Next Engine

[kubotaman]

Does anyone out there have or used the Next Engine laser scanner? Just thinking if they work very well. They really would be handy in does really fancy carvings on the indexer. Just thinking out loud. Any help out there?

[mikeacg]

You need to talk to Jim McGrew. He just got one.
McGrew Woodworking, Columbia, SC
mcgrew636@msn.com (mcgrew636@msn.com)

He's on this forum and a bunch of others.

[cabnet636]

and while i am having a blast with it it is off to california as the lasers stopped working !! yet i am gonna fix it and keep plowing away with it as i have gotten some good scans with it!! it lies a lot of power both in ram and graphics!! i will be setting up a forum on it soon !

[cabnet636]

i have some training videos to edit,, in getting ready this am i got my next engine scanner off the shelf (where it sat for a bunch of months after i got it repaired) and found that the software had been updated and with my new I5 16 gig ram siper processor computer with bukoo video ram that i could do this,,, i did this scan (first one in months) and saved it for you!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAgiXQ5gg7Y&feature=g-upl&context=G2cce8d7AUAAAAAAAAAA

[myxpykalix]

James that looks great. I have been following the advancements somewhat with the xbox kinect and i think eventually it will get similar results, but results you have gotten is very good. Did you ever carve that model into wood?

Let us know when you start that forum so we can watch your progress. I have a Minolta non contact 3d digitizer but haven't done anything with it for a while since the program that runs it is older and once i get my scan its not as capable in refining the shapes faster because of the slow laptop it runs off of.:rolleyes:

[taskins]

I've been using one for about a year and have found that while handy for small items you need to be fluent with 3D cad to actually get results on a larger scale. NextGen sells a program for another 3K or you could use Solid Works or Rhino to edit the output. Otherwise you are machining exactly what you input. If that's all you are after they are perfect.

Here's some pictures of a Stand Up Paddle board paddle I did this past summer for a local charity.

Jim I'm excited to see what you get today. I'll see you in March and look forward to exploring some more......

[cabnet636]

tim is right about needing a next step in software, i am on a project where i havew this person (much more cad oriented than I) helping me in the background, i am getting enough "base" data on the crucifix project and will be on it again this afternoon

we are pretty packed with info and updates at the camp in march,, look forward to seeing you too!!

[cabnet636]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDGVj4EoQ5o

[dana_swift]

Have you ever tried Sculptris?

http://www.pixologic.com/sculptris/

Its easy to model faces and edit "organic" shapes.

Bad news tho, no STL handling. It only imports and exports OBJ format, but Aspire can read it.

MeshLab can convert formats if need be.

D

[cabnet636]

the next engine exports in .obj i will look at the sculptris,, thanks

[mikeacg]

Dana (and Jim),

I did the Penguin pile in Sculptris and it cut out really nice on my machine. I really like it!

[taskins]

Jim,
Sculptris imports OBJ with no problem. Now I've got another program to learn....

[ironsides]

It seems like I read somewhere that ShopBot is going to introduce a 3D Laser Scanner attachment in the near future.

Any thoughts on this?

If not them then someone is missing a good opportunity to use the CNC X/Y/Z hardware. All that would be needed is the rest of the Laser/Camera/Software components.

George

[ironsides]

After thinking about what I just said in the previous post, the Next Engine 3D Scanner and a bracket or adapter to attach the their box to the Z head would be a good system.

A very long part should be able to be scanned this way.

George

[taskins]

Gary-
I've done that several times. I made a bracket to hold the computer on the back side of the Z carraige. I mounted the scanner on the bottom of the Z and a keyboard/mouse tray on the side of the gantry. I'm going to experiment with using my indexer next.

Tim

[cabnet636]

i had a really good scan of the chess player last night (for some video) and will try using the cnc next on a larger scan, i am getting to like my next engine

[ironsides]

Gary-
I've done that several times. I made a bracket to hold the computer on the back side of the Z carraige. I mounted the scanner on the bottom of the Z and a keyboard/mouse tray on the side of the gantry. I'm going to experiment with using my indexer next.

Tim

Tim --
How about posting a picture of your bracket, with the scanner attached, on this Forum.
Thanks.

George

[taskins]

George-
I don't have a standard Bot so I don't know how much help it will be. I'm not scanning anything right now and I have to take the router off to mount the scanner....but I'll be scanning some long parts in a couple of weeks and I'll take some pictures when I have it set up and running.

[cabnet636]

mounting the next engine is not so difficult it has the standard 1/4-20 thread tripod mount and works from a stand still basis best. it will scan and keep scale as long as the dimensional relation ship between the scanner and the part are the same if it is to be "meshed or blended in the scna studio software, otherwise the scan can be imported into third party software and attached. i have done this in aspire

[myxpykalix]

Tim,
out of curiosity, why do you have a Z setup like that? What do you cut that requires a setup like that?

[taskins]

Jack-
I started off with the Bot pictured below. I bought it off a guy in FL that used it to cut foam before his company went under. It had been in his garage for 5-6 years. That setup was way shaky for anything but foam. I picked up the parts for the Z and Y and some new steppers for a few bucks on ebay and built the gears for stepper motors and went 4G. Add a few hundred bucks for some 20/20 aluminum, some junk yard tubing and I ended up with a 14" Z that's nice and stable.

But to answer your queston Why?- I guess just'cause I had the stuff and could. No particular need. I do have an indexer and I can mount it right on the table and still have plenty of clearance- so that's kinda nice.

[myxpykalix]

My first thought upon seeing that is, "man he could turn one big column if he had an indexer":D
I can turn about a 12" round on mine but have always wanted to something like a round skirt on a dining table...this would do that!

[cabnet636]

in the early/mid 90s i was a sub installer to large cabinetry company's. a fellow who worked for tim (john) gave me some great opportunitys in my trade and tims company (EC2 millworks) was one of the finest cabinet fabricators in the southeast, there were far ahead of the curb in machinery here, we installed many a school with them and for those who see the Charleston Federal Couthouse photos i am so proud of,, well those are tims work !, i still keep a copy of those plans near for reference,, each next move was a step up working for those fellows and i am glad we found extended friendships here on shopbot. tim is no stranger by any means to all that is dicussed here !!

[bleeth]

For a carved skirt you can carve it flat and steam it to bend it.
No steambox? Sink it in the water for a couple days or rig up a PVC pipe and a lidded pot with a hose on a stove burner. (Not all wood steams and bend well but Oak is a good one. Green wood is better then dry to start with.)