http://blog.cnccookbook.com Software and Information for Machinists Wed, 22 May 2013 20:39:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/21/last-chance-on-our-mayday-sales-is-today/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/21/last-chance-on-our-mayday-sales-is-today/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 17:12:58 +0000 Bob Warfield http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2535 Thought I’d beat the drums one more time.  The sale ends today.  Lots of great deals on almost everything we offer.  Check our Deals and Steals page for details! We’re almost at that 20,000 mark and the sale has really helped.  We really appreciate all the support you’ve given us. If there’s nothing on sale you need, you can still help us out a bit.  If you have a web site, put a link back to us on your site.  We love links to our main page, but honestly, if there is some other page you really enjoyed that you think others would enjoy, we’d love a link to that other page even more.  … Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/21/last-chance-on-our-mayday-sales-is-today/feed/ 0 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/21/nesting-software-from-sigma-tek-to-mynesting-com-an-introduction/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/21/nesting-software-from-sigma-tek-to-mynesting-com-an-introduction/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 16:43:47 +0000 Bob Warfield http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2532 Have you heard of Nesting Software?  It’s one more piece of the CNC Software puzzle, but an important one in terms of minimizing material waste, particularly for large flat pieces of material such as you would put on a CNC Router, CNC Laser Cutter, CNC Plasma Table, or CNC WaterJet. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is a picture of what Nesting Software can do: I chose that sample just because it shows familiar shapes (letters) in an unfamiliar configuration.  Imagine software that takes arbitrary outline shapes, and then rotates and positions them to maximize the number of those shapes that can be cut from the flat material.  … Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/21/nesting-software-from-sigma-tek-to-mynesting-com-an-introduction/feed/ 1 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/20/take-the-cnccookbook-2013-cad-package-survey/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/20/take-the-cnccookbook-2013-cad-package-survey/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 02:38:36 +0000 SiteOwner http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2530 We love to do surveys at CNCCookbook, and our readers clearly love them if their page statistics are any indication.  The last survey we did was on CAM packages and was particularly popular.  This time around, we want to survey which CAD packages are most popular. Let us know what you’re using: Click here to take survey Once we get a few hundred responses, I will collate and present the results in a later blog post. Some of the packages are a bit specialized.  Blender, for example, is really only useful to the 3D printing community.  … Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/20/take-the-cnccookbook-2013-cad-package-survey/feed/ 0 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/20/an-entire-3d-printed-city/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/20/an-entire-3d-printed-city/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 01:57:23 +0000 Bob Warfield http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2528 Modelers must love 3D printers, especially those with decent resolution that make small plastic parts with fine details.  How about a model of an entire city done with a 3D Printer? That’s what architectural firm Mitekgruppen did for Stockholm: A 48 square meter model of Stockholm… A Stratasys 3D Printer was used to create over 10,000 replica buildings for the model. Are any of you gentle readers using 3D printers for modeling or architectural work?  This would’ve been awesome back when I was building a big HO train layout.… Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/20/an-entire-3d-printed-city/feed/ 1 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/20/meshcam-is-here-by-itself/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/20/meshcam-is-here-by-itself/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 16:46:05 +0000 Bob Warfield http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2524 Not that it has to be by itself, mind you–MeshCam is the Belle of the Easy-To-Use CAM Ball.  It’s just that I’ve gotten so many notes from people as our sale is ending asking to buy it separately rather than in conjunction with one of the G-Wizards that I finally felt compelled to add it to our MeshCam ordering page. So, there it is now, in all of its glory.  You can buy a single copy for $250, and as it happens, you can save 15% on that during our current sale (ends tomorrow, so not much time left!) simply by using the coupon code “MAYDAY” in the shopping cart when you order.… Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/20/meshcam-is-here-by-itself/feed/ 0 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/16/making-cell-phone-cases-with-syil-fadal-and-g-wizard/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/16/making-cell-phone-cases-with-syil-fadal-and-g-wizard/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 17:30:22 +0000 Bob Warfield http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2520 Got a nice note with pictures the other day from a G-Wizard customer.  He’s making molds for cell phone cases and started out on his Syil X6 before moving to a Fadal 4020 VMC.  As a result, we get to see some pictures of roughly the same part in comparison: The Syil Version… The Fadal Version… Actually, they’re top and bottom mold halves, I believe.  The Syil doesn’t look too bad, though he definitely gets a little better finish on the Fadal.  His main remark about the Syil was some vibration marks on the walls aligned with the Y-axis.  … Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/16/making-cell-phone-cases-with-syil-fadal-and-g-wizard/feed/ 3 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/14/what-if-dyson-made-cnc-routers-instead-of-vacuum-cleaners/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/14/what-if-dyson-made-cnc-routers-instead-of-vacuum-cleaners/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 14:30:21 +0000 Bob Warfield http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2515 Here’s a cool CNC Router made by Michael Warren who is the James Dyson Fellow at the Royal College of Art’s InnovationRCA.  It’s a portable CNC Router and his web site is Grow CNC. Check out the video (can’t go wrong with Johnny Cash on the soundtrack):… Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/14/what-if-dyson-made-cnc-routers-instead-of-vacuum-cleaners/feed/ 10 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/14/turn-toolboxes-into-workbenches/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/14/turn-toolboxes-into-workbenches/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 13:54:32 +0000 Bob Warfield http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2513 Shops can never have too much storage, and keeping them neat is often a function of whether you have enough storage.  Everything in its place assumes there is a place for everything. I like to buy rolling tool chests into workbenches and other shop furniture.  For example, my little welding table is essentially a steel plate mounted atop firebricks on a rolling tool chest.  If you wait until the post-holiday sales–after Christmas, after Father’s Day, etc.–you can get some great deals on rolling tool chests.  Since they’re on wheels, it makes it easy to rearrange the shop too, as needed.… Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/14/turn-toolboxes-into-workbenches/feed/ 0 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/13/g-wizards-conversational-pocketing-wizard/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/13/g-wizards-conversational-pocketing-wizard/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 00:37:54 +0000 SiteOwner http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2510 Conversational CNC is a way to generate g-code programs without having to go through the whole CAD/CAM process.  It’s designed to make simple things simple, while reserving the complicated things for CAD/CAM.  By streamlining the process of creating simple g-code, it becomes a lot easier to use a CNC Machine for quick one-off tasks–the sort of thing often done on manual machines.  The difference is that a good Conversational CNC package make things that are still a lot of work on a manual machine quick and easy.  CNCCookbook’s Conversational CNC software is called G-Wizard Conversational CNC, or GWCC for short.  … Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/13/g-wizards-conversational-pocketing-wizard/feed/ 0 http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/10/should-we-focus-on-reducing-setup-time-or-cycle-time/ http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/10/should-we-focus-on-reducing-setup-time-or-cycle-time/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 21:14:56 +0000 Bob Warfield http://blog.cnccookbook.com/?p=2508 I just added a new article in the CNC Machining and Manufacturing Cookbook on the tradeoffs between Setup Time and Cycle Time. What are the tradeoffs between a Touchsetter on the machine and offline Toolsetting? The article discusses issues like whether a Tool Touchsetter on the machine or offline Toolsetting is more advantageous.  One reduces Cycle Time while the other reduces Setup Time.  Knowing which one your shop should focus on first is very important to maximizing your overall shop productivity.… Read the rest]]> http://blog.cnccookbook.com/2013/05/10/should-we-focus-on-reducing-setup-time-or-cycle-time/feed/ 0