hello from new user

Hi Everyone,

My name is Jennifer and i am the proud new owner of my first CNC router! Just picked it up on Saturday so it is not yet up and running, i have to configure the MACH3 software to work with it before i can begin using it. That should be fun as there is no documentation and the controllers for the thing look like something from a Frankenstein movie.

I am a Lapidary, Goldsmith, Luthier and a newbie inlay artist. I bought the machine to explore the possibilities of performing inlay with the aid of CNC. Hopefully to remove the mundane endless sawing assicoated with the discipline, allowing me to concentrate more of my precious free time on my art.

About me:
Let Me see, I am 54 years old, live in the washington DC area and, like many starving artists, have a day job...computer programmer. in past lifes i have been a high precison machinist, actually a machine builder, and a finish cabinet maker in the yachting industry, not the most feminine of career paths but ones that were very rewarding.

Between my two past careers, and my love of form, this CNC stuff should be an "awsome fit". I am really excited that i can apply so many of my passions into a single discipline. I cannot wait to see where this art form takes me.

i am still undecided which CAD application to choose, many of the ones i looked at are very tricky to use and geared more for industrial looking forms, and not at all well suited for the gentle forms involved with inlay. Others seem more suited for sign making with ten thousand fonts while still others are outstanding for Bass Relief stuff.

So far the one that most impresses me is "Vcarve" by "Vectric" It has the ability to import bitmaps into the application, but you still have to "draw" the tool path. It also lets you put in an offset so you can use teh same toolpath for both teh "part" and the "Cavity" for the part. That functionality is a plus for the inlay artist.

any suggestions in this department would be most welcomed.

I have one more question... How do you hold down a one inch by two inch piece of brittle shell on a router table

I am looking forward to hearing from and interacting with other artists in this new form of expression, hopefully building a lasting relationship that takes us all further along our paths.

Thanks,
Jennifer

and welcome to our forum.

Jennifer,

Welcome to the forum. Great bio!

I believe you are on the right track with the vectric software. Have read a lot of great info on their software. The CarveWright does have it's own software so I do not use it..