How long to get link?

[harryball]

How long did it take you guys to get your link once you ordered it?

I ordered mine on 4/25, still says processing and no one at Thermwood has returned my call yet.

/RB

[loriny]

Wow. I'm used to things taking forever to get into Canada but if I remember right it was here a week or so after ordering. I did set it up over the phone with special shipping instructions though.- I found them to be extremely helpful-
Good luck
Lorin

[englert]

Brent East is the contact and he just returned from a trade show for sign makers. I talked with him and he indicated that it was sent within the last couple of days.

Dennis

[jhedlund58]

WoW... i was interested in this e-cabinets stuff. From all the posts i have read, i will wait.... plus i have been very successful making my own cabinets from modifying samples etc from 100k garages. Guess i don't need the grief.

[harryball]

I wish I could find someone helpful. No one has been rude but I'm told to talk to someone else, I was transferred to voicemail, no one has called. I don't bring stuff like this to the forum quickly but I'm not feeling warm and fuzzy about my $1300 at the moment and I had planned to cut a closet this weekend.

A trade show and telling you it was sent etc... isn't really winning any points over here. No one is calling ME and telling ME what's up with MY money.

--
Jeff, I'm not sure what drama you're talking about or why you'd wait for eCabinets if you need it. I've been using it, works great up to the point of cutting which I can't run without the usb key. Easy for me to get what I want and I'm not a cabinet maker. I know there are some issues where guys on the forum talk about things they want, features that are absent or don't work as expected, cuts that don't run correctly. That describes every software package out there, eCabinets is no different but unique with the quality vs. the cost of running it.

As for the link not shipping, that's a nuisance and Thermwood needs to get dinged over (IMHO) so I'm dinging. Sometimes that's what it takes to wake someone up or get a manager to notice "carp, Billy Bob is not doing his job..." It can give them an opportunity to step up handle a mistake and sometimes you get a free hat out of it. In any case, I won't be cutting that closet this weekend. :( Whoever does eventually call should explain that to my wife.

/RB

[jhedlund58]

2 me... your post is grief/drama enough... I c more negative posts than positive about e-cab... i follow several people's posts and when i c one of yours i read it.

just me

[Gary Campbell]

Rob...
Like Lorin, I spoke on the phone with TWD. I inquired about ovenite shipping. It arrived the next day at 11.

Anytime I have an untested supplier, I make a point to call before ordering and see what their shipping policies are. Many times, time is of the essence and certain vendors do not seem to feel our urgency. Hopefully your wife will will be able to live thru another week without a closet.

Jeff...
Clarification... there are very few posts here about eCabs. Most are on the Thermwood eCabinets Forum: http://www.thermwood.com/forums/

Most of the posts in this section are about new user difficulties with implementing the SB Link. Even some of us "old hands" can use a pointer now and then. Why would you think this makes a thread negative? Are you a SB Link User?

[jhedlund58]

I hope not.... all my stuff works just fine... i was interested in the e-cabinets software.... and i feel a reason to pause and research more... guess i don't understand what sb link is! Whatever it is.... preventing me from buying e-cabs.

again... just me

[Gary Campbell]

Jeff...
eCabinets is a free 3D cabinet design suite produced by the Thermwood corporation. You must fill out an online questionaire, but I dont know of any professional users that havent qualified. So you dont have to buy it, just qualify.

The good news is that it has hundreds of options to allow a cabinetmaker to build virtually any cabinet he desires. Bad news is that it has hundreds of options, each with settings thast need to be learned so that you can cut the cabinet style you desire.

There is a substantial learning curve for eCabs, but most of us have been doing pretty good after 6 months and doing very well in a year. There is a monthly subscription for video training that should shorten the learning curve. You can either view them online or download to your computer and as a subscriber, I can tell you they are very comprehensive.

The SB Link is a decoder and parametric toolpath engine that takes the encrypted data from eCabs and processes it so that it can be sent to a ShopBot. Previously only Thermwood machines could cut eCabinets files. The SB Link costs $1,295, and all that use it regularly will tell you that it has a value far above its cost.

Hope this clarifies the differences for you.

[harryball]

Jeff,

I would also point out, this has nothing to do with eCabinets, downloading it, using it... eCabinets is free. This is about the ShopBot link for eCabinets. It is a distinct product we must purchase to use the software with our ShopBot.

I have rarely posted in the eCabinets forum since I've not been running the software. I just reviewed my posts and I don't see any that are negative about eCabinets. Could you please show me the posts you see as negative drama?


/RB

[myxpykalix]

I don't use the eCabs link since i don't cut cabinets but like gary says it has tons of settings but I believe Gary made and sold a video that guided you thru that, that probably would be worth the price in saved aggrivation.

Lastly, remember the old saying "The squeaky wheel gets the grease":rolleyes:

It may not be necessay in this case but sometimes it takes being so much of an obnoxious pest after giving them ample time to do it right that it is easier to do what you need and get you out of their hair then to avoid you.
(Not that I have EVER had to do that........:rolleyes: just ask DirectTv!)

The problem is we are spoiled by Shopbot service and think it should be like this everywhere. It is the exception, not the rule...

[jhedlund58]

Testy aren't we... i don't have 2 go very far as i c it in these threads.... i quote.. or copied..."A trade show and telling you it was sent etc... isn't really winning any points over here. No one is calling ME and telling ME what's up with MY money." Those are caps... right... maybe its the learning curve that has u down. i call this grief... u called it drama. Basically, i am trying to find the value u speak of. i make cabinets the old fashioned way... table saw/shaper etc and find it easier. i am intrigued by using cnc for some of these tasks. Thus far, i find cnc very useful for drilling holes on inside of cabinet sides for shelf supports...very accurate. Creating fluted decorations on the exterior frames is much easier on a cnc than a shaper. Creating decorative panels for doors is much easier on the cnc. As far as making the door frames or solid doors, i don't get it, as i like floating panels in my doors. I don't c it making dovetails. Making drawer dividers and insets are much easier with the cnc. Like i told my wife... the cnc adds value to these other tools and techniques... not replace them. is there a way to bring e-cab into aspire and get your shopbot part file from there?

just me

[Gary Campbell]

Jeff...
First and formeost. There are a good number of testy ol guys on here. Dont know your age, but we are mosly over 50, a little wide in the middle, blue hat wearing, have rack marks on our bellies, but we know how to make these machines do anything they can do. We also have shared that info freely with most anyone that has asked.

So, if you wish to communicate with this group, it would be in your best interest to speak our language. That would be English, full words, sporadic punctuation and semi proper sentences. No text speak, one letter abbreviations, IM speak or whatever the current fad is. We type with both fingers, not our thumbs. Full words! We even put a blank line or two between paragraphs or questions.

I dont see any reason I/we should even consider a question or statement that looks like an IM from "To Catch a Predator"

We pay attention, its a neat trick, it will help your cnc work, you should try it. Your statement "i call this grief... u called it drama" is innaccurate, as you called it "grief/drama" in post #6. Rob was asking you what made you think is was so dramatic.

You also asked about bringing eCabs data into Aspire and toolpathing from there. The answer is no, eCabs exports an encrypted file that only the SB Link or a Thermwood machine can read. I thought I answered this in my post #9.

[kerry_fullington]

RB,

I too am waiting for some software from Thermwood but was told it would be delayed until Brent returned from the trade show. It is unfortunate that you were not told this also but I can assure you that this "hiccup" is the exception not the rule. Thermwood is known for their quality of service.

Jeff,

Be careful how you interpret some of the threads you read. There was a recent thread here that i was involved in that cited problems with eCabinets and the ShopBot Link software. In the end the problem had nothing to do with eCabs or the link so if you didn't follow the thread to the end you got the wrong picture. on the eCabinet Systems forum there are often negative threads that in the end turn out to be user error and not actual software problems.
eCabinets does have a steep learning curve but so will any software that can do what eCabinets does. It is one of the most powerful cabinet design and manufacturing software packages available today and Thermwood is willing to let you use it for nothing. With the link ShopBotters are able to realize the full potential of this software.
If you don't see the benefit of this great design software in unison cutting parts for you on a ShopBot then you just haven't done enough research. In this day and age an "old fashioned way" shop just cannot compete with an automated shop. The design and manufacturing software is a major link in this chain. You can use eCabinets and the ShopBot link for approximately $1,300 or you can purchase the only other software that will do all eCabinets can for around $20,000. You decide.
CNC has much more value than just drilling holes. Using nested manufacturing my parts leave the router table ready to assemble. All holes, joinery and special cuts are performed at the same time. I also take advantage of the assembly marks and labeling which really speeds up and simplifies my construction time. Your parts are optimized so you get the best possible yield on materials. In today's market CNC is really a necessity for the successful cabinet shop, not a luxury.
Look into this a little more before you dismiss it.

Kerry

[kerry_fullington]

Hey Gary,

I resent that "little wide in the middle" remark.:)

[Gary Campbell]

Kerry..
And I thought it would be the hat color that got you.

[harryball]

Jeff, you're just an internet troll looking for fun in your own twisted way. As for the cnc I smell sour grapes. You just can't afford one so you have to slam at anything you can find. The fact that there is a hiccup in their delivery of my link and they've not addressed it in any way has nothing to do with the quality of the software.

As for my learning curve, that has nothing to do with the link. I'll put my computer and network expertise up to yours any day of the week.

In closing and my last response to you as a troll no matter what you say (except comments about my mother) I would suggest on this forum you earn the right to complain by OWNING something related to this forum. I can kick my dog, but you can't.

Guys, thanks for the information. I'll be sure to express my ire to Brent when he calls. Well, gotta go for now, catfish are calling me, big catfish just begging to be caught. :D

/RB

[bleeth]

Here is the advantage of using software and cnc for cabs in a nutshell Jeff:
1. Once you have entered your library of cabinets and materials by simply doing a spreadsheet in the right format you get a complete parts list including total quantities of materials and costs. Ends guesswork or hand take-offs as well as makes cost estimating much easier.
2. With a small labeler you get instant labels for all parts so it is much easier to keep track of what parts belong with what cabinets.
3. One man can run cnc and edgebander at the same time.
4. Assembly is quicker and more accurate.
5. Much less physical effort to load a sheet and take off parts then loading and running a stack on either a cabinet saw or a slider.

As another "over 50" (well over) guy who relies heavily on my BB for text communication I, frankly, refuse to go the route of fractured grammar. I have too much respect for the English Language for that.

I was also well over 50 when I bought my Shopbot. Guys who come into my shop to work with many years experience are welcome. Those with many years of experience who tell me how the way they have been doing it for umpteen years is fine and don't see a reason to learn new ways are shown the door on the third repetition of that mantra. It just slows down production and I see no reason to subsidize their block-headedness with my money.

[myxpykalix]

but we are mosly over 50, a little wide in the middle, blue hat wearing, have rack marks on our bellies

Gary must have been looking at a picture of me when he wrote that..My hat is just about wore out but SB doesn't have anymore! :eek:

[loriny]

I am in my 30's but not nearly so computer savvy as these "old" guys who keep helping me out. With any luck when I get near their age I too will be able to do the things with my router they do. As to the benefits of a CNC router especially in a 1 man shop: My router can do my cutting and drilling while I edgeband, clean up or cut mouldings.
The doors would definitely be faster and better with table saw and shaper.
The respect for each other I see here on this forum is incredible and I hope it can stay this way.
Lorin

[Nancy]

This topic seems to have overrun its course.