Workshop Comments

We received a lot of good comments about the EnRoute workshop.  After getting back to work, I finally found the time to read through everything.  We have compiled a list of the comments that I will distribute to the rest of the EnRoute team.  In general the feedback was very positive.  We did get some specific suggestions about how we can improve the workshop next time.  Most of those comments were similar to our own comments about how to improve the material covered and the flow of the sessions.  There was unanimous approval for the food and refreshments.

I also requested that workshop participants provide me with wish list suggestions for ways that we could improve EnRoute.  We got some good suggestions and in the next several posts here I plan to review each of the suggestions and discuss how we might be able to implement them.  Thank you to everyone who provided suggestions and feedback.

EnRoute Workshop a Success

I am pleased to report that we held our EnRoute Workshop in Denver on October 23-24, and by all accounts it was a success.  We were very pleased with the turnout - we had EnRoute users here from as far away as Massachusetts, California, and Texas, and as close as here in the Denver area.  We also had some users here from different parts of Canada.  It was a great group of people, and we all had fun exchanging information and ideas.  I hope that our users were energized by the workshop, and I know that our EnRoute team was energized.  We have already been exchanging ideas about how we can make the next one better. One of the things I asked for from each participant was a 'Wish List' of things they would like to see in EnRoute.  I plan to compile the list of responses and then discuss them here in the coming weeks.  I have looked through the lists and there are a lot of good ideas to consider.

Thank you to everyone who participated.  It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort.  Right now I am looking out my window at over a foot of snow on the ground.  Schools are cancelled today and flights are delayed.  I think we got lucky with the nice fall weather we had.

Hard Projects

I am always interested to hear about big jobs that our users build using EnRoute.  I'm working on preparations for the upcoming EnRoute Workshop and in one of the sessions we will talk about the limits of the software, CNC machines, materials, etc.  I'm hoping that our workshop attendees will all have some good examples of projects they have done that stretch the limits.  And of course, it isn't always the physically large projects that stretch the limits.  Maybe you have a small project that is very complex, or one that has fine detail, or maybe one that required you to meet some strict specifications.

If you have a project that you would like to share with me for the workshop, I would be interested to hear about it.  The project in the image in this post is one that wasn't particularly complex, but it came to me as an inspiration while I was on a backpacking trip this summer.  It is a picture frame that I created as a memento of the trip.  If you want to send files or photos to me, send them to jeff@artisticautomation.com.  I will be happy to give you credit at the workshop.  Who knows, maybe it will generate some business.

Dan Sawatzky

If you read SignCraft magazine (and even if you aren't a sign person you should read SignCraft magazine) then you are probably familiar with the name Dan Sawatzky.  Dan has been doing magic with signs and theme parks for many years up in Yarrow, British Columbia.  He is also a regular contributor to SignCraft.  We first met Dan after he bought a router and EnRoute and started creating some cool stuff with them.  After he had worked with his new router for a few months he had created a series of amazing pieces using the alphabet for inspiration ("T" is for "Texture").  When we saw his article in SignCraft we knew we needed to get to know him.  Since then we have become good friends with Dan and have helped him with his Sign Magic Workshops that he presents twice a year.

Anyway, I invited Dan to participate in our upcoming EnRoute Workshop (October 23-24) and he agreed to come.  I am excited because I know that he will contribute great information about how he does what he does; and even when he isn't presenting he will contribute to the conversation.  I talked to Dan today and he said that he has already started working on a design or two that he will use to demonstrate his techniques at the workshop.

The date for the workshop is quickly approaching, so if you haven't yet made your reservations then time is running out.  We're planning for a big turnout and I'm sure we will all learn a lot.

Software Solutions Group

I am excited about all of the different EnRoute resources that are available these days.  One of these resources is the Software Solutions Group (SSG).  Their EnRoute specialist is John Albano.  John has several years of EnRoute experience and has worked with many of our end users and dealers to answer questions and to help communicate their needs and ideas for improving EnRoute.  John and Steve Moffitt created SSG as a way to offer their expertise at meeting the needs of their customers.  SSG offers many specialized services that are all targeted at helping customers become productive with EnRoute quickly.  They provide training either online or on-site; they can help with installation and setup of the software; and they can also help figure out special applications of the software.  If you are an existing EnRoute customer, you may want SSG to help you with an upcoming job that has you stumped.  If you are a new customer then these guys can get you up and running quickly.  If you have any questions, feel free to give John a call at 215-669-8410

EnRoute4.com

You should check out www.EnRoute4.com.  This is a site that is operated by Tom Penner - Mr.EnRoute.  Tom has been part of the EnRoute team for several years, first as an employee of a top dealer, then as an employee of SAI, and now as a dealer and a top EnRoute trainer and resource.

I have invited Tom to be part of our team for the upcoming EnRoute Workshop here in Denver.  He will teach some of the sessions in the workshop, but more importantly he will be around to answer questions, debate issues, brainstorm, and take part in the discussions.  If you know Tom, you know that the 'debate issues' part of that will be the part that he enjoys the most.

Tom has a library of EnRoute training videos available for purchase and he is available to provide one-on-one training if you need it.  His other web site is www.LearnEnRoute.com.  Both of these sites provide a good way to get information about EnRoute when you need it.

Backplot

Watch the Backplot Movie 

An issue came up this week that reminded of something I read recently.  I was doing some light reading in a CNC reference book and the author was making the case that any user of a CNC machine should be able to manually create their own output file without relying entirely on a CAM program.  He felt that by being able to do it manually, the user would have a better understanding of what the CAM software is doing, and would be better able to make small changes in the output file without having to re-create it when something wasn't quite right.

This week a customer had a problem cutting out a job, which raised a question about the cause of the problem.  Was there a problem with the design?  Was there a problem with the driver translating the design into the output file?  Was there a configuration problem on their machine, or was there a mechanical problem on the machine?  The machine guys usually point their fingers at the software, and the software guys are always sure that it is a machine problem.  So how do you solve the problem?

When the question gets to me, the first thing I want to do is check the design file to make sure the geometry is doing the right thing, and that the toolpaths have been created as the user intended.  Then I check the output file to make sure that it is correct.  If you aren't familiar wth G and M Codes or HPGL, looking at the output file can be a problem. To the untrained eye the output files look like a jumble of letters and numbers.

We have created a small utility called Backplot that lets you review a plot of an output file so you see essentially what the CNC machine is seeing in terms of instructions.  In Backplot you can step forward and backward through the file as a way of looking at specific locations.  This can make it much easier to home in on a problem area.  It won't necessarily tell you what to do to resolve the issue but it can sure help you visualize the problem.  By looking at an output file before you send it to your machine, it can also help you spot a problem before it goes to the machine.  Maybe you forgot to include the proper lead in, or maybe you defined one pass instead of the intended three passes.  These can become obvious in a hurry by looking at the output file in Backplot.

Backplot is distributed freely to our EnRoute users.  In version 4.1 it installs automatically in the EnRoute folder.  If you have a version of EnRoute prior to 4.1 the EnRoute Team will be happy to send you the latest version of Backplot.  I have created a short introductory Backplot Movie that is a good way to get started with it. 

As far as the customer's issue, we were able to confirm that EnRoute was creating the output file correctly.  The hardware guys still think it's a software issue, but in this case I was able to demonstrate (maybe only to myself) that EnRoute was creating the output file correctly.