Learning Aspire!

[mikeacg]

When I first became unemployed, I had a pity party for myself but then I realized that I had the time I had been looking for to learn to use Aspire better. This is what I did in the last 2 weeks. The lobster is my favorite so far (though the NC State Pet on the lower left is right up there)!

Mike


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[andyb]

Very, very nice. Still trying to find time myself. Little by little I'm working at it.

Andy B.

[courtney2018]

Michael, those are awesome!

Would you mind doing a small tutorial on how to make those in the computer? I've been trying to figure out out to do it, but you've got alot of detail in that lobster. Any pointers?

[redhatwoodworks]

Nice work indeed!

What is the size of the various pieces. They look to be about belt buckle size, but they could be much larger. I am looking to do this level of detail work on a small scale. Something in the range of 2 to 3 inches.

You mention the NC state pet. I live in Gibsonville near Greensboro. We might be neighbors.

[mikeacg]

Courtney,
I'm not sure that I could do a tutorial that would even come close to those on the Vectric site.
A good quality drawing or photo is number one. I convert everything to black and white in Photoshop first and if I see something black in the artwork that needs to be raised (like an eyeball), I airbrush it to white or a shade of gray. Try to think of mapping of depth - black is low, white is high. If you were going to do a zebra, you would want to get rid of the stripes on the body since the body is smooth. Otherwise you will end up with the white areas high and the stripes low and it won't look right.

748
The shadow under the chin really needs to go as well...

749

Bill,
The oval boxes are 4 5/8" x 6 1/4" (I use 1x6 clear pine). The smallest ball bit I have right now is 1/8" but it doesn't offer enough detail for a 3" box. I would use a 1/16" ball bit for anything smaller than these.
I'm in Wilmington so we aren't exactly neighbors but we both live in a beautiful state! Come to the beach!

Mike

[courtney2018]

I guess this is an Aspire only thing? I only have PartWorks.

[mikeacg]

Sad but true, Courtney! That's the reason I bought it... If you have Partworks 3D you can import 3D files in a number of formats but you can't make them.

Mike

[khalid]

Mike.. Partwork3D=Artcam?.. If yes , i wonder why can't we make these things in Artcam?

[tmerrill]

Khalid,

Partworks 3D = Cut3D
Partworks = VCarve Pro
Aspire = Aspire

These are all Vectric products. There is no connection with ArtCAM.

I would assume you could do these in ArtCAM Pro, but I've never used it. The ArtCAM Pro owners would have to answer that.

Tim

[khalid]

Tim..thanks for clarification.... Amazing same product with different name..you are right such work can only be possible in Aspire in Vectric product line...

Artcam can also do that...

[pro70z28]

I have the basic Part Wizard (I think it's called) that came with the machine back around 2001 or 2002.
How much does Aspire cost? I'd like to upgrade if it's not too expensive. I don't think I would have a space or processor problem.

[tmerrill]

Gary,

You can contact ShopBot directly for a quote or go to the Vectric site where you can find prices and details on what the program can do. You can also download a full featured trial version and create anything you want, you just can't toolpath and cut them. However, you can toolpath and cut the included sample file to see how your machine does. I would also recommend spending some time on the Vectric forum to see more examples of what people are using it for.

Tim

[mikeacg]

I don't know anything about using Artcam (though I loved to look at it at the shows) but Dianne told me about Aspire when I was up at the factory. I think they introduced it the week after I picked up my Buddy at a Jamboree in TX. Then ShopBot did a special deal for x-number of months after you bought a machine so I gave them my credit card immediately. I haven't had much time until recently but it is worth every penny! I have taken ArtCam off my wish list...

Mike

[coach]

Nice job Mike. If that is a Maine Lobster send it to me cooked please. One of the things I miss about New England.

[mikeacg]

Thanks David! If there were any Maine lobsters in this house, they wouldn't last long! We used a printer from Maine (Dingley Press) for our catalog at my last job and they always FedExed me 4 fresh ones for Christmas. I do miss that!!

Mike

[mikeacg]

I have 6 more boxes to add to the Oval Box series!
I love Aspire!
Mike

750

[navigator7]

Michael,
These things look like copper pennies.
How big are they and what do the boxes look like?

[mikeacg]

Chuck,

The boxes are about 6 1/8" x 4 1/2" and are done in 3/4" clear pine so they measure just under 1 1/2" at their highest point. This picture will help show the way they are made. I put a small lip on the bottom side of the lid to hold it in place.

Mike

751

[pro70z28]

Thanks for the info Tim. I'll check that out. I'm going into my slower season, so a purchase may have to wait til spring. I guess that will give me some time to research.

[navigator7]

Michael,
If a guy had a picture of his daughter and wanted to make a box with an image resembling her .... and give it to her mother....is that do-able?

How much time do you spend manipulating the aspire file?
Do you do multiple sets?
What machine do you use?
What is the over all time you would spend on the dragon fly for just a one-off?

TIA!

Nav

[mikeacg]

Chuck,

A lithopane would be faster for a one-off portrait but, yes, it is doable in Aspire.
All the boxes I made above were created using photos. I always work with the pictures a bit in photoshop before I import them. For example, if your daughter had dark hair, you would want to lighten it up so Aspire doesn't cut it deeper than the face. Aspire maps light to dark - white is the closest and black is the farthest away. I probably spend under an hour in Aspire on each design. It's one of those things that you could keep adjusting forever but it's not worth the time after a while so I set a limit. I'm getting faster now that I understand better how the software works.
I'm nor sure what you mean by 'multiple sets'.
I have a 48" Alpha Buddy. It usually takes me about 50 minutes to do an entire box but I am discovering that I can speed up the machine a bit.

Mike

[navigator7]

Can I pick your brain some more, Michael?

What would you think of a lithopane lid on a box with an interior light that would turn on and off to touch?

By multiple sets I mean....Let's say you had 10 different customers all wanting the same box only custom impressions requiring tweaking in Photoshop and Aspire. If the items fit on the material, can you nest them and machine them all in one operation or would you address them individually ... each in their own fixture?

Where I live I have unlimited Ponderosa Pine, Tamarack, White Pine, Douglas Fir, Hemlock, some larch and cedar and apple.
Are any of these woods suitable sources for carving material?
Apple is the hardest wood here but I've never seen it used for anything but heating homes.

I can drive a bit and get some Madronna which I believe is exceptionally hard material. Beautiful stuff and burns like Uranium. ;-)

Doesn't a feature exist in photoshop or aspire which inverts a black and white photo to give you the negative you seek?

Do you have a favorite material for lithopane work?

How do you hold down your parts?
How many passes until you make the finish pass?
What router size is that?

How portable do you consider your Buddy?
Would you take it to a fair or a show....provided you had the power and such arranged?

That's another question...are you single phase power or three phase?

You have an Alpha....does the closed loup steppers keep things a wee bit tighter?

Have you done cabinet work or any long stuff with your machine.

That's it for a bit...dinner is burning. ;-)

[myxpykalix]

Chuck,
here are a few answers for some lithopanes i've done. Material i use is .25 thick white corian.
As far as lighting for a jewelry box I guess you have to think about this. I probably would carve the picture of the child that would be on the outside top of the lid. You would have to light it with a strong enough but cool enough light. You can do that with cold cathode lights. Look for a 4" model here:
http://www.xoxide.com/dual-white-cold-cathode-kit.html
I would have it so that you would have the picture on all the time so the box could also act as a nightlight and she could see her picture all the time as opposed to only when she opens the box.
These lights are rated for 30,000 hours and are less than 8 bucks for the 12"s


752

753

[navigator7]

Thanks Jack!

So....the Lithopane can be as big as any corian you can find or as big as your table?

I just think this is hot stuff particularly if the product serves a purpose...as in a box.

(PS...I was thinking of the lid as corian and the light inside the box. The box would be useless as is all girly things found in my house. The only box I like is a tool box!)

I really like this stuff. I assume you can add text or other designs?????

To me....the ShopBot and a person with creative ability and a little vision can address one of the few things people will spend money on these days:
If it's about "Me" We or the house" If you can buy it at the store your creative juices are worth much. Somebody is already doing it in India for a buck a day.
I'm a frustrated backyard metal caster. People will spend 50 bucks for a finished object but they will only pay about 25% of the cost of a one off casting......Unless it's functional and it's about "Me, WE or the house"

Which brings me to another question completely off the deep end.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Has anybody here built a quality tool board for themselves or any customer?

Peg board just doesn't cut it for me.

I used to work tugs. One tug called the Tartar, had a swing open and lock tool board that was a work of art. Strong and pretty and it held two of every thing. The sockets and wrenches were let into the wood and tools would stay in place regardless of the weather and wether the doors were left open of not. You could tell at a glance what tools were left out.
I see a this as a Gift or Birthday present of a lifetime for a wife to a husband. A custom built tool board that is a work of art.
It's about Me We or the house

The only thing I would add after a lifetime of frustration with plastic tool boxes and ill fitting tool boards is neodymium magnets.
Just a little extra positive connection.

These plastic tool cases made today give this old man heartburn and gas every time I try and open those F'n things!
They are out to kill me! My blood races when I can't figger out how to open or close or extract a tool when it's 10ºf.
I need a 9/16 but end up using a 2Lb sledge.
They are worth exactly what you pay for them. They look great on the shelf in the hardware store. Reminds me of women in a bar at 0200. They sure look good at night but in the morning ....what was I thinking?
I'd sooner throw the case against the shop door to get a tool out. I end up bleeding, pissed, smoke an extra cigarette and dream of a tool box that actually serves me and does what I want it to do as opposed to operating like a Community Organizer.

Anybody agree?

[mikeacg]

Jack,

Thanks for handling the lithopane question. I don't have a lot of experience with them yet...

Chuck,

You could certainly gang up the designs and run them but there are a number of reasons I don't do that. 1) You would need to glue up large pieces of lumber and surface them on both sides. I use single pieces (I may run 3 or 4 on the same board). Single boards come pre-dimensioned or, if I am using lumber I cut on my mill, it will run through the planer. 2) You would have an enormous file and if something screws up along the way, you would need to make a new file. If it screws up on the roughing toolpath, you would still need to cut the finishing toolpath on a part that is no good (waste of time). 3) Big file means more time. I don't like to leave the machine alone when it is running so I run individual parts, allowing me to work on the finishing of one while another is running. 4) If you are doing personalizations (like names for example), you are never going to run those names again (or at least that combination of names) so the time spent building the file would be wasted as you would be throwing those files away.
I will sometimes put a 4' 1x6 on the table and cut a box at 0,0. Then I will move the Y to 7.5" and reset 0,0 and so on. I have very little waste lumber because I can work around knots and flaws this way.
Sounds like you have a great selection of wood there! It will all work for carving but you will need to be aware of how well it will handle details. Softer wood tends to tear with small detail or chip out. If you've ever tried to rout a sign in redwood, you will know that some letters are just too small to work. I used heart pine on the memorial plaque for the small detailed areas because it was a dense, tight grain. The oak I used for the rest of the plaque would not have worked.
You are not looking for a negative image. Look at the snake picture I posted earlier. This is a good example of how this works. The snake body is light with darker lines defining the scales. The eye was black in the photo but that would have made a hole in the snake's head so I made it white and shaded it round so the eye will cut as a spherical shape just like a real eye.
On the oval boxes, I put a drywall screw in each corner (predrilled hole) since the bit never goes there and I use an onionskin method to keep the pieces in place which is easy to clean up on the shaper table with a laminate bit.
Aspire determines the passes but it usually makes 2 roughing passes with a 1/4" ball and a single pass with the 1/8" ball.
The Buddy is not currently portable but I believe when I get a bigger machine I will build a trailer and generator for it so it will be totally portable. I would not count on ever having 220 available at a show. I don't really know how to tell if the Alpha is more accurate than a standard as I have no experience with a standard. All I know is that my Buddy does a great job for my business. I've done 12' signage (http://www.artcentergraphics.com/CNC1.htm) and it works fine as long as the letters are fairly large. I had problems with 1/2" letters but I think that is not the machine's fault. It's really not designed for that...

Mike

[mikeacg]

Can you add text? You can combine all kinds of files and get great results!

I added a name to this domed box lid I did for a buddy. I haven't finished sanding it yet so this will have to do for now.

Mike

754

[myxpykalix]

I wanted to address the question of taking a bot to a show.
I had thought about it myself but putting aside the cost of buying a buddy or small bot and the cost of a trailer, and the added cost of paying extra for electricity at these fairs.

Lets say you make an item that takes 30 minutes to carve and at least 2 toolpaths. When you factor in your time you have to take to do the selling then the cutting i doubt you will be able to make 8 in a day while at the fair.

There is the benefit of a customer walking away with a custom piece from the fair but just as likely you will have people walk away saying "i'm not paying 50 bucks for something that only takes him 30 minutes to make".

If they don't know that round box with the snake on the lid only took 30 minutes to make they might be more willing to buy.

If you wanted to go that route what i would do is create a line of products you sell like the round boxes and design them in such a way you can customize them with a kids name which only takes a few minutes. So you only have to do the customization while there.

[navigator7]

Thanks Michael,
I picked up on everything you said. Makes total sense.
At first I didn't pick up on the snake eye explanation and so I was forming another question...then it hit me. Tks.
Also.....you say you are 220 but is that single phase or three phase?


@ Jack,
Thanks for jumping in with your thoughts.
You gotta great point about about a customer balking at paying $50 bucks money for something that only took 30 minutes to make. "Why thats a hundred bucks an hour! No way am I paying this guy $100 bucks and hour!"

I'll have to stew on that reality a bit.

My "vision" was something along the lines of "Carved While You Wait"
I know how things aren't exactly as easy or quick as one might think.
People might get the idea they are ordering a burger.
Going to a show or a fair....IMHO was like paying for advertising. If the machine was busy buzzing during the fair....it would be good. You could always take payment and have the part shipped later...if you get my drift?

If a guy had a head for ideas that would sell...you could carve out stuff in advance but that is a turn off to me. It's generic. Walmart-ish. My wife has been buying green kitchen ceramic ware from a local guy. A piece at a time. Nice stuff. Pricey but nice. We know the fella. Nice fella...so there is an emotional link. I suggested she needed a spoon holder as we are slopping gluck on the counter. So she went out and got one. It didn't look like his work so I turned it over. It was not from our buddy. Made in China. 6 bucks. What the ....?
How cool would it be to sign a contract with this guy to make molds of his designs but with an insert so he could put "Built Especially for Mrs Navigator7"?

Today, for example, my small town gas station/quick stop had a bunch of 6" burned laser wooden printings of cougars, bears and deer and so forth selling for about 6 bucks.
There is just no emotion there. It's like buying over priced kindling. They weren't all that nice and even if they were....there is no emotional linkage to the best bobcat pic in the world.

If I was set up at the fair....I'd consider the parts dispenced a lost leader but what I'd really be trying to do is put a creative vision in the minds of people who show interest in customizing their home or business or creating gifts for people in a way you just can't buy at the store.

A business card could be a carved chunk of wood with a magnet on it so it damn well sticks tightly to the fridge and they see it every day.

The thing I hate about fairs....you go from one booth to another and there is some guy or gal in a chair staring back at you. Nothing is going on! Just trinkets for sale and none of the trinkets have my kid's name or their picture or my wife's name or picture on them. Not to mention I won't find a pic or carving of my dog at a fair. Still, you have that face staring at you hoping you buy a trinket. You do the courtesy nod thing and move away from the awkward situation looking for something cool.

Baseball, basketball, football golf, Nascar, are examples of people "doing something" and millions come to watch and spend money. HomeTime, the woodworking show is proof people will watch somebody else pounding a nail.

I casted some metal trinkets at the fair but got shot down because it was considered too dangerous. Boy does that draw a crowd! Flame, smoke, fire noise and a cool trinket in moments. Building the patterns is a bugaboo.!
If I only had a buck for every time I heard this: "Can you make one with my boyfriend's name on it"?

Making noise, making sawdust fly, spraying sealer and smearing paint planting visions in people's heads...what could be better? Hitting all the senses! ;-)

You wrote: "If you wanted to go that route what i would do is create a line of products you sell like the round boxes and design them in such a way you can customize them with a kids name which only takes a few minutes. So you only have to do the customization while there."

So are you saying .... personalizing something with text is pretty quick provided you are already fixtured up with a system?

Thanks both of you for the responses!

Nav

[mikeacg]

If all you are going to do is personalize ready made pieces, you wouldn't need to haul a Buddy around. I have a Roland Modela Mill that is about the size of a laser printer, it runs on 110, is quiet, and will do 6 x 8 x 2 3/8". You could run it off a laptop. Talk about an easy way to go!

Mike

[myxpykalix]

Chuck one thing i did NOT get from your response is that you need to realize these are
IMPULSE ITEMS! The only reason the person may decide to buy a round box with a cherub on the lid is because their kid little becky loves and collects angels and you have one sitting right there and can personalize it in 10 minutes while they go look around.

Whether you do it with a bot or laser probably won't matter.
As part of your booth setup i would have a video player or laptop or whatever setup showing the bot in action carving various products. If you have any editing skills i would show a project being created from "art to part". Maybe make them a minute or two long.

One thing this will do is have woodworkers stopping and congregating at your booth. Others will be attracted. This is like woodworkers p*r0n guys are always interested in new tools.

Russ Todd (widgetworks) has a very unique business card which is a engraved thin piece of metal. Its a little hard to read but it sure makes an impression.

What i intend to do next year is go to some of the local fairs. I intend to have samples there of big ticket items like spiral columns and wainscoting and items that you can use to make a bigger profit on and get customers from the fairs.
So you can use these as lures for bigger jobs.
There is something to doing a live demonstration or item creation. Someone posted a youtube link to a guy who made simple name signs from scratch in like 5 minutes. The demonstration was part of
the entertainment factor this guy was doing.

[bcammack]

I was contemplating how, if you had a perpetual flea market like we do here in Daytona Beach (and they have in Sanford, FL as well), one could also have the ShopBot running the jobs you sold the previous day and programmed in the evening for pickup later. (these flea markets are well attended by the locals, not just tourists, so its no big deal for them to return for their finished purchase)

You could also attend to design and programming when you didn't have customers to attend to. I think it's about managing expectations. If you have a "while you wait" service and people can actually watch your processes, you have a lot more trouble attempting to justify your prices.

As we all know, most complex things look simple to the ignorant. (and the average person is pretty darned ignorant about CAD/CAM and CNC machining.)

[ghostcreek]

Because of the slow economy, my wife decided to go to the local farmers Market & Flea markets. One thing we learned, these are all impulse buys. No one really cares how we make it (except fellow woodworkers), but they love:
1) One of a kind
2) low price ($20.00 max)
That being said, she does quite well, averages $100-$300 a day. Custom items (Names, dates etc) are ready in 1-2 days. Having samples of everything else we do (Cabinets, signs, Boxes, cutting boards, Mouldings etc) has also generated good sales leads. She also learned to vary what she has for sale or to show. people come back to see what is "new". Really gives us a chance to try new products. Has made me look at production runs, which the shopbot loves to do all day long!
With Christmas coming up, we are looking at the Craft & Holiday fairs to increase business. Works for us here in Northern California.

[navigator7]

I just downloaded the test version of Aspire and played around a little.
As a Mac user...I gotta say I sure feel sorry for you windoz users. What a culture shock! I couldn't wait to get back to the Mac side. Aspire made sense however.
Anyway.....I musta misread the Aspire literature. I thought I could import 3D data but evidently I can't.

I'm now downloading the ShopBot program with the belief I can import my preexisting 3D files such as .stl, dwg, dxf, vrml files
and create tool paths and such.

The question is: If not the ShopBot program or Aspire....what program do I use to create tool paths for existing 3D files?

[mikeacg]

Chuck,

Open a blank file and then do import. That's where you bring them in. Email me at home and I'll walk you through it.

Mike

[navigator7]

Thanks Mike.....but there is no way I'm going online on the Windoz side of my puter.
I'm virtually unprotected and no desire to learn any more than I have to.

What you are saying is I can import a stl or dwg file into Aspire?
Or the Shopbot program?

What I was doing was drag/drop a dwg file over Aspire.

LOL...I just tried the SB program but the learning curve got me.

[mikeacg]

Chuck,

Drag and drop won't work in Aspire. You have to import it (under file, import, import component / 3D Model. Go to Vectric's site and look at all the tutorials. All the ShopBot stuff was created by Vectric...

Mike

[joe]

Michael,

Will Inspire be offering the feature Rest Machine?

[adrianm]

Aspire will accept drag and drop for most files, I load EPS and DXF like that all the time.

It has rest machining but not fully automatic, there are quite a few (easy) steps to it.

[khalid]

Joe,
I am so confident that Brian and the programmers can add 'Feature Rest Machining' options..But as many guys using High tolerance machining..This feature will destroy their work piece...

No matter How accurate your machine if you have no 'Auto Tool Zero setter' you will get edges on final machine part..

If you have auto tool zero, but your machine is 0.1mm in-accurate then you will again find boundary lines at rest machining place..

A little run out in spindle or a little out-of-spec Tool may cause such boundaries..

I think this will make a lot of trouble to the Vectric Support team;)...

Already they have somewhat similar feature machining option...But many peoples seldom use this feature because of above problems...

In the end, Its not software limitations but its our Hardware...

[burchbot]

Hi Joe
You may find this post on the Vectric forum useful.
http://www.vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6812
Dan