CarveWright conference!

I have had the very good fortune to speak at the first two conferences held by the makers of the CarveWright cnc machine.  I share some of the methods I've developed and talk about everything from robots to paint.  I always make sure there aren't any objects for them to throw before I begin.  They provided generous applause, which may be nothing more than thanks that my awful jokes are over.Here is just a sample set of pictures of the amazing work being done with this little machine:

This year was a particular treat.  I finally had the opportunity to meet another user named Brandon MacDougall in person.  He created the guitar and mandolin seen above.  He uses the CarveWright to create many of the pieces and turn his 3D models of instruments into reality.  You can see much more of his work at www.liquidviolins.com .  It also turns out that he worked heavily on some 3D work on shows like Star Trek Voyager and Enterprise.

I enjoyed talking with him and found out both the awesome and not quite so awesome aspects of the world behind the tv screen.  His passion for it is obvious and I suspect we'll see more of that kind of work from him in the future.  Our hosts might not have enjoyed the extended "video toaster" and "lightwave" discussion as much as I did, but they were gracious.  The owner of CarveWright and his wife have a lovely home and have been kind enough to let me rest my head there both years.

New software for the CarveWright was released and I finally had a chance to really sit down and play with it.  There are 2D vector tools and 3D tools that blast the door wide open to what can be done.  It was especially exciting for me, as all of this work can be used on the CarveWright and exported as .stl for the ShopBot!  I have a feeling you'll be able to buy the Designer application as a stand-alone very soon...I believe there is a place in every shop with a large cnc machine for the CarveWright. It can be used to prototype and build pieces more quickly than a large machine in certain cases.  Now a file can be generated and scaled up for the larger machine. Wow!

Check it out at:  http://www.carvewright.com/2010CWweb/newsletter/4thofjuly/4thofJulySale12.htm

Now it's time to clean up the shop and get back at it.  Big things looming. Can't wait to start!