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There are always a lot of projects in the works at ShopBot.
Some are things that will make life easier for ShopBotters, and some are updates
to existing programs like Virtual Tools that just need a little bit of final
testing before they make into the ShopBot control software. Others are projects
that might have stalled and are looking for someone that's interested enough to
continue along with it. And lots are things that we just don't know what to do
with...basically oddball stuff. ShopBot Labs is our way of making them available
for ShopBotters that enjoy experimenting and maybe helping out a little.
There's one thing we really need to be clear about up-front. There's no
guarantee that any of these projects do what they are supposed to, or even that
they'll do anything at all. Any files created should be thoroughly tested by
running in Preview mode and air cutting until you're sure that there are no
surprises. As long as you're aware of this please feel free to try out the ones
that interest you. The only thing we ask is that you give back by reporting any
problems that you find to the person that's working on it, NOT to the ShopBot
support folks. The contact info for each project is on it's
download page but please be patient if you send feedback...these may
be low-priority projects for the developer and it might take a while for them to
reply.
We also occasionally post information that might be of interest on the
ShopBot Labs Blog,
so check there periodically to see if there's anything new.
We'll start with a couple of projects and add more if it looks like there's
interest. Remember, the only way to ensure that more projects will be available
is to try them out and give us feedback so we can release these and add new
ones. As long as you understand that these projects are development versions and betas and might
not work the way they're supposed to, agree to hold ShopBot harmless if there are
problems with them, and still want to give them a try, then select the project that interests you below...
Projects currently available from ShopBot Labs :
-
sTunes, a program to play music with your
ShopBot
- a
Copy Machine update that adds some new
features
- a beta of a program to create
BradyVac vacuum
plenums (updated 5/10/07)
- an update to the
Extruder that adds the
ability to extrude along an arc. (11/10/07 does not currently work
with Part Works)
- the
SketchPad, a drawing interface that uses
a digitizing tablet.
- the
ShopBot Odometer, an elapsed time meter
and system log interface for your ShopBot. (updated 01/04/08)
- a conversion of the DOS
Double Helix routine to work with the Windows software.
- the
File Splitter,
a utility to split huge part files into manageable chunks (updated
12/31/06)
- another utility, the
Variablizer, that lets you
replace all the Z-axis values in your Part Wizard files with variables that
you can interact with. (updated 1/29/07)
-
Checkit, a system developed for schools and small shops to create
Checklists to make sure that all the steps are taken to safely run Part
Files. (updated 1/30/07 with new functionality)
-
A File modifier program that lets you make changes to a part file based on the value of the X, Y, or Z axis.
(updated 2/25/07)
-
SBEditor2, a modified part file Editor from Ryan Patterson. that includes some new features that we're thinking about adding to the ShopBot Editor.
(updated 2/12/07; find/replace update)
- another program from Ryan Patterson, this one a
Delta VFD control
program that lets you control the rpms of a Spindle
within a part file
- another spindle control program, this time for a
Yaskawa VFD
- a program to create part files to do rope turning on an Indexer using specialty rope turning bits, the
Rope Twister (updated
4/4/07 to add Twist Calculator)
- Master Maker,
a program to create master files from individual Part Files
- A File
Sampler
that lets you split up a part file that's too big for your table, or
"sample" a small section of a larger file.
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