http://www.carvewright.com
It looks like a great way to cut a core if you had the money. Has anyone tried it? I know someone who just bought one, so I'm curious. The downside is that the software doesn't import CAD formats yet and it's $1900.
Core - Has anyone used this?
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I've been doing a ton of research lately and have begun building my own CNC machine, designed specifically for ski building... so, I've given the subject a lot of thought. The Carvewright certainly is a slick little machine, but I really think it's primarily oriented toward complex designs on a somewhat smaller scale. It would take a long time to make a ski core on it.
I might use my machine to shape my cores, but I don't plan to actually profile cores with it. I can profile a core in about 2 minutes with my current vacuum table set-up. That's plenty fast for what I'm doing, and it's also plenty accurate enough for a ski core. Even a $25,000 CNC machine has limitations on how fast it can cut in a certain amount of time. Unless a machine is dedicated to one specific operation, set-up time can be pretty time consuming, so I think a person has to choose kinda carefully just what operations might benefit from a more highly automated process versus something more basic, but still efficient.
I'm just planning to use my machine to make templates for now, because that's one area where I can get better quality and save time. I'm not shooting for super high accuracy because it's just a ski... a few thousands one way or another is just fine. I do want to build a smaller more accurate machine at some point in the future for making more intricate things like tip protector molds and such.
Anyway, the Carvewright looks like a great little machine, but I don't think it'll help you much with building an occasional ski. Also, even though the guy in the video said you could machine a board of any length, I think you would have to do it like 12 inches at a time, then un-clamp, reposition, clamp, and start again... over and over. You'd end up loosing all of your accuracy over the length of the piece. I could be wrong about this though... just having a difficult time envisioning it otherwise.
G-man
I might use my machine to shape my cores, but I don't plan to actually profile cores with it. I can profile a core in about 2 minutes with my current vacuum table set-up. That's plenty fast for what I'm doing, and it's also plenty accurate enough for a ski core. Even a $25,000 CNC machine has limitations on how fast it can cut in a certain amount of time. Unless a machine is dedicated to one specific operation, set-up time can be pretty time consuming, so I think a person has to choose kinda carefully just what operations might benefit from a more highly automated process versus something more basic, but still efficient.
I'm just planning to use my machine to make templates for now, because that's one area where I can get better quality and save time. I'm not shooting for super high accuracy because it's just a ski... a few thousands one way or another is just fine. I do want to build a smaller more accurate machine at some point in the future for making more intricate things like tip protector molds and such.
Anyway, the Carvewright looks like a great little machine, but I don't think it'll help you much with building an occasional ski. Also, even though the guy in the video said you could machine a board of any length, I think you would have to do it like 12 inches at a time, then un-clamp, reposition, clamp, and start again... over and over. You'd end up loosing all of your accuracy over the length of the piece. I could be wrong about this though... just having a difficult time envisioning it otherwise.
G-man
Thanks for all of the responses.
I might try a piece of pine to test it and then post the results. The unit will take a long board. I think up to 9 feet. It's very much like a portable planner with a CNC head and reverse. The biggest drawback for me at this point is learning to use the CAD program to draw the shape of the template.
I might try a piece of pine to test it and then post the results. The unit will take a long board. I think up to 9 feet. It's very much like a portable planner with a CNC head and reverse. The biggest drawback for me at this point is learning to use the CAD program to draw the shape of the template.
Wow! I've received a ton of PM's about the vacuum set-up. I don't have time to answer all of them secondary to mother nature issues (digging out from too much snow...yippie!!) Also been without power a lot lately, so I hope I can get this response finished before the computer shuts down because of power loss. I burned up my APC trying to hook it up to a marine battery... red to red, black to black, I know. Anyway, I hope all who sent a PM manage to notice this post.
I dropped my camera on the concrete a while back (I'm pretty hard on stuff, eh?), so I can't send a picture, but I got my vacuum clamping ideas from www.joewoodworker.com. It's a great site with tons of free advice and plans. Just click on the 'vacuum clamping' tab and read on. I used the same method that Joe describes, but I increased the length of the clamping jigs/surfaces so that they were long enough to hold down a ski. I also got my vacuum set-up from Joe. It's a venturi system and works very sweet at a cost of around $150 (I already had a pretty big compressor). Joe sells very good quality stuff at very reasonable prices, plus his site is a wealth of free information (I really like to support guys like that).
My profiler is basically the same rig as described in this site's main section, with the addition of the vacuum hold-down surface. I do a pre-pass through the planner, using a planner wedge (also described in the main section of this this site). I then lay the core onto the profiler, step on the vacuum foot pedal, which instantly sucks down the core blank with enough force that you couldn't get it off with a crow bar (oh, the foot control was another $80... and so worth it). Then, I grab the router bridge (that has a dedicated router and setting) and make one quick pass over the core to get a perfect profile in no more than two minutes, then step on the foot pedal again to release the core. I usually do 10 or 12 cores at a time and it is surprising how little total time it takes to go from raw wood to a stack of finished cores. I use different sets of 'quick-change' profiler rails for differing thicknesses and profiles... the router settings never change.
I plan to post a vid of the in-process and finished CNC machine on www.CNCzone.com when I get it along far enough. I'll post a link on this site when I post the vid. However, there just isn't enough time in my life to post info about building the CNC machine on this site, so if anyone is interested, I suggest you start reading the DYI stuff at CNCzone. There is enough reading ther to last 10 life times.
G-man
I dropped my camera on the concrete a while back (I'm pretty hard on stuff, eh?), so I can't send a picture, but I got my vacuum clamping ideas from www.joewoodworker.com. It's a great site with tons of free advice and plans. Just click on the 'vacuum clamping' tab and read on. I used the same method that Joe describes, but I increased the length of the clamping jigs/surfaces so that they were long enough to hold down a ski. I also got my vacuum set-up from Joe. It's a venturi system and works very sweet at a cost of around $150 (I already had a pretty big compressor). Joe sells very good quality stuff at very reasonable prices, plus his site is a wealth of free information (I really like to support guys like that).
My profiler is basically the same rig as described in this site's main section, with the addition of the vacuum hold-down surface. I do a pre-pass through the planner, using a planner wedge (also described in the main section of this this site). I then lay the core onto the profiler, step on the vacuum foot pedal, which instantly sucks down the core blank with enough force that you couldn't get it off with a crow bar (oh, the foot control was another $80... and so worth it). Then, I grab the router bridge (that has a dedicated router and setting) and make one quick pass over the core to get a perfect profile in no more than two minutes, then step on the foot pedal again to release the core. I usually do 10 or 12 cores at a time and it is surprising how little total time it takes to go from raw wood to a stack of finished cores. I use different sets of 'quick-change' profiler rails for differing thicknesses and profiles... the router settings never change.
I plan to post a vid of the in-process and finished CNC machine on www.CNCzone.com when I get it along far enough. I'll post a link on this site when I post the vid. However, there just isn't enough time in my life to post info about building the CNC machine on this site, so if anyone is interested, I suggest you start reading the DYI stuff at CNCzone. There is enough reading ther to last 10 life times.
G-man
dbtahoe,
I watched the vid again, this time on the youtube option which is a larger format, so I could see the Carvewright machine better. It does look like it has a conveyor belt x-axis system, so it may well be able to handle the longer length without longitudinal alignment issues. It'll be interesting to hear your report of your test on your friend's machine. You're very fortunate to have that option to try before you buy.
Ya, learning to use the CAD software is a bit intimidating to me also. I can build the machine no problem, as well as the power supply and the controller. But, I've never messed around with CAD... new worlds to explore. I guess I'll downloading snowcad soon. Hope there's a Mac version.
G-man
I watched the vid again, this time on the youtube option which is a larger format, so I could see the Carvewright machine better. It does look like it has a conveyor belt x-axis system, so it may well be able to handle the longer length without longitudinal alignment issues. It'll be interesting to hear your report of your test on your friend's machine. You're very fortunate to have that option to try before you buy.
Ya, learning to use the CAD software is a bit intimidating to me also. I can build the machine no problem, as well as the power supply and the controller. But, I've never messed around with CAD... new worlds to explore. I guess I'll downloading snowcad soon. Hope there's a Mac version.
G-man