USG Veinmatch

[Morgan]

It's amazing how that one little button can save your a$$ sometimes. Again, great reference tool for many situations.

We had one lady who was refusing to pay her balance. She claimed that we didn't use the slabs she picked out. We brought the pictures of the slabs she selected on our online inventory and the picture of her layout she signed off on. We left her house with the check...

[Morgan]

Print screen works great. Say you break a piece on the job that seems to a large or irregular part that you do not want to bring back to the shop. You can then take your print screen and re-create the layout on the original slab and then bring in your replacement slab and lay the replacement template on top of that and actually vein match the software with the adjacent part sitting in some kitchen somewhere.

Actually, it's even easier than that. It might sound confusing, but I'll attempt it. I just realized this 2 seconds after my last post.

Open up your original dxf file with the parts drawn in their proper location and also open the individual slab dxf files. Copy and paste these files into one dxf file. Then open that file, along with the pictures of the slabs you used on your first attempt and the picture of your replacement slab (or rem) in VeinMatch. Make each portion of the new dxf file that came from the individual slab dxf files each a block (This will allow you to easily move them back out of the way). Place each block back into position on the appropriate slab using the alignment marks. Change your snap offset to 0. Snap the pieces from the main dxf file so that they overlay the original placement of the pieces. Then move the blocks out of the way. Take the broken piece and find the match. Tag your alignment marks and export the new dxf file.

[coolhandchris]

I think it would be even easier than what I thought earlier. If you saw cut two sides of the slab and then photo'd it and did all your photo nesting and it exports it as one dxf you could just use the pin stops to get it where you want it and machine it.

[ChrisYaughn]

Chris

Yep. Or depending on the exact accuracy you need, I have even lined up the bottom of a slab visually with the back side of the table.


Or you can look at a rough edge of a slab a find a high point. Mark it and locate it on the image and put a pin stop there. Do it three times and you have located the slab without cutting and without transferring a mark from front to back.

Not sure if that made sense, but it works in my head :D

[coolhandchris]

It wouldn't be big deal to lop off two sides for me. I would think that if I am giving them photo layouts, they would want it to match.

[scott m]

Its much easier then that. Put two x's on the slab BEFORE you take the picture. Do your layout. Drop that on top of a dxf of your table. Measure the x'y coords from your machine origin. Now, got to mda mode and bring the spindle to those coords and float your slab til it is right under the spindle.....Repeat for other x and then back again until you get it right. This is how we do all slabs, except we have a laser which makes the process way easier. You have to have your air pressure right or you will pop the seals on the top of the slab.....The slab should not vibrate. We actually don't float our slabs, but rather relieve the pressure with the vac lifter to avoid popping the seals.

[Rick George]

Great info Morgan!!! Thanks for some great education!

[Morgan]

No problem.... I was sitting on my couch watching "It's Always Sunny" when I figured that out. I had to try it this morning to make sure I was thinking clearly. It does work and it only took a couple minutes to setup....

[Ger Vanderbas]

dude, I'm sorry I invaded your post, but it drives me crazy when people compare things as if to say you can get the same thing for much less. As you guys know, there are costs to develop and implement "the rest of the picture"

I never meant to disparrage anything you guys are doing but "like slabsmith and Imagemaster" which is not even the right name for the seaming program involved is kind of annoying and so I wish people who mention our products would try to be more accurate or keep us out. Had we not been mentioned, I'd have let you explain your stuff.

Again, sorry about that.

G

[Eric R]

I get that they're not the "Same"

But denying that some of the features are similar is crazy.

[Morgan]

Ger,

I appreciate your last post. I also am sorry that you got the wrong impression about my "That's kind of the idea" comment. But in all actuality I was merely agreeing with you. Our software was not designed for your machine or any other machine in particular. I'll say again that the banter gets the truth out. We all have better clarification on both of our systems. There are benefits to both.

Our software was inspired by RoboCut and the way that we use photographs to communicate with our tools. It just so happens to work with other machines as well as the guys who are doing it manually. It has the appropriate functions to get things done for the guys who don't have money to invest in either of our machines or for the guys who want to keep the hands on approach to fabrication. But also gives anyone who has the machinery a simple way to do their layouts. It also allows for any salesperson to have a quick useful tool to sell their customers, without having to worry about the "technical" aspect.

I feel the same as you as far wanting people to have the proper information regarding our products. It's one of the main reasons I got on here. You made it interesting, so I'm glad I did.

[Dan R.]

I agree with Eric, they are some similarities. It seems that USG is taking steps to be the industry standard in this type of tech, smart move.....get it in the hands of the masses. No matter how good a system is, if it is not being used then..... Just look at the Stealth Arm Templater; very accurate, but not a good fit for fabricators (architects, yes).

Ger, there are so many comments I want to make that would light you off like a Roman candle Those of us on here get your drift. No worries

[Ger Vanderbas]

Dan,

Imagemaster=Inventory using images.

VEINMATCH=layout tools

Honestly, I thought saying "they aren't the same" was a gentle way to put it.

I'm not sure why'd you'd want to light me up, but I suppose it's my boyish charm.

[Joe Durfee]

Or maybe he wants to see you do something like this with Morgan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JhuOicPFZY

[Morgan]

Haha!....Bopity Boopity.....

[Dan R.]

I don't want to light you up, I thought I already declared that fact. Ya, boyish charm, that's gotta be it.
If I did want to, it would be because it is so easy to do and fun to watch.

[Ger Vanderbas]

Bring it then.

[Paul B.]

Can the vein match software be used on the ipad?

[coolhandchris]

Can the vein match software be used on the ipad?

Hahahaha

I am going to go out on a limb here and say no. In fact, I will bet it can't be used on any Mac OS.

[Morgan]

Can the vein match software be used on the ipad?

Hahahaha

I am going to go out on a limb here and say no. In fact, I will bet it can't be used on any Mac OS.

Unless you run parallels on the Mac..... I wonder if the iPad can run parallels...?...

[coolhandchris]

Can the vein match software be used on the ipad?

Hahahaha

I am going to go out on a limb here and say no. In fact, I will bet it can't be used on any Mac OS.

Unless you run parallels on the Mac..... I wonder if the iPad can run parallels...?...

I don't think the ipad runs mac osx, I think it runs the os from the i phone.

I am running xp on my mac, using boot camp, not parallels. I don't think the ipad would have enough grunt to run parallels though.

[Morgan]

Well I guess we know what application needs to be developed for the iPad then, if that's true...

[badboat]

I jumped in and bought the software, will fit perfectly for our application (we do not inventory slabs with no plans to do so in the near future (Limited outdoor space ) For anyone else who purchased it and has to buy a camera check out this link http://www.nextag.com/Canon-Rebel-XSI-1 ... rices-html It is the best price I've found.

[Kris Jorgensen]

Just so any of you know, I'm now selling this software. I'm setting up a method to use this software in a fully manual shop using manual templates. If anyone is interested, give me a call and I can explain the process. 425-772-1734 cell.

[Nick]

Holy crap that was alot of reading. I don't know how I missed this thread until after Coverings, but I will be getting it before too long so let me give you my take on it with literally 3 hours combined of talking about it with Morgan and Kris afterward.

First off, Morgan is pretty cool and probably couldn't have been more nice dealing with Ger's uneccessary Breton onslought in this thread. So I Hope I can clear things up a little.

With the veinmatch softare you can not do 3D, you cannot see the granite move as you drag the dxf, but rather after you are done moving it. It is not "better" than slabsmith, and nothing could be "better" than Ger's idea of anything Breton even though I know nothing about imagemaster I am sure it is "better". What veinmatch is however, is a fully functional photo rendering system that serves the only freaking purpose we fabricators want in such a program which is the ability to layout slabs, send the homowner a pic and take it to the next level. It CAN be linked to their inventory software which is like 4 or 5 grand (i forgot) and after talking with Kris at dinner, I am convinced that between the both of us, we will be able to develop a system that will make aligning luan templates to the slab very reasonable. I also believe this process will take less time than a manual layout and not only do I not want to buy a laser, I am skeptical of it's accuracy for saw cutting.

Oh, yeah, it is $1600, did anyone miss that? Contrary to the competative arguent that much cheaper means much crappier, It isn't $1600 because it is janky and doesn't work. According to Morgan it is $1600 because the R and D was already done for it and paid for by robosaw sales/development and they just took something they already had and seperated it from the robosaw package, so they are smart IMO to do so because everyone they sell is more or less free money becuase they can infinately sell something they have already paid for, make sense? This does make sense becuase they are basically making it available to anyone and they will make more in the long run by selling hundreds at $1600 than selling tens at $8,000.

I have wanted this kind of software for 2 years and once I figure out how to layout templates accurately with it, combined with the pricepoint, it IS "better" than the other systems because it will put a manual guy in the high tech game doing 85% of what the more expensive ones do for 15% of the price, that is value. No one gives a crap about toolpaths and my intentions will be to write my CNC programs first, then move the DXFs over for layout, then have a complete package for the shop. I said it in the members area and I have to repeat it here, this was absolutly the star of the show for fabricators.

Honestly, anyone here would be crazy not to look into it. Star of the show IMO.