Would anyone be interested in a website to exchange SBP files?

[Call-Tech]

Being new to shopbot, I am anxious to start cutting stuff and can't find much of any ready to cut SBP files. Also it just seems to me that there would have to be a lot of files that botters would not mind sharing. I know people won't share their best files, but many things I believe they would, I know I would. At the moment I would like to see Halloween related items, tombstones, pillars, skulls, etc... Also common household items such as bookcases, tables etc.

So my question is: If I donate the space and bandwidth on one of our servers, would anyone like to setup a website with the express purpose of sharing SBP files?

I will place this message on a couple of different forums and see what kind of feedback I get.

If anyone knows web design and would like to be admin and setup site then contact me:

Fred Phifer
signs@csnd.com (mailto:signs@csnd.com)
248-683-2240

[3d_danny]

Hello Fred,

Shopbot already has something like that in the making.

Go to www.shopbotprojectwizard.com (http://www.shopbotprojectwizard.com)

It has a bunch of "freebies" in it already.

It can be used to both sell you plans as well as give them away.

[paul_z]

Fred,

If you have Part Wizard, it might be of greater benefit to exchange art cam files??? This would allow you to create a cut file or modify the design and then create a cut file.

If you just want to create some wood chips, I have cut files for some plaques I did for the Boy Scouts. I also have cut files for a toy cradle I'm making for my granddaughter.

Paul Z

[Call-Tech]

Maybe I am too new to understand, but it seems to me that the tool paths are the longest most time consuming part of creating SBP files. I can whip up vector design in my sign software in just a couple of minutes, but adding tool paths to everything seems very long and difficult to me. This is the step that I thought would make people want to exchange sbp files.

[Call-Tech]

Paul, I see no reason why we could not exchange both. A section could be set up for each file type. Even a section on the website for DXF or other cad files.

[paul_z]

Fred,

Part Wizard imports your design (.dxf) and, with a few instruction from you, it creates the tool path files. You don't do the drudgery, Part Wizard does it for you.

"Area clear" does pockets and islands with cutter width compensation,
"Profile" makes inside or outside cuts with cutter width compensation
"machine along vetor" cuts without compensation
"V Carve" creates 3D "V" profile text from 11 supplied fonts

Other than some really simple stuff, I haven't directly created any tool paths.

Hope this helps,

Paul Z

PS Check your mail

[wemme]

An idea which may have already been talked about?
People who have a product which sells well in their area may wish to sell via a royalty basis to another shopbotter in another reigon be it usa or the world. The person making it in the new region can make and sell this product into predefined area with a royalty going back to the original maker. this could be a one off payment or per unit basis.

Basically make under licence

comments?

Regards
Bart

[Call-Tech]

I am not asking for anyone to distribute files which they consider copyrighted or a money maker to them. I doubt that many botters would pay for someone elses file, no matter how good it is.

I am asking for the ordinary files that anyone might want to enter into the public domain. Or maybe just to fellow shopbotters that are registered on the new site.

I am sure that every botter has some simple files maybe for jigs, toys, picture frames, simple book shelves, etc. stuff made for around the house or shop that they have created, but would never consider selling. You know the kind of thing that might make a quick last minute gift for mom inlaw. (-;

I'll bet every botter has dozens of files that are not the kind of thing that they would consider part of their bread and butter sale.

These are the kinds of things I was thinking maybe botters might want to share.

Maybe a small zip file with a jpg of project, .art file so it can be edited and .sbp file ready to cut.

I believe this would inspire ideas for other projects or to see how others solve problems or do layouts etc.. I think it would be great even if projects were very simple.

Sincerely, Fred

[bleeth]

Fred: There are some files available for free to make some things in Bill Youngs Project Wizard. You can also get Door-bot gratis which generates MDF type cabinet doors. These are two ways to familiarize yourself with your tools. The programmers are happy to assist you with tips in cutting tools, etc. Run a search for them and look them over.

Dave

PS:Just noticed Dan already suggested Project Wizard.
Another thing that helped me get gointg was buying the Vector Art collection and just doing some along the vector cutting with a v-bit. It is an easy to generate path and starts giving you a feeling for how your machine operates.

[bill.young]

Hey guys,

Although the Project Wizard isn't really meant to be a "file sharing" program in the Napster sense, it is being developed as a distribution system for part files and will hopefully supply both a place for ShopBotters to find part files and a place for part file creators to make their files available. Although some of the files will be free...there are a handful of free files already online including a new bookcase design from Andy Newcomb and a neat 3d rosette file from Bill Jarvis and John Forney...we feel that there are a lot of ShopBotters that will be more than willing to pay a reasonable price for interesting and creative files. You can read more about the Project Wizard and download the software to try for yourself at www.shopbotprojectwizard.com (http://www.shopbotprojectwizard.com), and once you've given it a try and downloaded some of the free files you'll have a better idea of what it's all about.

If you have an original part file or parametric ShopBot project that you're interested in making available on the Project Wizard, either for free or for sale, send me an email and I'll give you the details on the process.

Bill

[Call-Tech]

I have looked on google, projectwizard and in the forums here and If you take all the files available everywhere you might find just over a dozen files. None of which held any interest to me. I am not saying they are not great files, just nothing I wanted to make right now.

I am successfully cutting projects and making files of my own. I was just interested in what others were making and it seemed like a good idea to share.

Since I also own a web hosting company, I figured I would offer the space and bandwidth. I thought it would kind of be a way of saying thanks for all the help everyone has given me.

I thought that holiday related items such as the two tombstones that I cut out of foam today would be fun type projects. I guess my bot still seems like a big toy at this point. I would like to be able to look through a list of files and pick out some that I found interesting. I know there are thousands of .art, .sbp and .dxf files out there and I think a library of free files online is a good idea. I see it as being no different than all the libraries of royalty free clipart, vector art and photos or the libraries of woodworking plans that are readily available on the net.

I truly believe that all botters would benefit and can not see a down side.

It was not my intention to compete with Bill's projectwizard. I can see where exceptionally complicated files would be valuable and why some botters would pay for them. That said, there are many many more files that I'm sure would be fun to see, look at, get ideas from, and maybe edit and build if readily available. If projectwizard is going to have enough space to offer libraries of free files, then there is no need for another site.



I am sorry if I have offended anyone, I had the best of intentions at heart.

Sincerely, Fred

[3d_danny]

Fred,

I don't think you offended anyone. I think your idea is good, if you can get anyone to donate files.

I know how you feel about finding files to cut on your new bot. I bought my Alpha in April and struggled to find something to cut without ending up with a bunch of stuff I really didnt need.

Dan

[jlawren6]

Fred,

I understand where your coming from and like the idea. Being relatively new to Shopbot and CNC cutting myself, I can see the value in something like this and think it would be an outstanding resource. It sounds like you have the necessary infrastructure and experience available to set it up. Given that, I'm of the opinion that "If you build it, they will come..." I would say set it up and see where it goes. If it takes off, which I hope it does, then how it interacts with the other file sharing efforts going on can be worked out then.

Jon

[bill.young]

Hey Fred,

No offense taken at all. We always plan on having free files on the Project Wizard and have heard from several ShopBotters interested in putting together "collections" of themed files like Christmas or Halloween designs that they would offer for free on the Project Wizard.

The problem has been making sure that the files (and the product that they make) are either original to the ShopBotter or that they have the rights to distribute them from either the copyright or trademark holder (whichever applies). Many of these files are created from clip art on the web or scanned from pictures in magazines and there's no way to tell who owns the rights to them. We have to be very careful and tend to err on the side of caution...if the person can't verify that they hold the rights to the design then we can't use them.

We feel like the real niche for the Project Wizard is as a venue for creative people to make their own designs available to the thousands of CNC tool owners out there...there are currently over 3000 ShopBots all over the world. In the same way that woodworkers buy paper plans for projects and people that sew buy patterns, we hope that ShopBotters and other CNC owners will be interested in buying this form of "plans" for things that appeal to them, encouraging designers to create more and more cool files.

Bill

[billp]

Fred,
A great place to exchange files such as these would be a Shopbot Camp. There will be a camp in 3 Rivers, MI in the late Spring...Keep an eye on the web page for the schedule..