Out of The Blue.........

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
At the end of June, I got an e-mail from the fellow at Geetech, the company that makes the iCarver machine I got last year, the 3D carving machine, I was expecting them to come to Tokyo in September for the big DIY show this year. I had volunteered to help out, maybe do some turning on a lathe for them etc, and help them showcase the new and improved iCarver they have been working on. The contents of the e-mail were not what I expected at all, instead, they have decided to NOT come for the DIY show, and they are still working on the 2nd Generation iCarver, they have decided to make sure the everything is really right with the machine before they offer it up for sale, I think we can all remember the various issues that "CarveWright" had (and I do not wish to get into a discussion on that machine here). part of their plan for making sure things are right with their iCarver is extensive "Beta" testing, the e-mail went like this.........

********
Hi Stuart, I hope you and your family are well.
We would like to send you a 2nd Generation iCarver sample for field test, please let me know your thoughts.
********

:eek: :D
My thoughts........

Well they went something like this......

:eek: :eek: :eek: :) :D :thumb: ......
Happydance2.gif

(Vaughn, I borrowed your "Happy Dance" gif)


I got the 2nd Gen iCarver on Friday, all I had time to do with it then was to uncrate it and put it in the Dungeon for safe keeping!

2nd_gen_crate1.JPG 2nd_gen_crate2.JPG 2nd_gen_crate3.JPG 2nd_gen_crate4.JPG 2nd_gen_in_dungeon.JPG

More later!
 
You lucky dawg! I'll be very interested to see what results you get from this one. :thumb:

Do you know their expected price point when it does hit the market?
 
Thanks, I feel lucky! :D

I do not know, but I've been told that they are looking at three levels of product, the one I have would be the mid range, they are also looking at a scaled down version, similar to the carve wright, and a premium edition as well. I also hear that down the road, who knows exactly when that would be, that a 4th axis machine could be in the works :eek:

I was able to play with it just a bit more today, between working at the Aparto and the L shop, I see that there are T-tracks in the surface of the table top, I want to make some sort of hold down, as the long bar hold down thing they have now flexes too much for my liking.

This should be fun, now I need to get the other one out the door, I have a friend who is going to inherit it :D
 
Lucky duck! That looks like a big improvement over the earlier model. Please - keep us updated on the fun! I'll be really interested to see how it performs!

Wes
 
What is that old saying about those who step in, um.. something and come out smelling like a rose?

Nice gloat and nicer machine. Can't wait to see what it can do.
 
Here, I got this hot off the presses...........

dragon.JPG

The pice of black plastic is about 10cm x 10cm, (4"x4") just to give you an idea. That took 132 minutes to complete.

The mark on the top is from the piece moving when it was first cut, the hold down, as I said, is not great.

Cheers!
 
Not bad for a machine... but it lacks your personal touch Stu:):)

I know, I know, I'm being mean;););)

Jokes apart, congratulations I'm happy for you, where does one apply to be a beta tester for those machines? Spanish market is quite different so I could be not only their tester but a dealer as well:D:D
 
Toni, one would always have the option of adding a few hand carved sections to a machine carved piece :dunno:

I did get some time on the machine today, learning how to drive the software, and working out a couple of bugs, and writing up the bug reports to send off to Geetech.

I did get a good start on an enclosure for the new machine.

iCarver_enclosure.JPG

Just by putting that piece of blue rigid insulation in front of the enclosure it reduced the noise a LOT, so once I get it line and the various holes closed, it should be a LOT quieter.

I'll have to put in some fans for air circulation (with proper sound baffles) and maybe a good light, as well as a door with windows on it, but the build is well on its way.

iCarver_mini_led_light.JPG
This little magnet based LED light is perfect for lighting up the cutter for positioning!

Like I said, the machine is not loud, but it is a noise that I do not choose to listen to for hours on end, no thank you! :rolleyes:

I'm going to try to make it as quiet as I can, I hope to have it so quiet, that I'll not even know when it is running :D

Cheers!
 
Top