Kansas Camp 2006

[garyb]

OK campers here we go again for another great camp October 6th & 7th.
We have 2 packed days of demonstrations, displays and techniques for CNC machining & profiling. This will inlude Hardware, Software, cutters and Aftermarket Add-ons.

For more info and Schedule This Link (http://www.beckwithdecor.com/news.html)

Or Email Here (mailto:info@beckwithdecor.com?Subject=Camp Shopbot)

Registration- Please make by email but will accept phone ins.
For registration we will need the names & number in your attending party, phone # (for emergency contact) and home city & state.
Directons and Motel Listing will be emailed to registered campers with their confirmation. We do have a price deal set up with one of the motels but there is a quantity & cut off date on a first come bases.

At present we have 11 registered campers coming from KS, OK, TX, IL, MI and IA not including our presenters so don't leave registering too late and miss out.

[garyb]

Quick update.............

Registration just went to 20, we weclome the Arkansas contingent as well as the representatives from Design Manufactures and the Martin Logan LTD Group here in Kansas.

We might need a bullock for the Barbie, shrimp don't swim too good around here!!

[joe]

G.

Sign up Stephanie of StClair Stone. She came by today and was excited about coming.

If nothing else she adds some beauty to a bunch of geeks and old guys.

[garyb]

Will do Joe, Have Stephanie email me her contact phone # etc so I can send her a direction and accomodation list.Are they out there in Newalla, OK?

[garyb]

Gotcha Dennis also welcome Stephanie from OK, Eugene from CO and Gary from TX takes the total count todate 27

[garyb]

NEWS FLASH.....NEWS FLASH.................

Just received word last night that the Ascension 300 Torch Height Controller is ready & will on display at the camp so for those interested in plasma we will have Jim Cullins on hand to answer any of your questions. the webb link will be updated today!

I also have to say my good friend Doug Strickland from Superior Sign down there in Ada Ok will be here to help move the mobb, he doesn't know it yet but we're nominating him for king of the barbie! (not the doll the BBQ)

[garyb]

Sorry folks typo in the above post the new Torch Height Controller is out under the Ascension 3000 name.
Missed a zero in there!!

[garyb]

Joe, your a pistol!!!!!!!!!!

Sign up just hit 30 Welcome to Rick & Dan here in KS and to Bob from Friesen Engineering over there in MO, good to see you guys can make it again.

[garyb]

We welcome Joe from out there in Atchison, Les & Lacy from up there in IL and James & Jo-Anne the Camp regulars from TX. James just informed they are getting ready to spread their wings by moving into a larger shop...Congrats

Registration Just hit 35 and you just never know what Bob & Alice will come up with next...........

[jhicks]

Joe, Is the sign business slowing down? or are you expanding operations to include cartoon strips? What's next animation? Watch out Homer Simpson! Maybe a session on creative writing would be in order.
Look forward to seeing you and the others there. Sounds like a great group and topics.

[drodda]

I think Joe might be spraying laquer without a mask these days?

Just a thought?

[joe]

I think Dave's on to something.

[dhunt]

I think Joe's bin married a long long time..
and understands a lot more than you young fellas,
about the intricacies of getting a Shore Pass!

[garyb]

Well to answer Bob & Alice and to all the Shopbotters attending the Kansas Camp Oct 6 & 7th. I am pleased to announce that we have a great number of doors prizes which has been graciously donated by a number of companies and are still coming in, the current door prizes have a combined total at present of over $4000 which I think is outstanding and I would like to publicly thank the following
Shopbot Tools www.shopbottools.com (http://www.shopbottools.com) - Overall camp sponsor
Brian Barker www.newfangledsolutions.com (http://www.newfangledsolutions.com) - 5 copies of new fangled solutions – a collection of add-on wizards designed to work with Mach
Ryan Patterson www.cabinetpartspro.com (http://www.cabinetpartspro.com) - 2 copies of Cabinetpartspro – the complete cabinet generating software for your cnc router.
Art Fenerty www.artofcnc.com (http://www.artofcnc.com) - 5 copies of Mach3 - CNC controller software including Mach3, Mach3Mill and Mach3Turn
Tony McKenzie www.vectric.com (http://www.vectric.com) - 1 copy of VCarve Pro – the latest do all engraving and sign making software
Alan Overby www.custom-cnc.com (http://www.custom-cnc.com) - 1 Ascension 1000 CNC Controller – high performance micro-stepping based controller designed to work with any Shopbot CNC router.

This list will be updated as confirmations are received, individual product information is available on the above links and I will post additional info here (http://www.beckwithdecor.com/news) shortly.
As an update we currently have 40 pre-registered campers with 7 weeks to go so if you haven't registered yet and you plan on attending now would be a good time to secure your spot.

[garyb]

After Checking my mail I have a couple more door prizes to add to the above list.
James Booth www.carve3d.com (http://www.carve3d.com) - 2 copies of Vector Art 3d machinest starter pack www.vectorart3d.com/machinist (http://www.vectorart3d.com/machinist)

James also donated - 1 copy of Vector Art 3d VCarve collection.
www.vectorart3d.com/vcarve (http://www.vectorart3d.com/vcarve)
This would make the combined door prizes now valued around $4600.

I would like to thank James along with the other contributors for their generous donations in both time and product for helping make this camp a memorable trip to all attending.
(6lbs 5oz for the pool
)

[garyb]

Quick up date for the Camp........
For those still contemplating its 28 days left for registration, this is also the cut off date for the lower room rates with the camp motel, secondly I need to finalize numbers for the food etc.
At the last check we have some 45 pre-registerd campers from 12 states and 2 countries, we also have an outstanding lot of presenters this year who are some of the top people in their profession. For more details HERE (http://www.beckwithdecor.com/news.html)

Some of the how to's to be discussed as a teaser.....


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[garyb]

** This messsage is ditto'ed to a couple of forums **

For those still undecided and wanting to attend the Kansas camp its less than 2 weeks out but this is the final week for registration, although we are full with right at 60 campers I will not turn anyone away if registered by 7am Friday the morning of 9/29/06.
Final numbers for food, seating yadda yadda has to be in Friday, so snooze you loose so to speak.

I'm sure everyone has read all the highlights for the camp, with the great line up of presenters and the fantasic door prizees I belief this will be a very informative and memorable camp.

We have campers and presenters coming from 16 states and two country's so for a little inside info.......... if you want to see mountains bring pictures of them with you, if you want to see Dorothy then it better be your companion's name, if you want 2 days of great information,a great bunch of guys and gals to coherse with and a barbie with no shrimp, then your coming to the right place.

I will try to do a final update next week, the weather for the long distance travellers should be around 78°- 80° during the day with mid 50's overnight.

gary

[garyb]

Some breaking news for the camp and Shopbotters in general.
Brian from New Fangled Solutions (plug in's & wizards for Mach)has been working on a SBP to G-code converter which he intends unvailing at the Camp. But here's the big kicker, in conjuction with Custom CNC they have taken this one step further.
With a custom MDI front end screen (input screen/line) you will be able to type in sbp code which will be converted automatcally to g-code and your machine will make the move.

What this now means is that you can input either g-code or sbp code into mach to control your machine. You will be able to continue using the familar sbp codes.
So for those that have a problem converting to g-code or don't wish to give up sbp code you now have another option.

For those not attending the camp and would like more information contact custom-cnc, a release date will be forthcoming.

[joanne]

Custom CNC would like to take this opportunity to show its appreciation for ShopBot's sponsorship of the Kansas ShopBot Camp and thank them for their support of the Ascension 1000. In an effort of mutual betterment of the community and its users, we look forward to ShopBot's continued support of other Custom CNC after market upgrade products (soon to be available to the community).

[les_linton]

Gary,

It would take to long to realy put into words a "correct" thank you for everything that I was able to get out of the camp.

So in a word to everyone there. Thanks.

Les

[joe]

3559

We all missed you Bill.

Photo's to come!

[billp]

Joe,Doug,Gary, et al,
Many thank you's for the banner and good thoughts. I am trying my best to get back "online" as soon as possible so I won't have to miss another Camp like the one you just experienced.
Gary,
A special thank you for staging, and hosting what probably was the most "ambitious" Camp ever put together. I was getting phone calls, and e-mail reports as the weekend progressed, and everyone said that you were the perfect host !
Another round of thanks to all those who attended and exhibited at the Camp. It sounds as though it was incredibly informative, and more than a few people have written me to say that they came away from the Camp with a much better understanding of not only their machine, but the entire CNC process...
The lineup of speakers was extraordinary, and I wonder just how many miles were travelled by the group collectively to make Derby,Kansas the "center of the CNC world" for the weekend. It also sounds as though everyone came away from the event with the knowledge that each machine owner has different needs and goals, and there are now numerous ways to reach those goals.
It appears that we're all about to enter a pretty interesting time in terms of new hardware, software, etc. One of the "yardsticks" that I think is pertinent would be that we've come a very long way from the first few Camps where we were all happy to just watch someone's machine run, and listen to anyone brave enough to describe their techniques. Now there are SO many people who have independently developed skills, tools, and products which we could not have ever imagined back in the old cable drive days...! The "Show and Tell" sessions alone show the collective growth of
the community.
We've still got a few Camps coming up this month, and we're starting to work on the lineup for the 2007 Camp "season". If you haven't been to a Camp yet, please take a day and do so. If you'd like to host a Camp ,please contact me.

[jhicks]

Well, the camp week end is about to close with a Chicago bears Game! The PERFECT end to a great week end.
So as the bears crush Buffalo I thought I would jot a few lines about the Wichita Camp.
1st and foremost, it was a bit of a disappointment that Bill Palumbo couldn't attend but we did make the best of it and wish Bill well.
Many thanks to Gary (Great host beautiful shop and fantastic work) Alan, Joanne, Art, Brian, James Booth, Joe Crumley, and all the others (nice presenations, prizes, and super invigorating conversations).
Of course thanks to ShopBot as the factory host whom without which many of us would still be dreaming about owning such a cool tool.
It was great to see friends from previous camps and make new friends as well. That face to face encounter, sharing a few stories, techniques, ideas, and a couple brews with other passionate CNC users, sign makers, furniture makers, molders, etc, etc, etc. is about as good as it gets.
Especially with all the excitement about higher speed 3D options Chris reviewed, new geko drive adaptations Ted announced, and the Virtual Tidal Wave of future adaptations in the works for Botters and CNC enthusiasts.
I had the pleasure of discussing things with artists like Joe and Gene, software guru's like Art,& Brian ,3D designers like James Booth, Entrepreneurs like Alan and Joanne, and passionate proficient industrial CNC users like Jim Smith plus new and seasoned botters who were interested in new hardware,software, and techniques for improved performance and creative ideas.
Introducing my Daughter Whitney to this fabulous community of creative and inventive people was a pleasure.
In the end, it was one of those experiences where I felt I made a small contribution to the community where I could, received the generous assistance from those "in the know" on assorted subjects of interest, was "sold" on some of James' software, won some software, finally got to meet the legendary Joe Crumley, and the infamous Gary Beckwith who have been so helpful and generous with their support and knowlege, and watched the smile on my daughters face as she won 50 new cutting bits.

Got to meet the folks behind the scenes and those on the front lines. Its a whole new world and its just the beginning. I can't wait to see where we are a year from now considering what's happened in the last few short months.
All in great weather, under the new BBQ area with that fantastic Cedar 3d Trim, all carved beautifully with vines, leaves, lizards, and the occasional "fly on the wall".

Its difficult to imagine a better time, in a better place, with better folks, or a better experience.
If you weren't able to be there, you missed a great camp. Now I need to relax and think about what fun we can have on Monday.

[jamesgilliam]

Gary, What else can I say but thanks for hosting a great camp. I came away with new ideas, and refreshed on other things I have heard before but always seem to slip away. The presentations were right on target. Thanks also to Ted and Chris for their support, Doug and Joe for all their work, James Booth for a wonderful presentation, especially for taking the time to put up with us and not being home with his new daughter, and all the others who make it possible. We are looking forward to future camps and seeing everyone again.

[garyb]

Well the Kansas Shopbot Camp has come to close, but I did want to post a short note before shutting down for the day.

First of all I would like to thank Shopbot Tools for their sponsorship of the camp, A special thanks to Ted and Chris for coming out and filling in for Bill, we hope you both enjoyed your visit to Oz as much as we enjoyed having you both here.
Bill, who knows maybe 3rd time’s a charm

I would like to thank our presenters

[zeykr]

Thanks for hosting a great camp Gary! I always come home from these with more ideas that I can possibly implement! Thanks to Joe and Doug for all their help in organizing the camp too.

[bobstand]

Gary Beckwith, thank you for being such a great host. I have been to many great camps and your attention to detail was noticed and greatly appreciated. I could go on with more comments about how great the camp was but I would just be repeating what others have already said. I like everyone else was blown away by the upgrade you have made to your tool. There is no doubt in my mind that you can now acheive performance that was not until now possible. I understand now why you made the change. Thanks again for the hospitality.

[grego]

Gary, we had a great time at your shop this week. I wasn't there the full time but saturday was great, learned alot from other botters. Hope to see you in Ada next year.

[billp]

To ALL Kansas Camp attendees !
We have just posted the first batch of pictures on the Camp Shopbot Flickr page;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/campshopbot/
BUT, since neither Bill Young or myself were there we can't identify much of what went on. We could use a little help here. If you go to the above link, and can identify either people, or projects, please write down the number of the photo, and a short label as to who/what it is, and e-mail it to me. Then we'll add the captions to the pix. Many Thanks !

[tomb]

To all who attended the Kansas camp!!

Well my total mileage round trip from California was 3,337.1 miles driveway to driveway quite a trip. The trip was mainly to see my aging uncle in Wichita he is 87. but being able to squeeze the camp into the trip was great. Gary Beckwiths shop was as clean as a hospital and was laid out with a great deal of thought, thanks Gary.. And thanks to the many presenters and the wealth of ideas the the almost sixty attendees brought. I was lucky enough to have won the Vector art3D collection that James Booth donated, thanks James.
Any of you out there that have not attended one of these camps need to make plans to attend one near you , or maybe not so near you.
And a special thanks to Ted Hall and all at ShopBot that make these events possible.

Tom B