- Messages
- 8,633
- Location
- Thomasville, GA
LOML and I drove up here Wednesday, arriving at our hotel about 4pm. After settling in, we went to Grill Marks and had some great appetizers - onion rings, fat fries and fried green tomatoes), then some fantastic burgers! She just had a Coke, but I had to try their expresso porter beer and it was great!
Thursday
The morning was filled with presentations by vendors. One was Chuck Hicks from Southeast Tool who gave a detailed PowerPoint on how router bits are produced and the difference between types of steel. The other was Kevin Stoops who described the functionality of his 20-button programmable USB controller that can be used with CNC machines.
Afternoon presentations were by Gary Campbell and Mike Mezalick on rotary axis milling using Aspire and VCarvePro. Gary went through a very detailed description of various implementations of rotary axis with lots of whys and where-fors. Gives me a lot of confidence in using some of the spare parts I have to start building a rotary axis!
A few people brought some of the projects they have made with their CNCs. I gave away all of my good stuff or I would have brought along something!
Friday
Vectric did most of the presentations today, starting this morning with explaining enhancements coming with v8.5. They had hoped to have it released by the time of this camp but it looks like it will be ready in June. This is a maintenance update, so there will be no charge to existing licensees. James did the update presentation, then handed off to Beki for detailed explanations of several operations.
In the afternoon session, James went over a dozen 'Tips and Tricks', many of which were common, but one thing I learned was that numerical boxes will actually do calculations; i.e., if you enter "5/16", then hit "=", it will result in an entry of 0.5625. Beki went over using Design & Make graphics to their fullest, of course pointing out the advantages of Aspire over VCarve, although VCarve will do quite a nice job of setting up a project!
So far, the camp has not been a disappointment in any way. Well, except that I wish I could justify upgrading to Aspire!!!
Saturday
Another full day of instruction and I know my head can't hold any more! Beki from Vectric started the day with a demonstration of 3D modeling in Aspire. After seeing her demo, I'm one step closer to pulling the trigger! Michael Tyler gave a presentation on different ways to capture images for 3D modeling.
The next event was lunch - Carolina pulled pork provided by the hosts! 'Nuff sed...
James from Vectric had the afternoon with a presentation on how to use VCarve and Aspire to create tools - forms to make objects. He finished the day talking about his way of doing two-sided carving.
Overall Impression
If you are the least bit interested in CNC, sign up for the next conference!
Thursday
The morning was filled with presentations by vendors. One was Chuck Hicks from Southeast Tool who gave a detailed PowerPoint on how router bits are produced and the difference between types of steel. The other was Kevin Stoops who described the functionality of his 20-button programmable USB controller that can be used with CNC machines.
Afternoon presentations were by Gary Campbell and Mike Mezalick on rotary axis milling using Aspire and VCarvePro. Gary went through a very detailed description of various implementations of rotary axis with lots of whys and where-fors. Gives me a lot of confidence in using some of the spare parts I have to start building a rotary axis!
A few people brought some of the projects they have made with their CNCs. I gave away all of my good stuff or I would have brought along something!
Friday
Vectric did most of the presentations today, starting this morning with explaining enhancements coming with v8.5. They had hoped to have it released by the time of this camp but it looks like it will be ready in June. This is a maintenance update, so there will be no charge to existing licensees. James did the update presentation, then handed off to Beki for detailed explanations of several operations.
In the afternoon session, James went over a dozen 'Tips and Tricks', many of which were common, but one thing I learned was that numerical boxes will actually do calculations; i.e., if you enter "5/16", then hit "=", it will result in an entry of 0.5625. Beki went over using Design & Make graphics to their fullest, of course pointing out the advantages of Aspire over VCarve, although VCarve will do quite a nice job of setting up a project!
So far, the camp has not been a disappointment in any way. Well, except that I wish I could justify upgrading to Aspire!!!
Saturday
Another full day of instruction and I know my head can't hold any more! Beki from Vectric started the day with a demonstration of 3D modeling in Aspire. After seeing her demo, I'm one step closer to pulling the trigger! Michael Tyler gave a presentation on different ways to capture images for 3D modeling.
The next event was lunch - Carolina pulled pork provided by the hosts! 'Nuff sed...
James from Vectric had the afternoon with a presentation on how to use VCarve and Aspire to create tools - forms to make objects. He finished the day talking about his way of doing two-sided carving.
Overall Impression
If you are the least bit interested in CNC, sign up for the next conference!
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