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New mini-mill... CNC and impressive


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I saw this on another site and all I can say is "Wow"....    Even though I'm confirmed toolaholic, I don't think I'll be ordering one under the threat of being put before the mast, flogged around the fleet, keelhauled and then hung from the highest yardarm. :)

For some reason I'm not able to embed the video.. maybe me, maybe my browser....

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4et9a7MwxLs&feature=youtu.be

 

And two relevant links:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1090944145/pocket-nc-the-first-5-axis-cnc-mill-for-your-deskt

http://www.pocketnc.com/

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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If I was much sharper as a machinist (not even close), I might want one. What are the damages for that jewel?

Ken

Started: MS Bounty Longboat,

On Hold:  Heinkel USS Choctaw paper

Down the road: Shipyard HMC Alert 1/96 paper, Mamoli Constitution Cross, MS USN Picket Boat #1

Scratchbuild: Echo Cross Section

 

Member Nautical Research Guild

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I just think it's a pretty amazing bit of kit.  I watched the video with my mouth hanging open.  There's a lot of 3 axis CNC mills but this just boggled me.  But, I'll never want to machine a small scale V- 8...  :rolleyes:

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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$4000 and it makes a mess.

 

The admiral would not be happy  :(

 

Richard.

Richard

Current Build: Early 19th Century US Revenue Cutter (Artesania Latina "Dallas" - messed about)

Completed Build: Yakatabune - Japanese - Woody Joe mini

Member: Nautical Research Guild & Midwest Model Shipwrights

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Yup, looks like the Maserati of mills, makes a mess and only $4k~!!!   And then you only have to program it.  

 

Hmmm, we do mostly one offs, like Janos said.  Next life time........

 

Hey Mark, why not build a miniature Chevy flat head and install it into a Hacker craft model boat?  It would scare a lot of water fowl.                        Duff

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Duff,

 

The mess wouldn't bother me or the Admiral.  But that tech is way above my pay grade.  I leave AutoCAD to the others.

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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I've seen this before, neat little 5 axis.......but...you would be shocked at the cost of a Cad/Cam program capable of programming 5 axis work, it will cost more than the machine for a good one.....and there is no realistic chance of hand coding a 5 axis machine.

You can certianly machine an engine block without all the wizardry of a 5, it just takes a little longer and does not look as cool doing it ;)

Edited by PriceMachine&Design
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Hi.

Now this is a Quality machine.

Father Christmas I want one please.....

first used a CNC machine when I was 23 and that was a monster that only had 3 axces and 1 huge cabinet with all the electronics in.

 

Regards Antony.

Best advice ever given to me."If you don't know ..Just ask.

Completed Mayflower

Completed Fun build Tail boat Tailboat

Completed Build Chinese Junk Chinese Pirate Junk

Completed scratch built Korean Turtle ship 1/32 Turtle ship

Completed Santa Lucia Sicilian Cargo Boat 1/30 scale Santa Lucia

On hold. Bounty Occre 1/45

Completed HMS Victory by DeAgostini modelspace. DeAgostini Victory Cross Section

Completed H.M.S. Victory X section by Coral. HMS Victory cross section

Completed The Black Pearl fun build Black Queen

Completed A large scale Victory cross section 1/36 Victory Cross Section

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Thank you for posting this Mark :) It is an incredible piece of kit,however the first thing that sprung to mind is what PriceMachine and design mentioned.The $4000 price tag is just a small chunk of what is required to get this machine up and running.

I am also very wary of the fact that the monies for orders placed are obviously being used to 'bankroll' the company to allow production.Spending that kind of cash,I would only feel secure purchasing a readily available machine from a well established company.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

Currently working on Royal Caroline

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Hmmm...time to invest in lotto tickets, I think. (On top of the floggings, etc, my admiral would probably cut off my grog as well!)

Current builds:
Harvey, Baltimore Clipper - Artesania Latina
HMS Triton Cross Section, 18th Century Frigate - online scratch build
HMCS Agassiz, WW2 Flower-Class Corvette - HMV - card model
 

Completed:
Swift, Pilot Schooner - Artesania Latina --- Build log --- Gallery

Skeeter, Ship-in-Bottle - Ships a Sailin' kit --- Build log

Santa Maria, Caravel - Artesania Latina --- Build log

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...but...you would be shocked at the cost of a Cad/Cam program capable of programming 5 axis work, it will cost more than the machine for a good one.....

That and the computer to run it, then tooling.

We recently purchased a CNC router where I work and it has been a game changer for us, but at a cost. We are way beyond the initial cost of the machine with running power ( new panel since we were out of capacity), software, computer to run it and bits, etc. etc.

But, I can sit all day and watch it make aluminum chips and saw dust! Cool stuff. Thanks for posting Mark.

Sam

Current Build Constructo Enterprise

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I've seen this before, neat little 5 axis.......but...you would be shocked at the cost of a Cad/Cam program capable of programming 5 axis work, it will cost more than the machine for a good one.....and there is no realistic chance of hand coding a 5 axis machine.

You can certianly machine an engine block without all the wizardry of a 5, it just takes a little longer and does not look as cool doing it ;)

 

If you look at their web site, you would see that the cost includes a 1 year subscription to Autodesk Fusion 360, so the software is included (for a year), but the computer is not.  Also note that Autodesk has made the Fusion 360 program available free to hobbyists now.

 

 

Thank you for posting this Mark :) It is an incredible piece of kit,however the first thing that sprung to mind is what PriceMachine and design mentioned.The $4000 price tag is just a small chunk of what is required to get this machine up and running.

I am also very wary of the fact that the monies for orders placed are obviously being used to 'bankroll' the company to allow production.Spending that kind of cash,I would only feel secure purchasing a readily available machine from a well established company.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

 

Note that they have begun delivering machines now, and the kick-starter is long since over, and all future sales are just normal purchase arrangements, with current delivery sold out through May, so current pre-orders are delivering in June of 2016.

 

I'm not in the market for this thing, and only found out about it from this thread, but found all this information from their website, provided in the links in the first post, and the information from Autodesk took a single Google search.

 

I hope they do well, as this is a cool machine and I'd like to see the people who developed it be rewarded with some success.

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$4.000 and it doesn't even change it's own tools.  I'll wait for the up-grade. 

 

lol

 

Bob

Every build is a learning experience.

 

Current build:  SS_ Mariefred

 

Completed builds:  US Coast Guard Pequot   Friendship-sloop,  Schooner Lettie-G.-Howard,   Spray,   Grand-Banks-dory

                                                a gaff rigged yawl,  HOGA (YT-146),  Int'l Dragon Class II,   Two Edwardian Launches 

 

In the Gallery:   Catboat,   International-Dragon-Class,   Spray

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Hmm, that's Tool Pornography if I ever saw it:  "If I had that, I could do....!"  Well, I guess it's not a bad thing to view it.

 

But if you think about it, that machine is actually moving in a sequence of movements that mimics the actions of a human, albeit with perfect choreography of the tool and workpiece, as well as with a perfect mimicry and repetition of movements.  Once you've figured out how to program the machine to make a particular item perfectly, then you can turn out a million.  (Yawn.)

 

Is that why you're here?  Don't get me wrong.  I don't have a strong prejudice about hand- versus machine- work.  But I can't understand how this is important to the artistic hobby of modeling ships.  Why not just buy a completed model?   (But I can certainly understand the usefulness of buying a kit when starting out, to learn and get an idea of how things are done, or maybe to get past some of the drudge work.)  

Edited by Bob Blarney
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Oh my,

And only 4000 dollars, maybe a trip to Bozeman to pay this little company a visit.

Well, it's out of my pocket as well. But thank you posting this.

This is what I call enterprising.

 

Please, visit our Facebook page!

 

Respectfully

 

Per aka Dr. Per@Therapy for Shipaholics 
593661798_Keepitreal-small.jpg.f8a2526a43b30479d4c1ffcf8b37175a.jpg

Finished: T37, BB Marie Jeanne - located on a shelf in Sweden, 18th Century Longboat, Winchelsea Capstan

Current: America by Constructo, Solö Ruff, USS Syren by MS, Bluenose by MS

Viking funeral: Harley almost a Harvey

Nautical Research Guild Member - 'Taint a hobby if you gotta hurry

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Well.. I just posted it because I found it fascinating.  And judging from the response, I'm not the only one. 

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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just took a somewhat closer look , so apparently the first 280 backers of the kickstarter raised 355k(!) and paid $1.270.00 each for their machines,19 of which have just been shipped.Now the cost has gone up to 4k .....darn it!  .....I'd pay 1.27k for it without a second thought and I already own 3 cnc 3 axis mills but I think 4k is a bit much for this little guy. Although they use a very nice NSK spindle , not cheap, I've never heard of their machine controller and im not real impressed with lead screws and nuts on a cnc for this kind of money, although Sherline does the same.Fusion 360 is apparently free anyway and its not correct to call it 5 axis as its actually 3+2, just saying , the real 5 axis software is still under development....and im sure (?) will not be "free".

I would encourage those interested to try the Fusion software out first, watch some u-tube vids on it etc. and see if you can follow along with the user interface or "GUI". Programming 5 axis stuff is in the realm of the seasoned professional which is why the somewhat rare 5 axis equipped pro shops get the BIG money. I've been programming and machining (2.5 and 3D ) for almost 20 years and the thought of doing a 5 axis part gives me a major head bender LOL. Maybe they have it all figured out now so those with no experience can set the thing on the desk and make an engine block with a few key strokes?.....not very likely, but we can dream and it will probably happen someday.

 

(A friend of mine just bought one of those Phantom drones, never flown one before and the NEXT DAY !after it arrived was making professional grade flight videos....AMAZING!)

 

I cant wait to see how these first 19 owners make out, if I had to make a prediction I'd say at least half the buyers will bail out after trying to program a part or 2........my theory being that a lot of the kickstarter funding comes from excited deep pocket folks looking to spend their cash on worthwhile young minds...a good thing I believe...........now where's my second hand pocketNC? :)

Edited by PriceMachine&Design
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Well.. I just posted it because I found it fascinating.  And judging from the response, I'm not the only one. 

Don't get me wrong.  I think this is a fascinating piece of machinery, and I admire those who designed and built it.

 

But I think it's overkill for shipmodeling, unless someone has discovered a lucrative market that justifies mass production.

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WOW, way cool.  Time to sell everything that is not nailed down in my house on eBay.  If I didn't make enough money on that, take out a small loan, get it and make wooden clocks, sell those to pay off the loan. 
OR
Just wait a couple of years and get it.  It will be affordable.
 
Overkill?  Probably..... how about 3D printing?  In a couple of years this will be all automated with lots of extra's and add-ons. Then we will all be Professional CAD/CAM designers and when all the drawings are done, hit the button, and the following day we have all the parts for the ship.  Sand and glue and voila....... you have a model.  "Look honey, I just finished the Santísima Trinidad and I only started six months ago". " Next in line will be the Victory which will take me about three months".  "Then the armed launch which should take no more than a week or two". "Then I will sell all these models and buy my next CNC machine with X amount of axels".

 

Just think, the market will be flooded with crappy models from Asian countries.

 
Marcus

Edited by Marcus Botanicus

Current Built: Zeehaen 1639, Dutch Fluit from Dutch explorer Abel J. Tasman

 

Unofficial motto of the VOC: "God is good, but trade is better"

 

Many people believe that Captain J. Cook discovered Australia in 1770. They tend to forget that Dutch mariner Willem Janszoon landed on Australia’s northern coast in 1606. Cook never even sighted the coast of Western Australia).

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  • 4 weeks later...

Extravagance in the pursuit of excellence is no vice.

Bob

____________________________________________

Current Build:  Mantua "USS Constitution - 1797"

 

Pending:  Model Shipways "USS Constitution"

 

Completed:  Model Shipways "USF Essex -1799"

                    Model Shipways "New Bedford Whale Boat"

                    Billings "Zwarta Zee" (RC)

                    BlueJacket "Sequin" Tugboat (RC)

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