BMN, super-duper Internet, CNC Blade Carving

Filed Under : Brian's Morning Newsletter by admin

Jul.23,2009

Brian’s Morning Newsletter for Thursday July 23rd 2009

http://outfitnm.com/forum/index.php?action=recent

Good Morning

Saweeet, thanks to Desertgate I was able to put in a third day of work this week. The weather held, which was a blessing because I was on a silver roof at our local BTU Building Materials store for a good portion of the day. Oh, it got hot a couple of times, but a steady stream of clouds cooled it down every once in a while, after I got done with the roof part of the WiFi installation, I got to be inside working in the air conditioned store. Something I don’t often do is run long lengths of cable above ceiling tiles, but that is what I did yesterday.

What was that hand held game we played as kids, where you moved little tiles around? I don’t even remember what the gist of it was; spell something or was it arrange numbers? Anyway, that was what it felt like I was doing, sliding ceiling tiles back and forth, forward and back, move the step ladder: Repeat. Work is work, I really don’t mind the mindless routines, as long as it isn’t everyday. I did stay late so I could put a serous learnin’ to my brain while I watched Eric and Ron do their magic setting up a new super-duper wireless link, that was cool.

My second super "saweeet" remark goes to everyone writing over at the forum. Boy howdy, it was nice to come home and read the fine comments. http://outfitnm.com/forum/index.php?action=recent I’ll set aside a little time this morning to address as many of the posts as I can before Jackson and I head into town for what we both hope will be a quick trip. Jack needs to do his every other week shopping and his care provider hasn’t showed up for work this week. I think he said something about going to Human Services (food stamp place) and I should go in as well. I need to remember to bring our tax forms.

Louie is anxious to run the back side of t5he blades we cut on the CNC router and of course I am as well. I’ve included in this mornings newsletter my post on the subject of CNC Blade Carving from the Otherpower forums and the resultant flurry of comments and suggestions it received. So I guess this morning I have three big "Saweets," to say about yesterday. Nothing can please a blogger more than getting heartfelt and positive responses. There is so much helpful information about using a CNC machine to carve blades as a result of my post to Otherpower that I have not really absorbed it all yet.

One guy talks about the center of gravity being perfectly placed in Kevin’s 3D CAD model. I didn’t know there was such a thing, or where it was supposed to be located, which makes the fact that Kevin got it perfect all the more exciting. Oh my god, there is so much information there I got sensory overload, and I started the thread, I can’t even imagine what this info will do for you. I’m s proud that I said something that wasn’t technical idiocy in a forum full of experts that I’m feeling absolutely ecstatic, I hope it works for you too, even if only a little bit.

Yeah good, good, good week and it isn’t even over yet.
I hope your outlook can hold a candle to how I feel this fine Thursday morning.

Better get with it,
Brian Rodgers

Obama turns health care focus to families, voters

By CHARLES BABINGTON (AP) – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON — After weeks of urging lawmakers to embrace his health care agenda, President Barack Obama is taking his case back to the road Thursday as the public’s qualms about the plan seem to be growing.

In his comments Wednesday and at scheduled events Thursday in Cleveland, the president is speaking directly to families about their pocketbook and medical concerns, urging them to ignore political opportunists and naysayers in order to achieve sweeping changes, which previous administrations could not attain.

"If we do not reform health care, your premiums and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket," Obama said Wednesday night, looking past the dozens of reporters assembled for his White House news conference and peering straight into the TV cameras. "If we do not act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day."

On Thursday in Ohio, the president will undertake two more events focused on health care, the issue dominating his administration even as the economy still suffers and wars continue in Iraq and Afghanistan. For his supporters, Obama’s stepped-up pace is coming not a second too soon.

For all his efforts, which have included public statements each weekday for the past few weeks, Republican lawmakers and other critics sense momentum building against Obama’s plan. They particularly cite nonpartisan cost projections that have not predicted the savings the White House promises.

"What I heard last night was a president that seems somewhat frustrated that people do not understand what this government health care plan is all about," Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Republican whip, said Thursday on NBC’s "Today" show. "I think people still have a lot of questions about what a (new) health care plan means for them and their families."

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, another leading Republican, said on CBS’s "The Early Show" that he "liked a lot of what he (Obama) had to say last night."

"I think he’s actually … his marketing is the best part of this," Jindal added. "You listen to what the president said. He said he does not want to increase the deficit, does not want government control of healthcare. He wants people to keep their insurance. He wants to crack down on the abuse, the over-utilization. All that’s great. The problem is, that’s not what’s in the House Democrat bill."

The number of Americans who disapprove of the president’s health care plan has jumped to 43 percent, compared with 28 percent in April, according to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll. Obama still holds a strong hand, with most Americans favorable to him in general, and half supporting his health care agenda.

But it’s the negative trend that worries his supporters, and some want the president to be even more forceful and visible in pushing his top domestic priority.

"He’s the great communicator," said Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, a moderate Democrat who wants lower costs but supports the overall thrust of Obama’s efforts. "If anybody can explain this, he can."

"The White House needs to assert more authority," said Cooper, who has focused on health care for years. "I’ll be relieved when they take over the marketing of this, because Congress has done a terrible job."

It’s hard for Obama, or anyone, to succinctly advocate health care changes just now because multiple versions are slowly moving through the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.

"The case has not been made" for a particular version because the eventual legislation is unclear, said Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala. With critics seizing on the confusion to attack the Democratic proposals’ costs, enhanced government role and uncertain benefits, Davis said Wednesday, the administration soon must decide whether to accept a partial victory that might leave room for a later push for the rest.

For now, Obama keeps insisting on all the major elements of his far-reaching proposal and warning of dire consequences if they are not enacted.

He cited a Colorado woman with cancer that her insurance company would not cover. He referred to a "middle-class college graduate from Maryland whose health insurance expired when he changed jobs." He used the word "families" 22 times in 55 minutes.

Associated Press writer M.R. Kropko in Cleveland contributed to this report.

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2009/7/21/34923/6850

By Boss, Section Wind Posted on Tue Jul 21st, 2009 at 03:49:23 AM MST
Friday we worked with the new CNC router!

Friday we worked with the new CNC router!
Let me show you some of the pictures I took, and briefly describe what you are looking at.

Above is one of many screens on the CNC router controller computer. This particular screen is displaying progress of the current operation as the router works through thousands of lines of code.

Above is the router bit in action, cutting across the laminated wood of the blade blanks we made from Maple, Douglas Fir, and Lodgepole pine woods. The Maple is on the left, and is rescued wood (stair steps) from the Ilfeld-Plaza hotel building. The Douglas Fir was salvaged from Old Wood flooring where they were using it for stickers (spacers between boards while the lumber dries).

Above, two blade fronts. Louie and I are still getting used to the spatial nuances of the CNC router. As you may be able to see in the above image there is a choppy edge at the top of each blade. We think this occurred because the bcause the actual blanks are .75 inch narrower than what we told the CNC router software the blanks were. We thought about making an adjustment but we already had one cut too far to one side, and the blades really need to be identical so we left it like that and cut the other two blades the same way. One of the things we need Kevin to fix is the original design so that the CNC router doesn’t cut quite so much material away leaving the finishing and final shaping to be done by hand. One of the things we have learned and there have been many learning experiences with this machine, is that it can tear up the feathered edge of the blades, so we want to do the final shaping with a belt sander.

Finally you see the two blades on the CNC router table with one side cut, and the third is in the machine getting cut. Perhaps you can see the blade twist as they lie flat on the table. On the right the blade comes to a knife edge, whereas on the left it is square edged where once the back of the blade is cut it will have twist. The twist helps keep all parts of the blade as it spins in the wind with equal lift. If you think about it the center of the wind turbine like a wheel on a car is spinning slower than the outside edge, with twist, the blade tips have a slightly different lift than the root of the blades.

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by taylorp035 on Tue Jul 21st, 2009 at 03:06:39 PM MST
(User Info)

This is the first other CNC blade project that I have seen yet other than mine.

I quickly realized that flipping the blades over to cut the other side was not going to be accurate, so I only cut the airfoil side. Once it cut out, I then took a large band saw and cut the twisted flat side.

For the tearing issues, I used a 1/2" flat router bit at a very high rpm and light passes at 200 inches per minute travel speed. I also used pine, which was very soft and easy to machine.

It looks like you you have a big machine, which comes in handy for large blades like yours. My machine only had a max long feed of 19".

Question: Did you use a 3D cad software to design your blades?
If so, did you calculate the center of gravity so the blades would be perfectly balanced?

And how big were your blades? It looks like at least 5 feet.

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by Boss (brians.outfit(at)gmail.com) on Tue Jul 21st, 2009 at 08:58:59 PM MST
(User Info) http://www.outfitnm.com

Thanks for the input, indeed we have had problems flipping the blades over and trying to line up the front with the back. At this point we are attempting to eliminate variables. Unfortunately when we are this green everything is a variable, even the details that shouldn’t be. With our programmer out of town on a motorcycle adventure, east coast to west, we are left to trial and error everything.

What we learned, I think, right off the bat, is that zeroing the bit doesn’t have the affect we at first thought it would. The next set of blades we’ll make absolutely certain the planer makes every blank the exact same thickness. Somehow the software VCarve pro will compensate if the X axis (up and down)zero point is different for each blank. We sort of knew this intuitively but did not act on it, and re-zeroed for each blank, with the result being the bit did not penetrate to the bottom of the wood because it was told the top was higher or lower.

Yeah, so lesson #1 came pretty quick. Same was true when we used a blank that wasn’t identical in width to what we entered in on VCarve Pro, the tool path was moved over by the same distance as the discrepancy between what we told the machine and what was actually there for it to cut, duh.

The original 3D CAD model was built using SolidWorks, and can be found in my files section:
http://www.otherpower.com/images/scimages/9419/blade_back.v3d
http://www.otherpower.com/images/scimages/9419/blade_front.v3d
http://www.otherpower.com/images/scimages/9419/blade2.STL
http://www.otherpower.com/images/scimages/9419/blade2.SLDPRT

VCarvepro http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/vcp/vcp_index.htm

My buddy Kevin Murphy who did all the computer stuff said he can fix most of the little irritations we are having, like the fact that the blades are three inches on the tips and 7.5 inches at the root, and Vcarvepro wants a square blank which isn’t too bad since the triangle gets removed by the router while cutting the front, but then we flip it over and the carving software wastes time cutting the same triangle out again, except of course it is already removed.

Our blades are 5 foot, but I found that one thing VCarve does well is let us change the size of the blanks, then stretch the blade model to fit, I want to try a set of 5.5 foot blades on my mill to see if this solves the stalling issues

Yep, a bunch of little things constantly.
Kind of reminds me of getting older; forgetfulness makes everyday a new experience
Brian Rodgers

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#5)
by dexxy (dexatron@hotmail.com) on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 at 07:19:04 AM MST
(User Info)

Try zeroing to your table, not to the top of your job. That way your cnc machine won’t care what the thickness of your blank is.

Nice job so far!

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#7)
by taylorp035 on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 at 11:25:33 AM MST
(User Info)

I would be careful to zero the table because you could possibly take some super heavy passes and break your bit.

I always like to program in rough cuts first, and then come in with a finish pass that takes off the last .1" or so.

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#10)
by taylorp035 on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 at 11:52:37 AM MST
(User Info)

And Yes, you should definitely make the wood the right size to start with so you don’t have all of these problems.

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#13)
by dexxy (dexatron@hotmail.com) on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 at 02:34:57 PM MST
(User Info)

If you zero to the table, you will know if your gonna kill your machine because you will drop into the negative when you start eating your spoilboard right?

I profile a job in 2d to drop the excess material so that I can proceed directly to a finishing pass. Lots less shavings to clean up after a job.

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#9)
by taylorp035 on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 at 11:39:39 AM MST
(User Info)

I opened up your drawing files in Inventor 2010, and I like what I see. The only thing that I did differently was I add a twist to the blade so the tip was about 5 degrees and 20 degrees at the root.

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by fabricator on Tue Jul 21st, 2009 at 06:49:28 PM MST
(User Info) fabricator

I think when you get this down you could probably make a fair bit of money making and selling blades, I’d order a set of 8’6" blades today.

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by Tritium on Tue Jul 21st, 2009 at 07:11:05 PM MST
(User Info)

fabricator,

check here

http://www.royalfabrication.com/

Thurmond

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#6)
by JW Peters (peters220ATroadrunnerDOTcom) on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 at 07:41:08 AM MST
(User Info)

Hello Boss; This is how I made my blades in 2007. JP http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2007/2/2/03059/10452

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#8)
by taylorp035 on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 at 11:33:23 AM MST
(User Info)

I live only 45 min from that place. Nice web site, even though they don’t tell you how they make the blades (CNC obviously). Also they have an advanced blade design, not one made by hand like mine.

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#12)
by Yyrkoon on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 at 12:51:50 PM MST
(User Info)

They do look nice, and I do like the look of the machine they have pictured on their main webpage. However, @ $135 per 6′ blade for yellow pine, or ash . . . The cost is most likely prohibitive for the average DIYer. Also having worked in a machine shop myself for a couple of years, I do understand that software, and CNC mills can be very expensive too; But, an inventive person, or a person who can follow instructions, and make on-the-fly adjustments of their own can make a fairly inexpencive CNC "mill".

One thing I personally would like to do is make a fixture to flip the workpiece, and continue that backside as well. Takes a lot of knowledge, trial and error, and patience . . .

Right now, I think I would have to stick with my $50 worth of wood hand carved blades ( which are not completely finished yet ). However, I actually enjoy working with wood/Metals by hand, even if the finished work is not "perfect".

Re: CNC router blade carving (3.00 / 0) (#11)
by taylorp035 on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 at 11:59:12 AM MST
(User Info)

Boss, After some more analysis, your center of gravity is exactly at the corner at the end of the blade (nice job there). You could also include the hole ( at least 1/3 of it anyways) for a perfect fit.

————————————-

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Media Contact: Alyson Hyder
Toll Free: 1-800-517-9816
Phone: 575-776-1413
Email: info@taosmountainmusicfestival.com
Website: Taos Mountain Music Festival

What: First Annual Taos Mountain Music Festival

Where: Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico

When: Saturday, August 15, 2009

Website: www.taosmountainmusicfestival.com

Tickets: Now on sale via website and locally in Taos and Santa Fe.

Press Release

July 21, 2009 (Taos Ski Valley, NM)
The Taos Mountain Music festival is pleased to announce its full musical line up. Headlining the show will be three international touring acts, Ozomatli, The Wailers and Joan Osborne. Their sound will be complemented by regional performers Nosotros, Rico Blues Project and the Brent Berry Band. The festival gates open at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 15 in Taos Ski Valley for a full day of music.

"This festival aims to bring a variety of great music to the area that will have broad appeal," said Alejandro Blake, Taos Ski Valley Events Coordinator. "The location is beautiful . . . the main stage will be framed by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and those blue New Mexico skies."

The day-long festival will include more than just the music featured on the main stage; craft and food vendors along with additional performing acts will be found in the adjoining Strawberry Fair. Children of all ages are encouraged to attend and will find their own attractions and games in the Kidzone including a Velcro wall, jumpy castles and drumming lessons.

While this is a one day event, festival-goers can make a weekend of it with the accommodation packages available on our festival website. "It would be well worth coming up for the festival and enjoying a full weekend in Taos Ski Valley," said Alyson Hyder, Director of the Taos Ski Valley Chamber of Commerce. "There is a great deal of excitement about the festival and the hotel packages are selling fast." Santa Fe based band La Junta will be playing on Friday night before the festival at the Stay Dog Cantina located in the heart of the resort village.

The Music

OZOMATLI

In their fourteen years together as a band, celebrated Los Angeles culture-mashers Ozomatli have gone from being hometown heroes to being named U.S. State Department Cultural Ambassadors. Their music — a notorious urban-Latino-and-beyond collision of hip hop and salsa, dancehall and cumbia, samba and funk, merengue and comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican reggae and Indian raga — has long followed a key mantra: it will take you around the world by taking you around LA. "I’ve always felt that music is the key to every culture, the beginning of an understanding," says vocalist and trumpet player Asdru Sierra. "It’s a language far more universal than politics."

Click here to visit the band’s website.

The Wailers

The name speaks for itself. The reggae legends, fronted by bass player Aston "Family Man" Barrett along with singer Yvad, will be coming to Taos Ski Valley from the island of Jamaica. With its recent 30th anniversary, The Wailers will be performing the Exodus album named by some as the album of the century and as always bringing with them the spirit of Bob Marley as they unite the people under the their familiar mantra "One Love".

Click here to visit the band’s website.

Joan Osborne

In a career that spans over fifteen years, Joan has proven to be an artistically restless yet consistently enthralling performer. In 2002, she cemented her reputation as a top tier soul singer with an incredible turn in the acclaimed documentary film ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown,’ followed by a tour with legendary Motown backing band The Funk Brothers. In 2003, Osborne toured with the Dixie Chicks and then surprised and wowed audiences touring throughout America for two years as the lead singer for The Dead. In 2007, she graced the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Osborne loves to sing and perform in many different genres, but she comes back to her soulful rock roots on ‘Little Wild One,’ her fall release that reunites her Grammy All-Star team of Rick Chertoff and Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian of The Hooters. The team last worked together on Osborne’s breakthrough debut album ‘Relish’ which sold five million copies worldwide, yielded the smash hit "One of Us" and scored six Grammy nominations.

Click here to visit the band’s website.

Nosotros

Nosotros seamlessly combines Latin rhythms with elements of Flamenco, Jazz, Salsa, and Rock, creating an original sound that is unmistakably Nosotros. M.E. Schenck of Hyperactive Music Magazine may have interpreted their sound best by saying "Nosotros’ music is not to be explained, it is to be felt in the pit of our souls." Nosotros recently released their critically acclaimed fourth album, "Llena La Alma", engineered and co-produced by Grammy Award Winning Engineer J. Douglas Geist. "Llena La Alma" is getting both national and international radio play and their song "Hermosa" was named as a winner in the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Click here to visit the band’s website.

Rico Blues Project

The Rico Blues Project hail from high in the southern San Juan Mountains of Colorado. From the small town of Rico, Colorado they bring you their own blend of mountain blues that for decades has been grooving blues fans from the high peaks all the way down to the flat lands. The long-standing blues band can be found anywhere from a Ski Patrol end-of-season party to the stage of the Telluride Blues Festivals playing alongside artists like Leon Russell, Dan Fogelberg, Margo Reed and The Coup De Villes to name a few.

Brent Berry Band

Kicking a bass drum while playing a guitar or blowing a harp and singing at the same time about love and war, Brent Berry produces his own unique style of Afro-coastal Americana music from the Southwest.

Click here to visit the band’s website.

Lodging & Festival Packages

Whether you’re just coming in for the festival or planning an extended stay in the valley you have a variety of accommodation choices from lodges, hotels and condos to private homes and cabins. Many of these will offer a festival package that includes your ticket making your stay even more convenient. Tickets will be delivered to your accommodation so all you have to do is wake up, have some breakfast and stroll into the festival at your leisure avoiding all the lines at the box office.

Festival goers may request a lodging reservation through the Taos Ski Valley Chamber of Commerce website or by calling 800.517.9816.

Photos

Ozomatli

The Wailers

Joan Osborne

Nosotros

Rico Blues Project

Brent Berry Band

Taos Ski Valley Chamber of Commerce

New Mexico Department of Tourism

www.taosmountainmusicfestival.com

Taos Mountain Music Festival Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico

Obama turns health care focus to families, voters

By CHARLES BABINGTON (AP) – 1 hour ago

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, another leading Republican, said on CBS’s "The Early Show" that he "liked a lot of what he (Obama) had to say last night."

But it’s the negative trend that worries his supporters, and some want the president to be even more forceful and visible in pushing his top domestic priority.

It’s hard for Obama, or anyone, to succinctly advocate health care changes just now because multiple versions are slowly moving through the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.

For now, Obama keeps insisting on all the major elements of his far-reaching proposal and warning of dire consequences if they are not enacted.

Associated Press writer M.R. Kropko in Cleveland contributed to this report.

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2009/7/21/34923/6850

By Boss, Section Wind Posted on Tue Jul 21st, 2009 at 03:49:23 AM MST
Friday we worked with the new CNC router!