T-Spline Tip: Selecting Face Loops
Selecting edge loops is easy in T-Splines – just double click on any edge and it will either select all edges in that loop or to the edge of the surface. Until last week, I didn’t know that you could select face loops as well. Let’s say you’ve got this T-Spline surface and you want … Read more
KevCAM Part 3 – Polysurfaces, Rings, Script Shortcuts
So now it’s time to start extending these basic concepts to more real world situations. Everything we’ve done thus far has dealt with one single surface. What if we have a polysurface instead of one single surface? Let’s say we take our half pipe idea, and make it more like a s-curve: Now, you might … Read more
KevCAM Part 2 – Controlling Toolpath Orientation and Stepover
So if you’ve read through my first post on KevCAM you get the general idea on how the method works. On this post I’m going to show you how to control the stepover of the toolpath, and the toolpath orientation to your mold. Sticking with our very basic “bent half pipe” mold from earlier, the … Read more
KevCAM – A FlowAlongSrf Rhino Hack for CAM Toolpaths – Part 1
I use a program called madCAM for all my CAM toolpath generation. I like it very much and in general it works very well for what I do. Since I only have a 3-axis machine, I have the entry level version which sells for $750. I found their claim that you could download the program … Read more
T-Spline Tip: Defining Regions For Conversion
While Skype-ing with Matt Sederberg at T-Splines today, he turned me on to a feature of T-Splines that I’d never even knew existed, one that I think is very useful to what I do. We were chatting about some bugs I’d encountered on the cowling file for the Giles G-200, which they are addressing. I … Read more
Sticky Stuff Dispenser – Care and Feeding
I’ve got a Sticky Stuff Model A Dispenser made by Michael Engineering that I use to dispense my resin. It’s got a static mixer mainfold, which means I can dispense fully mixed resin from the pump using a disposable static mixer. Lately, it’s been giving me problems. I wil freely admit, these problems have been self inflicted. … Read more
Giles G-200 Cowling
I’m very happy to report that I’m starting a project on a Giles G-200 cowling. My friend Aaron Burhoe of Burhoe Machine Works up in Sonora, California is building a Giles G-200. For those unfamiliar with the Giles, it’s a single seat unlimited acrobat, made primarily of carbon fiber. He’s been unhappy with the stock … Read more
Vacuum Bag Clip Seals
I’ve found that when vacuum bagging parts, it’s always FAR easier to put the mold in a tube, instead of bagging it with a flat sheet. When you bag with a flat sheet, often times if your mold has compound curvature you need to put pleats and “rabbit ears” in your bag, so that it … Read more
