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Thread: Before I purchase the SB link

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    727

    Default

    Well I ordered the link and the dongle is on the way.

    Its too early to say much, but I do have a project coming up, and I will certainly share the results.
    Michael Schwartz - Waitsfield VT
    Shopbot prs standard 48x96. Aspire. SB Link.

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Morrilton Arkansas
    Posts
    268

    Default Just a Question

    Will the Shopbot link work in preview mode of the SB Software? I downloaded the link, and of course, since I have been a mach 3 user for 2 years, I am completley baffled by the sb interface.

  3. #23
    garyc Guest

    Default

    The SB Link will allow you to look it over, review the code, but will not output viable code that can be viewed with SB3 in preview mode. You will be able to bring in a TWD from eCabs and evaluate how it nests.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    94

    Default

    Micheal, I'd be interested to hear how you are making out after 4 months of using eCabinets? I was reading through this thread & can relate to allot of your comments.
    Thanks

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    727

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by sbd1 View Post
    Micheal, I'd be interested to hear how you are making out after 4 months of using eCabinets? I was reading through this thread & can relate to allot of your comments.
    Thanks
    Here are a couple of pictures from my phone. This is an e-cab/link job, I built that I am currently installing. Note that the old countertop was temporarily reinstalled, while I complete the butcher block counters. The cloths washer is going to be replaced with a dishwasher.

    I still have quite a bit of trim to scribe and install, and I am also fabricating a built in shelf unit which will be installed at the end of the cabinets. I will have some proper photos in a few weeks.

    In short the learning curve with E-Cabinets is very manageable. Gary C. walked me through the relevant link settings for my machine so it didn't take much to get going.

    I did run into a very strange issue with the ShopBot manual tool change routine that would intermittently result in loss of the offset that is used when zeroing to the bed, after a bit change. This resulted in the bit plunging through into my spoil board a few times. I think I was able to find a solution but I have not had the time to explore this any further.

    Luckily I did not encounter any bugs with E-cabinets, or the link. Everything seemed to work fine, and I found it very easy to setup my own cabinet library. The training videos will demystify the software and show you how the programmers want it to be used. Even if you think you have a grasp on the software, you will learn from the videos that cover the even most basic features that you think you already know.

    I was a little bit nervous about cutting $1000 worth of plywood, days after receiving the link dongle, especially when I had only been working with E-Cabinets for a week or two. There were a few moments I was tempted to start cutting everything on the table saw but other than that one issue, everything went ok.

    The vacuum hold down I setup from a pair of central vacuum motors, has been working really well. In short I have been able to hold just about anything, I want within reason.

    I know some people may find this interesting, but I have been running both E-Cabinet Systems and Aspire on my 2011 Macbook Pro via Parallels 8, and they both run quite fast. It helps that I upgraded to a solid state drive but I can resume the windows 7 virtual machine, and load either program in about 10 seconds. I probably won't bother to upgrade, or replace the older windows desktop, I have been using for design.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Michael Schwartz - Waitsfield VT
    Shopbot prs standard 48x96. Aspire. SB Link.

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    94

    Default

    Nice looking cabinets Michael.

    I was a little bit nervous about cutting $1000 worth of plywood, days after receiving the link dongle, especially when I had only been working with E-Cabinets for a week or two. There were a few moments I was tempted to start cutting everything on the table saw
    That's exactly where I'm at. I have a kitchen coming down the pipeline and I can't find software that I'm comfortable with - or that I trust. After speaking with Gary a couple of weeks ago about it he convinced me that eCabs had too big of a learning/setup curve to use for a kitchen I needed cut soon (and if cabinets wasn't my mainstay business, then it was probably too much software). He suggested I take a look at CabinetPartsPro, which I did. But after reading everything I could find about it (which is very limited), working with it (which is not intuitive), asking Ryan for help directly (without any real results), and even offering to pay someone to help me get over the hump (no one offered), I've pretty much given up on CPP. Which is sad really, because I can see its potential.

    Now I'm half-heartedly contemplating eCabinets again. And while I feel that your experience was ultimately a good one, I don't know if I'm as brave as you. The alternative is drawing all the parts in SketchUp & then nesting & toolpathing them in ArtCAM manually for this order. If I could cross-cut sheets on my tablesaw I would probably opt for that this time.

    BUT....I still really like the idea of eCabinets. Anyone willing to spend a few hours online with me helping me get the main settings dialed-in?

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    727

    Default

    Keep in mind, I spent 40+ hours working with the software, within that two week timeframe.


    To dial in fit tolerances for blind dados, I like to cut scaled down cabinets, and or drawer boxes. This also works well for testing a design. I will bet that this will work in other software too.

    http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15412

    At first you can skip the project and material estimation features in e-cabinets. Try producing simple renderings, but don't get too carried away. I still haven't bothered adding 3D display objects such as knobs and pulls, or appliances. Keep it simple, at first (KISS).

    I do think it is worthwhile to setup the hardware hole patterns for hinges, and slides. The training videos made this easy. Otherwise I wouldn't have known where to begin. This saved me 1-2 days of time on the project I am working on.

    I cant really think of an entire list off the top of my head but here are some things to pay attention to.

    1. Edge banding. Make sure to verify the edge banding thickness, and check each and every edge, of all parts for desired banding settings. This will affect the depth of the cabinet. When you cut a cabinet, and one side is 1mm short for example, this is where you want to look.

    2. Check and make sure that a cabinet can be machined without using flip ops. You will inevitably have to go back and modify a box when you load it up into the link and realize you missed a part that has machining operations on the other side. Save flip ops for later.

    3. Cut one or more test cabinets, from inexpensive material. I cut one of my drawer bases, to check the hardware hole pattern for my slides. After this I was confident enough to trust my setup, for everything else.
    Michael Schwartz - Waitsfield VT
    Shopbot prs standard 48x96. Aspire. SB Link.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    94

    Default

    Well, I just took the plunge & ordered the SB link & the book. And I'll signup again for the videos. My wife (and my back's) not going to be happy with me spending more time at the computer, but I know it's necessary.

    It's like you were reading my mind Mike. The 40+ hours comment scares me a little, but I have a pretty good understanding of what's going on. I'm going to do the same thing you did & build small test cabs & drawers to get my confidence up.

    I did notice there's a conflict that occurs if I dado the back panel into the top/bottom while also wanting to have blind dados between the sides & top/bottom that would require flip-ops - something I don't want to do yet - so I'll have either cut the dado on a table saw later or change my construction. How did you do it?

    Hardware holes, edgebanding, no flip-ops, small tests on inexpensive material - all good advice.

    Thank you.

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    94

    Default

    Mike. How do you zero a tool to the bed if there's a sheet of material on the table? Ie: You have just finished drilling 5mm holes & cutting dados, now you need to change to a 3/8" bit for perimeter cutouts. You can't exactly move the sheet to get to the bed to zero on.

    I think I'm going to build a fixed zero plate on a resurfaceable block off the side of my table.

    Thanks

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    727

    Default

    The link will walk you through the each tool change, and give you an opportunity to zero the bit if necessary.

    I zero to the bed of the machine (aka the spoil board). Once you start doing it this way you will never want to zero to the top of the material again. When zeroing to the bed you do not need to worry about minor variations in thickness within the material, small differences from one sheet to another.

    For an off table reference I use a small vacuum puck to hold my z-zero plate nice and tight. My Z-Zero routine is setup to automatically go to this location. (roughly x=2 - y=-1.25)
    a
    I made this the same size as my Z-Zero plate. I put a piece of trupan on top to act as a mini bleeder board board. I modified my table surfacing routine to surface this puck so that it is the exact same height as my table. When using a 1-1.25" bit I have to cheat a little and flush up the last 1/8" on the righthand side with a chisel (easier done than said)

    I hooked it up to the plumbing for my table with polyurethane tubing from the hardware store. I was going to install a knife valve but The vacuum leakage doesn't even show up on my gauge . I am only using a pair of lighthouse 110v motors any i do not notice any loss from this.


    ZZERO PUCK 1 .jpgZZEROPUCK2.jpg
    Last edited by michael_schwartz; 10-28-2012 at 09:14 PM.
    Michael Schwartz - Waitsfield VT
    Shopbot prs standard 48x96. Aspire. SB Link.

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