2 quick EasyStone questions

[ChrisYaughn]

1) When you are in the pod placement screen, is there an easy way to remove all the pods at once? Starting over with zero pods on the screen. Instead of dragging and dropping them one at a time off the table.

I use the pod locater as a check (instead of a laser) to make sure the pieces will fit inside the stone on the table. This trick would save me a little time in each drawing. Our full slab setups use 15 or 20 pods at a time.







2) When you are in the tool applyin screen. Is there a way to select the previously selected lines. For example, When running the Bullnose we run the stubbing wheel first. Often I have four or five parts on the table and it would be slick if there was a way to simply "copy" the lines that I set the stubbing wheel on and use those to set the bullnose breaker. Hope that makes sense.

[Camzl1]

PM sent

[Mike Stites]

1) When you are in the pod placement screen, is there an easy way to remove all the pods at once?

Answer: Use the "reset disposition" button to clear all the pods, clamps, and stops.



2) When you are in the tool applyin screen. Is there a way to select the previously selected lines. For example, When running the Bullnose we run the stubbing wheel first. Often I have four or five parts on the table and it would be slick if there was a way to simply "copy" the lines that I set the stubbing wheel on and use those to set the bullnose breaker. Hope that makes sense.

Answer: Not sure about that one but you can add the stubbing tool to the bullnose kit, that way you select the lines once, apply the Kit and you are done

[ChrisYaughn]

Mike,

I have only have 20 something spots on my rack, so I switch out tools pretty often. I have the stubbing wheel, breaker and the the actual profiles kits as seperate to force me to think thru and make sure i have the right tool on the rack.

I often have to change tools while a piece is on the table to finish running.

[Mike Stites]

Are you changing the stubbing wheel and the breaker or are they in a set position that you don't have to change?
I leave the stubbing and breaker wheels in a set position and just change out the profile wheels, I use positions 20 thru 25 for profile and polishers that way I just have to change the profile wheels, we have a 26 position rack.
We use the first 14 or so positions for routers, drills, saw, breakers, Z wheels, the tools we use on almost every job and use the rest of the positions for change out of profiles and special tools.

[ChrisYaughn]

I found the reset button. NICE. Thanks for that one.

I have a 22 position rack. 3 spots are down waiting on me to fix sensors or fingers.

After looking at it, I probably need to start over on my rack. The set up has just kinda evolved from the beginning into something that is pretty random at the moment.

I change the breaker in/out according to profile.

[Camzl1]

Chris. In Easystone when drawing your geometry make the entities (lines) that are getting profiled all the same color but different than the wall or non edge detailed. Then during the machining phase you can right-click your mouse in the geometry screen and then select choose color. Select a geometry of your color choice. This will grab all of the same colors at once without having to individually click on each part. As far as the stubbing in the kit, just remember that typically stubbing most people run it down the center with no compensation. When you add it to a profile kit it will also take on the right or left characteristics of the kit and will not be on center. Your controller may allow you to do a negative diameter comp in the offset table at the machine, but I don't know about the OMAG and this would be something you could try. If not leave it out of the kit.

[ChrisYaughn]

Eric, I just tried the color selector thingy. Way cool .

We color code already so that is a big help.

[scott m]

The color option is killer. You cannot do this in alphacam(you can color the layers, but they are different layers)....

If you set the cal wheel parameter to zero you would get approx 40mm of calibration......This is you inch and 1 half overhang....This way you could add it do a normal kit. I guess anyway.

You can also set up the same tool under two tool numbers. This way you can run kit A with the cal wheel and still have be able to run the cal wheel with the proper offset and not have to buy two tools.

[Stuart Gill]

You can also set up the same tool under two tool numbers. This way you can run kit A with the cal wheel and still have be able to run the cal wheel with the proper offset and not have to buy two tools.

The EasyGLASS version of the DDX software allows you to define up to three tools per pocket. Thus you can "stack" wheels and run both the kit A cal wheel geometry and a standard cal wheel geometry in the same program, without having to manually change any code to use a different offset.

Not that any of you guys are going to see EasyGLASS, I just thought I would throw this out there as this type of many uses one tool thing happens glass more than in stone.

STU

[ChrisYaughn]

Scott, I do that with my demi breaker. I use the same breaker for our OG, just set a little different.

I cannot beleive I didn't ask this sooner. I am digging the reset and the color selection tool.

[coolhandchris]

Scott, I do that with my demi breaker. I use the same breaker for our OG, just set a little different.

I cannot beleive I didn't ask this sooner. I am digging the reset and the color selection tool.

My 45 breaker is used on TP, FZ, F+V, Sharknose, Demi and any other profile that is not bullnose.

[scott m]

Color selection and invert selection as well as the align function are freakin invaluable........

[ChrisYaughn]

I use the invert selection button alot also.

What is the align function?

[Marmi Natural Stone]

Under the "elaborate" tab, there is a button called "align". It's useful to rotate your tops horizontal so you can drop in a sink. Much easier and faster than using the analysis function to find the angle and then rotating your piece.

[ChrisYaughn]

I need to try that. I think I just offset the front edge the same as the set back, and then drop the sink drawing with the far left point on the line. Then rotate and drop on a sketch point, eye balling it for parrallell. When you zoom in you can eyeball it pretty close.

But it would not surprise me if there was an easier way

[Marmi Natural Stone]

I use it mostly because our knucklehead templaters can't remember to rotate their templates to horizontal on the LT 55.

[scott m]

OMG.......align is the best tool in the box.......Especially if you are using pin stops cutting single parts.......

We really need to have at a future workshop a software seminar, put up alphacam and easystone and all teach each other tricks of the trade.

[Camzl1]

The other way to rotate to horizontal if your version doesn't have this option, cause ours doesn't, is to choose the rotate command and then choose your base point of rotation (pivot) and then when it ask for angle, hold the Ctrl key down and choose your line. This will give you the angle it is at and then you just add the negative symbol in front of the data it puts in the box and press enter or OK. Tops are aligned horizontally.

NOTE: This trick only works if the angle is less than 90 degrees. So its always best to rotate manually first to get it close then do this

[StevePaul]

OMG.......align is the best tool in the box.......Especially if you are using pin stops cutting single parts.......

We really need to have at a future workshop a software seminar, put up alphacam and easystone and all teach each other tricks of the trade.

That's a good idea Scott. There are a lot of tricks that people may not have seen or weren't ready to understand in class prior to tackling real world problems...

An hour's worth of introductory seminar with a Q&A or open session for experienced users could cover a lot of ground.

Reducing any repetitive task from minutes to seconds can save you an enormous amount of time!

[ChrisYaughn]

Scott, that may be why I haven't used it. Rarely use pin stops.

Eric, I like that idea. A little more polished than my eyeballing it

[scott m]

Another trick if you clean up on the computer is to color your imported drawing red for example. Then add your offsets(check create copy), drop in sinks,etc..then color any walls or stuff that didn't move black...On most drawings I redraw almost every line to square it up...I don't follow crooked cabs......then when you are all done, hit select color and delete the imported drawing. Your cleaned up drawing will be left. This way you don't screw up and think you added an overhang, put a seam in the dishwasher, sink too big for cabinets, etc.........


I did a sink yesterday with the proliner. Now it is a common belief that you can just scribe a sink with the proliner and cut it, but not really as you hand is too shaky to get perfect geometry. So what I do it actually pick points all the way around the bowl. Now you will have a fairly precise drawing, but just some bad geometry here and there. Now you can select nurbs curve and and near point.....select two point on good geometry, then near point or sketch where you think the middle should go an then two points on the final geometry. Then break the bad geometry and choose move extreme and choose the good geometry and connect it to the end point of the new good geometry.....Hard to explain. Try to do this on Alpha Cam, and you better have a degree in cad.....

Finally when you are all done hit select all, then at the top of the screen select check tangent and any open entities will appear blue.....this way you can close them up......Usually they are so small that in alpha cam if you select show breaks or just look for the tool direction icon, they are on top of each other and you cannot tell there is a break.....this is especially true with duplicate geometries......there is also a button for that on ES.

[StevePaul]

A couple of other very useful tools:

Tangent Object Snap This is a unique tool that allows you to find a mathematically tangent point on an arc or line to draw from or to. Works with lines and arcs. Valuable for repair and design work (like drawing a line between the tangent points of two arcs).

ARC P1 d P2 Picking the end point of an existing piece of geometry will determine the direction of the first point of the new geometry. In other words, it draws perfectly tangent to the previous entity. Good for redrawing or repairing imported DXF files and for bridging non-tangent arcs.
Example: Start with this command using the END POINT object snap and then use the TANGENT object snap for the final point, then trim to the TANGENT final point. The command will draw an arc of any radius or even a line depending on the requirement.

Move Extreme Like GRIPS in Autocad. An end point can be selected and then relocated using the MOVE EXTREME command. Microscopic rounding errors in inch mode may occasionally show as an OPEN or blue circle during the tangency test. Select one of the common end points, select MOVE EXTREME + the ENDPOINT object snap and reconnect the two points. The geometry will not change but the tangency error will be repaired.
MOVE EXTREME also provides a quick way to create off square corners. Draw the theoretical rectangle. BREAK (Scissors command) the end of the line to be shortened by the off square amount. Use MOVE EXTREME + the END POINT object snap to move the adjacent line from the theoretical end point to the broken point. viola! Delete the broken segment.
Using the ENLARGE or lengthen/shorten command will save the DELETE step while allowing the line to be trimmed or extended by using plus or minus values

DDX software continually interprets where you select geometry for the purposes of drawing and applying tooling. When applying tooling, always pick near the starting end point of the first entity for the tool path. More often than not, this should give you the correct start point, direction and compensation side.

If PC memory space is not a problem, save your original geometry + repairs and modifications as a new CNC project within the job folder before deleting the original geometry. This will allow you to go back if there are any doubts, questions or tolerances to check.

[Camzl1]

Another good post Scott. We have a proliner at the shop I was at and you nailed it with that comment about your hand is the problem not the machine. I did ask them for a ball bearing attachment so I could guide the pin better. I got nothing from that. The other issue is that I would always leave a scratch line from this thing if I drug it around the inside of the sink. We went to using mylar and tracing the odd bowl sinks and then digitizing them. Clean up was a breeze thanks to Make tangent. But I only used Nurbs when we would be doing crazy cabinets laid out in shapes. But like Scott said super easy to get the correct geometry of arcs from lines this way. Just remember to explode afterwards to make it usable geometry.

[Camzl1]

DDX software continually interprets where you select geometry for the purposes of drawing and applying tooling. When applying tooling, always pick near the starting end point of the first entity for the tool path. More often than not, this should give you the correct start point, direction and compensation side.

I call this the Halfway rule. Don't go past the midpoint of your starting entity and this works fine. As long as the Kit is set up properly to automatically go the right or left side of your choosing then this is one of the best features. And when you get into the groove of programming like this saves a lot of time from going back and forth to the invert or changing directions buttons. Do it this way as Steve said and you are all ready to go with one click. Kinda one of those reasons IMO the new automatic processing was useless in Easystone, but very very important in Wintools.