Utah Camp!

[matt_p]

OK, we are set for Saturday, May 13th! The camp will be held at Summit Graphic and DeSign in Orem for everyone in the greater Utah and surrounding area.
Address to the shop is: 399 W. 1200 N. Suite E. Orem, UT 84057
Shop is on the main drag and easy to find. We've got plenty of space for attendees.
Phone is 801-426-6533, ask for Matt.
Schedule for the day is not finallized yet, but will be posted as it is firmed up. I do know that we will start @ 8am and go all day.
Bill Palumbo from ShopBot will be there and demo Part Wizard, vac pumps and probably some cuts, and we've got a few other people who may do some demos.
We will probably do some 3d cutting and file set-up demos also. Anyone who wants to show how they use their 'bot, please contact me.

Lodging info for those of you that will be coming from out of town:
Fairfield Inn, 427 W. 1250 S. Orem 801-431-0405
Hampton Inn, 851 W. 1250 S. Orem 801-426-8500
La Quinta, 1100 W. 780 N. Orem 801-235-9555
Super 8 Motel, 125 S. 850 E. Lehi 801-766-8800

Please RSVP (so we can have enough food and materials on hand) to Matt by calling or email
matt@summitgdc.com (mailto:matt@summitgdc.com)
Also, any one that is interested in helping or presenting a topic or demo, let me know. And if anyone has any suggestions for content for the day let me know. I think will probably have a show and tell for everyone to show what they use their 'bot for also. And, I'm thinking we could possibly have our own version of the "Speaker Contest" if anyone is interested.
Hope to see you all there. Later

[richards]

Matt,

Count me in and let me know what I can do to help.

[matt_r]

Matt,
You and I have already talked, but just to reiterate, count me in. I'll be glad to help, just let me know what I can do.
Since you mostly use Enroute, I would be happy to do a demo using Part Wizard, or V-Carve Wizard. I can bring the sign pictured below, and show how it was created in Part Wizard, using different shaped bits. Just a suggestion.

Later,
Matt
3553
3554

[matt_p]

Matt,
you're on. man, that looks incredible!
I wish I had as much time to as you. lol
now, let's see that thing painted, leafed and some spalts!

Later

[joe]

Matt,

I allready mad, cause I won't be there to see how you did that sign.

Would a tool changer help?

Joe

[stickman]

Matt,

That is AWESOME. Love to hear more about how you created that sign.

Jay

[matt_r]

Thanks for the kind words. Always nice to get props from your peers.
Yes, a tool changer would have helped, greatly! I think I had over 10 bit changes.
Since I will be using this piece as a presentation for the Utah camp, I will make up some sort of PDF handout for that camp, with all the details, bit info, screen shots, and pictures. When I get this made up, I will gladly distribute it to those who would like a copy.

-Matt

[zeykr]

Matt, Awesome sign. I'd love to see a copy of your pdf when ready.

[superior]

Hi Matt
As a host for a camp, I like the idea of the PDF handout. This will certainly encourage ALL of us to strive for new heights, and give us the ladder to climb!
Please include me on your list. This is the sort of thing we are doing more and more, and as we all know, information is power.
Very nice work. Keep it up.
P.S.: If it not too personal, how about a hint as to pricing,i.e., price per square foot, etc.
This is another area sadly lacking throughout the sign industry, the ability to be paid what a job is really worth.

Doug

[matt_r]

Doug,
Yep, I think it would be great to have a 'library' of such knowledge and documents. The PDF works well, because it can be e-mailed to anybody who is not able to attend a given camp.

Pricing. HeHe. I only laugh, because I was never paid for this job - at least not in money anyway. This job was done in trade with the guy who creates and maintains my website. He paid for the Extira, and provided the vectorized art. He also painted it after I was done with it. Unfortunately, he hasn't given me any pictures of the finished product yet. But, he has agreed to let me take it to the camp.

The sign is almost 8ft wide, and about 40 in. tall. I would guess somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30 sq feet. Cutting time was the better part of an 8 hr day (factoring in bit changes and all). The programming and messing around with the clip art probably took me about 4 hours.

Because I didn't have to do the finishing, I would just charge shop rate X hours(program & cut). This would end up being approx $800. If you take that figure and divide by 25 sq ft, it comes out to be about $32/sq ft - which is about half of $75/sq ft that I've seen thrown around for finished carved signs.

Hope that helps.

-Matt R.

[matt_p]

You have to come to the Camp to see it!

Matt, I think you're right on the pricing, but something like this is a little beyond and deserves not only props, but premium pricing.
Sadly, I am a trading whore myself. one of the benefits of being your own boss!!!!

[joe]

It's going to be an all out good Camp and I'm mad, cause I can't be there.

For me, attending a Camp is a real money maker. Each time I return home, I'm armed with knowledge and experience that converts into real profit. I would encourage everyone attending, to make a knock out project to share. This will help hone your skills. It sure does mine.

I think the concept of Camps is a growing movement in the CNC world.

It's unique, fun, and challenging. I'm still MAD!

J

[matt_p]

Utah botters! Our camp is coming up soon and we have some great stuff planned. There should be something for everyone. We have some informative demos planned and there will be show and tell.
We need to hear from the people that have not rsvp'd, but are planning on attending, so we can have enough food and goods on hand.

You won't want to miss this! Please contact me or Bill Palumbo if you are planning on attending.

[richards]

Matt,

How about a quick update for this Saturday's camp?

[billp]

Mike,
I can give you some of the details.
We will be covering a pretty broad range of topics such as;
Vacuum systems, and options
Various software packages
3D cutting and applications
Sign making
Modifications of the machine
Marketing your products
"Show and tell"
How others are using their machines to make money
Those who have attended other Camps will see a similar pattern here, as we're finding out that these are good "starting points" for each Camp. The rest of the day is devoted to specific applications/questions which are generated by those in attendance.
Mike, I'm hoping that YOU can add to the mix with YOUR unique knowledge/field tests of motors/drivers and how they work, as it seems like a timely topic.....
Anyone else having specific skills is also more than welcome to jump in as well.
See you all on Saturday...

[richards]

Bill,

I've been counting down the days for this camp for several months.

Matt is a great guy who has spent quite a bit of time helping me understand some of the finer points of using a Shopbot. He'll be a great host.

I hope to meet a bunch of 'Botters on Saturday.

[matt_p]

Mike,
Bill has the scoop there. I'm sure there will plenty to see, learn and do.
and thanks for the nice words!

see ya Saturday

[richards]

It was a great Utah camp today. Many thanks to Matt Patten for donating his shop, his time, and for hosting the camp and to Bill Palumbo for spending the day teaching us that the Shopbot is much more versatile than most of us ever realized - at least much more versatile than I ever realized. The work displayed was an eye-opener for me - signs, carvings, games, toys, and probably the most incredible vase that I've ever seen.

One of the best parts was learning just how many great people there are close by who own or soon will own Shopbots.

Thanks to everyone involved. You surely made my day!

[billp]

I will agree with Mike, it was a great bunch of attendees, and some of the Show and Tell was excellent. I will try to get pictures of the vase Mike is describing on the blog page tommorow night when I get back to the East Coast.
Imagine an elliptical, thin walled ,hollowed out vase, with inlays......And factor in that it was done without the use of any software package we know of, just Adobe illustrator, a series of equations and arcs, and some remarkable engineering
and planning.....
Thanks again to Matt for hosting this one...

[bill.young]

Some pictures have been posted from the Utah Camp at http://www.flickr.com/photos/campshopbot

Bill P. will add notes to them when he gets back in the next day or so. As usual, if anyone else has picture please send them to campshopbot@shopbottools.com (mailto:campshopbot@shopbottools.com) and we'll get them posted ASAP

Bill

[billp]

I just got back in after a day of planes, vans, etc. and I have added captions to the pictures Bill mentioned above.
The best way I can describe the elliptical vases by Carl Durney would be that he drew their profile in Illustrator. THEN he somehow "figured out the angle of the arcs of the sides of the tips of a variety of 5 ball nosed bits,calculated their tangents, and drew up a series of equations which he then used to generate code to make the toolpaths"...!!!!! He then cut them in "lifts" so again he had to calculate the INSIDE angles as well....OH, he also figured out how to do the inlays while he was at it....There may actually be MORE to it than that, but needless to say, I, and just about everyone else at the Camp were pretty well boggled at that point. If anyone else remembers what I may have missed, please jump in and add the rest...
Many thanks to our Host, Matt Patten for his time and efforts in making the first Utah Camp a winner....!

[richards]

To add to what Bill just posted about Carl Durney: Carl made the walnut vase from twelve (I think) pieces of walnut, with each piece basically a 'vertical ring'. Each 'ring' had to be milled two separate times - once for the inside cut and once for the outside cut. The side of the vase was only 5mm thick! By the time Carl started describing how he made the inlays, I was just standing there with my mouth hanging open. I've seen beautiful vases at turning camps before, but nothing to match what Carl made. And, since the vase was eliptical, not round, it could NOT have been made on a lathe. To hear Carl describe his method, it was no big deal. To me, he was describing rocket science to a first-grade school boy.

[matt_r]

I'll throw my kudos in too. The Utah camp was a lot of fun. Finally, got to meet Mike Richards and Robert Cheal. I'm in the office this morning, trying to explain to a bunch of other engineers how Carl made that vase. Very Impressive!
Big thanks to Matt for hosting. Matt is one of the first guys I met at the Jamboree 2 years ago. Having someone in my own backyard with his kind of knowledge and helpfulness has been a real asset. He's a great guy.

Thanks to Bill for his usual great presentations, and well of knowledge.

We may just have to take his advice and get a users group going out here.

-Matt

[matt_p]

Wow, the 1st Utah camp was a good time. Thanks to all who attended and especially those who helped present: Matt, Mike and especially Bill.
It is always amazing to see what is possible with this cool little machine. Bill has seen and done so much, he can't help but put on a great presentation.
I was very inspired to push the boundaries and my capabilities further.
And thanks to Carl for blowing us all away with his vases! His thinking and execution of the process was way beyond what most of us will ever do. Thats a woodworker!
Thanks again to all who attended. I can't wait until the next one. And I think that we may well put together a users group. I hope everyone enjoyed the Z plunge demo!

Matt P

[robert_cheal]

It was fun to meet everyone I had really been looking forward to it. I hope we do it again sometime it was one of those days when you wish had more time to discuss ideas and experiences.
It leaves me hoping push through on some projects that have been sitting around in my mind. I hope that we can all keep in contact and that next time we will all have more to share.

Thanks to all,
Robert Cheal