Table nearing completion

Today was the day to put the final prefabrication details on the board room table and get it outside to gather the final rust patina it will wear in the boardroom. Each workstation at the table needed an electrical and ethernet connection so I broke out the welder and got busy welding on the threaded pipes which will act as fasteners for the flexible conduit we will use to bring the power and network connections to the underside of the table. Once everything was ground nice and smooth it was time to add some detail. 

Sculpting epoxy was used to fashion hundreds of barnacles and some starfish to create a nautical flavor. One the epoxy had set up it was time to apply our iron paint to the fittings and barnacles, then as a last step some mid acid was sprayed and sponged over the entire piece. The rust patina formed before my eyes!

It's still very dark and somewhat blotchy but it will even out as it dries and more rust forms in the next day or so. It's impossible to tell the  heavy steel from the routed Precision Board after the paint and patina are done.The starfish will get their proper coat of paint and a glaze of course to tone things down. The table top is at the cabinet makers to get the melamine put on it next week. 

As I started the acid wash I felt it needed one more detail to take the table over the top. I put away the acid and quickly cut two more small holes in the large pipe with my plasma cutter, then broke out the welder one last time and welded in two more small threaded pipes. These were for the electrical wires for the rows of LED lights which will now run under the table on each side. It's a detail that just has to be included! They will show the barnacles, starfish and the myriad of electrical connections to their maximum effect and also add a soft glow to the MultiCam logo we will burn into the center plexiglass with a CNC laser. I can hardly wait to see it all together!

-dan

Let there be (a) light!

I was very clear about what I wanted as I built the desk and robotic arm lamps. How we would get there was a little fuzzier. The electrical cable had to feed through the assembly and it had to fit around the structure I would weld. First came the structure of 1.5" square tubing. The angles were cut by eye and I tacked it up as I went. The arms had to be removable so we could get it all in the door. This job would use up plenty of scraps for there were lots of small pieces.

I decided to laminate it up using 1" 30 lb Precision Board. I had plenty on hand and it would minimize the labor in removing the material for the structure. I designed the files in EnRoute as simple cut files. The medallions were routed as 3D files and took a little longer to route than the others. Each arm assembly would be made up of 36 pieces which were still being cut on the MultiCam as I started in on the project.

I started on the bottom, tracing the structural steel and then cutting out the material necessary. Then I glued and screwed the pieces around the tubing. The center (squarish) portions of the arms are four layers thick. The round medallions with the 'M's are six layers deep. I still have to fabricate the hydraulic cylinders and add all the piping and wiring along with a bunch of rivets on the bottom portion of the desk. Then I'll get to the front and sides as well.

The desk is coming along nicely and should be a show stopper when we are done.

Stay tuned...

-dan

COOL! - and warm.

The new Rapid Texture looks fabulous right off the MultiCam. With a final meeting scheduled for tomorrow I needed to paint up a sample to satisfy the owner and interior designer. Although I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted, the trick would be to translate those ideas into reality. I buzzed down to the local builder's store to grab some samples of melamine. Paint would be much easier to match to it than the other way around.

The idea was to play the warm colors of the room against the cool one and yet still stay within the theme. I painted the blue base color first. I'd use the same color on the top portion of the wall and in the wainscot. I first used a blue jean color of glaze, then once dry added a custom mix of dark brown, cherry red metallic, dark blue and a little black. I brushed, wiped and sponged to get the finish I liked. The base board and trim are MDF. The logo piece and rivets are routed from 30 lb Precision Board. They are all painted with a rusting metallic paint. Together it's going to look pretty cool!
-dan

MultiCam boardroom mockup

I finished the woodwork on the boardroom table this morning. Now it is time to begin the finishing process, the part I find the most fun! I'll sculpt some barnacles and a couple of starfish onto the large base to add interest for those who look close. Everything will be visible through a plexiglass centerpiece on the table.

As a reward for my hard work on the table top I decided to mock the room up and see how everything fit. This meant a shop clean and organize as things are always tight when a big project is underway. The top of the heavy, 'cast metal' arches are still imaginary until I can confirm measurements onsite next week. But even with all the missing pieces it is exciting to see things coming together. This will be a boardroom like none other!

This afternoon I'll start in on the finishes for the table including some barnacles and starfish on the heavy tube under the table. Those who take the time to look close will be rewarded. The best is yet to come on this project.

Stay tuned...

-dan

Why EnRoute software?

Today someone asked me why we chose EnRoute Software. It's a great question worth answering here! An extension of that question is why after almost five years do I stay with EnRoute and continue to endorse it so enthusiastically?

Back when we were searching for a CNC router I looked at everything. The information was perplexing and overwhelming to say the least. I had no experience with complex computer programs or CNC routers. I didn't even know how to work with vectors. I came from the bitmap, Photoshop side of things. I am anything but a 'computer guy'. So everything we were looking at was brand new.
We ended up purchasing a top end MultiCam CNC router. I wanted a sturdy, reliable machine that would allow me to concentrate on the art I was producing and think as little as possible about the software and hardware we were using to help us create it. We wanted a machine that would impose few limitations on what we could do back then or in the future. The software we selected had to do the same. Because our experience with complex software was so limited our MultiCam dealer recommended EnRoute. He felt the learning curve was the shallowest and yet the program was still very powerful. Our dealer also felt that EnRoute would continue to be on the cutting edge in the future. Trusting him, we made our choice and bought EnRoute.
We were different from most shops in our approach to learning to operate our router and the software to operate it. I purposely had no jobs scheduled for production on it. We would wait until I had a handle on things. The folks at our local MultiCam dealer did their best to show me what they knew. We were cutting out shapes in minutes. But I wanted far more than that! I wanted to do dimensional pieces for the most part. About this time our dealer had schedules some training course with EnRoute. He also scheduled some one on one time with the instructor for us. I broke out the manual and did my best to struggle through the learning curve. Books and manuals aren't my strong suit.

The first project(s) we did was all the letters of the alphabet as samples for our walls. Each was different, each pushed the boundaries of what we knew to that point. As I worked I immediately saw the possibilities of what was possible and in short order was doing things that hadn't been done with the software before. I sent photos and a story of my excitement over this wonderful new tool to SignCraft www.signcraft.com  They published the article and put the 'A' on the front cover of the magazine.  That in turn captured the attention of the folks at EnRoute. We became good friends over the next while.

It also garnered the attention of others from around the world who were interested in doing these same things with their CNC routers. After sending off countless emails and answering many phone calls we decided to join with the folks at EnRoute in hosting a workshop here in our studio/shop twice each year teaching and showing how we make this powerful program do these amazing things. We've now hosted more than a hundred people in our shop, many of whom have been using other 'competitor' programs. Each workshop I hear of what the other programs can't do or of how complex the procedure is for the same task. More than a few of our students have made the switch to EnRoute after watching it in action at our workshop.

In October it will be five years since I started on this amazing journey. We've done some very cool projects in that time. We've also been privileged to work closely with EnRoute in teaching others in how to use this program and in exploring new ways to use it to it's full potential. Jeff Hartman (one of the creators of EnRoute) has been our guest teacher at many of our workshops. He often explains the thought process he and his brother Kent are going through as they write new features for EnRoute. In doing so I understand how the program works so well.
On occasion, through our friendship with the folks at EnRoute, I have been privileged to catch a glimpse of things currently in development for EnRoute. While I can't reveal anything here about the future, let me say it will be exciting and will make some pretty cool stuff possible. Although I acted largely on the recommendation of my dealer when I started almost five years ago, in retrospect, it was the absolute right decision for our needs. The software has few limitations. The learning curve is relatively modest compared to some of the other 3D routing programs out there and yet the program is plenty robust and powerful. While I am anything but a computer type guy and very limited in my technical knowledge, the software works beyond my wildest dreams. In all likelihood I will never do all the things that EnRoute is capable of.
I would happily recommend EnRoute to all I talk to.
-dan

Texture in a big hurry!

We are always looking for new ways to introduce cool textures into our work with our MultiCam Router. When my good friend Jeff Hartman, who wrote the EnRoute program with his brother, showed me the rapid texture program they were working on I immediately thought about incorporating it into wainscoting. That was almost two years ago. Now the Rapid Texture is at last released and I have designed the technique into the MultiCam Technical Center project. The beauty of Rapid Texture is the speed at which we can now texture large surfaces. Where it used to take hours and hours, it can now be done in a fraction of that time. The possibilities are endless and it will take me a little time before I can wrap my head around it and then perhaps take it in directions Jef and his brother never imagined. Time will tell.

For this project we will incorporate Rapid Texture into the main floor and into the 'fossil' office upstairs. For the nautical theme room I wanted to create a feeling of waves. I ran a test piece using MDF but was dismayed to see chunks breaking out. The material just wasn't suitable for what I was doing. So a sheet of 3/4" 30 lb Precision Board was substituted and it came out perfectly! I love the patterns possible using the conic bit and a random texture... I'm still thinking of the painting and patina possibilities. I'm liking the idea of playing warm rust tones agains the cool silvers planned elsewhere through the room.

Stay tuned...

-dan

Submarine factory

The upright portions of the ribs are now all assembled and ready for paint. Six of the ten ribs are primed. These will be installed late next week and then I will take final measurements for the top, cross pieces. As with all of our large projects, the nautical room has taken over the shop and my thinking process. As I spread on the primer my mind is racing far ahead, planning details yet to be designed and fabricated. Today I ordered the rust paint from California and LED lighting from a company in Quebec. We'll be trying lots of new techniques and incorporate new ideas into this project. It will stretch us further than we've ever gone before.

We'll polish off the primer tomorrow and begin routing the wainscoting and table top. The oak trim and table top formica along with the giant pipes which run down both sides of the room will be ordered tomorrow.  In the morning I will also design the routing files for the hundreds of rivets which will 'hold the room together'.  Stay tuned...

-dan