another program such as Corell or Rhino or Photoshop in relation to Partworks or Aspire. They will talk about "STL" or other suffixes on file names. I would like for someone to give a lesson on what these people are talking about and how can I understand and use these other programs also. Also, any demonstration or information about the use of pen tablets. I am sure I am not being clear here, but I know someone here knows about these things. Any help in this area would be appreciated, joe

[bill.young]

Hey Joe,

I'm sure this is not at all what you have in mind when you ask about Wacom tablets, but there's a project in ShopBot Labs called the Sketchpad that lets you draw with a tablet and it creates a part file from your drawing. If your tablet is one of the pressure sensitive ones you can change the depth of the cut by pressing harder on the tip.

As with all the things in ShopBot Labs it should be considered "experimental", but there are some folks that are using it with kids as an easy way to get them using a ShopBot.

http://www.shopbottools.com/LabFiles/sktchpad.htm

Bill

[billp]

Joe,
"I would like for someone to give a lesson on what these people are talking about and how can I understand and use these other programs also."
Understanding, and using ANY programs would obviously take much more time than we ever have during a one day Camp.
I think the context you are asking about here is HOW someone might USE a file which was created in another program, and then bring it into Partworks, or Aspire to create your file, and tool path it.
Each different program would have it's own technique to create the original file, and then depending upon your purpose, you would either "open", or "import" that file into the Vectric program of your choice.
Vectric has written a number of great tutorials telling you how to do exactly that;
http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectr..._tutorials.htm
The suffix of .STL is used when someone creates a specific "3D" type of file. it contains data that includes height, width, and depth. It is similar in that respect to other 3D files types such as ".3DS", or ".OBJ". The main difference I have found with .STL files is that because of the way they are written they are VERY large when compared to some of the other file types., and for that reason cannot easily be e-mailed to clients, OR other Shopbotters.
What we CAN do during a Camp is show you HOW you would import such a file into your current tool pathing program, but again to explain ALL the nuances of creating such a file is far beyond our time frame.Again, take a look at the Vectric page(s) on creating 3D objects, and I think you'll get the hang of it.
As Bill Y. points out above there are a number of ways to use a "tablet",and he most common one is using the "pen/stylus"which comes with many of these tablets, instead of your computer's mouse to do drawings. Some people find it VERY difficult to draw lines of ANY type with a mouse, and they prefer the "feel" of a pen/pencil in their hand. THIS is where a tablet works well. You "draw" with your "pen", and you can see it on your tablet screen ( or computer screen depending on how you are set up). Once you have created a drawing you are happy with, you save the drawing in a file format that will work for your particular application ( .dxf, or .eps are the most common formats for simple 2D line drawings).
I believe there may also be a tutorial somewhere in the Vectric library regarding HOW to use these tablets, as I know that James Booth has done numerous presentations about Vectric software and why HE prefers to use a Wacom tablet himself.
We will do what we can within the time frame we have at the Camp to clear some of this up, but I think the Vectric information will have just about ALL the answers you need. If not, ASK a specific question on the Vectric Forum, there are many people there who can get you jump started...!

[jporter]

Thanks to both of you for your replys. Any help you can squeeze into the meeting would be greatly appreciated. joe

[john_l]

Would love to come. Can you put me down as a maybe? I have a business trip scheduled that I am trying to get postponed.

[billp]

John,
We now have you down as a definite maybe.....