It would also make neck building and fingerboard radiousing a breeze if it worked well enough for that. Here are some things I could see myslf using it for: 1. Neck carving 2. Elaborately carved tops 3. Etching decorative control panel plates 4. Serial numbers. Robert Canfield likes this. May 9, 2015 #5. I was asked by a forum member (kablerj) to post a tool revue on the CarveWright CNC machine. So here it is. I have had mine for close to two years and can honestly say that I am totally satisfied with it. To be completely honest, for the first couple of months, I did have some problems and had to replace.

Update: New version out that works with Arduino 1.0 and higher! The Arduino Watch provides augmented sensing of temperature and range, 16-bit color drawing program, Breakout game, and also tells the time in your choice of digital, binary, or analog. Additional sensors, devices, and programs are easy to add as any standard Arduino. The source code can be downloaded from the google code page,.

Updates and news on the Arduino Watch can be found at This is a video that gives an overview of what the Arduino Watch can do. Step 1: The Materials. This step is where you layout the parts to see how long of wires you need to have for the watch. Remember that when the watch is on your wrist the parts will be closer together due to the curvature of the watch band. Tape the components to the watch band and see how it fits on your wrist and make sure everything is in a comfortable position.

Layout the ribbon cable from the part to the Arduino and mark the distance on the cable (leaving wire to solder to), then cut the cable and strip the wires. For the trackball to Arduino there needs to be a minimum of 7 wires (power, ground, button press, up, down, left, right). If you want to light up the trackball you can use more wires and connect to an available digital out. For the display to Arduino there are 5 wires. Step 6: Cutting the Watch Band.

Place the trackball board and the trackball ribbon cable into the helping hands and solder the wires. After soldering put a little bit of hot glue over where the wires connect to the trackball board for improved strength. Note: To make a more compact design wires should head out to the left in the picture (opposite the direction seen below) laying flat against the back of the trackball board. At this point it is good to test that everything is wired correctly, you can do this by uploading the the found on the Arduino Watch google code page.

Step 9: Soldering the Display Connector. Now that the trackball is connected and tested you can move to the display connector. Now you do not want to directly solder to the OLED display since it uses a serial connection to communicate with the Arduino and you want to be able to upload new sketches to the Arduino after you have completed the build (only one serial connection at a time allowed). Use a Dremel (or other cutting tool) to cut off one of the pin slots on the Connector Housing 6 pin housing to make it a 5 pin housing. Also you can cut down the height of the housing so that it does not stick into your wrist as much. Take the 5 wire piece of the IDE cable from the 'Parts Layout' step and the wires into the female pins and insert in the housing.

To increase the strength of the connector (especially if you cut the height down) add a hot glue to where the wires come out of the housing. Solder the other side of the wires to the Arduino as specified in the pin diagram from the 'Soldering Connections Diagram' step. Epson Stylus Sx415 Printer Installation Software. At this point you can use the Arduino Watch software to test the setup. Upload the software with the display disconnected, then disconnect the power and connect the screen. You can then power the watch with either the battery or the FTDI. If everything is working right you should be able to navigate the displays with the trackball and run the programs from the menu screen.

The time screens will just display 0:00 in their various formats. Step 10: Soldering the Real-Time Clock. This step covers how to solder the oscillating crystal to the real time clock and how to wire the real time clock to the Arduino. The data sheet for the DS1307 real-time clock can be found. First trim the legs down on the real-time clock so that they don't poke other parts of the watch. Then solder the 32kHz crystal to X1 and X2 The SCL is soldered to A5 and SDA to A4 as shown in the soldering chart from the 'Soldering Connections Diagram' step. Then solder the power to Vcc and ground to ground.

At this point the Arduino Watch is fully functional for the basic functions, so power it up and test it out! If the clock doesn't run try power cycling and/or use the reset button on the Arduino. Sometimes it takes a couple cycles to the the real-time clock going. Step 11: Solder the Extensions Header. Copper tubing is your friend when you want to give your watch a steampunk look. Spacers for the screws were made with 1/4' OD copper tube cut to about 0.26' length, you may need to try a few times to get the right length (I had to), but you can use the extra pieces in the cover for the battery wires.

To cover the battery wires thread the wire through the small pieces of copper tube until you have covered up to the connector. Magnifying lenses like the ones in the picture make a great addition to the look. You may need to remove one of the spacers to allow them to clip onto the screw or you can glue or solder the lenses to one of the spacers. Step 13: Extensions: Range Finding.

The super richest buy high-end swiss watch like 100K, 200K USD or more will corporate with the frac appreciation very well. I believe Swiss and UK watch makers will survive well as they are the no 1 around the world and nobody can compete with their talent/innovation/precision/delicacy in this field so far, not even close. All the normal / poor quality watches are no longer made in Swiss. They are made in China.

In fact there is a option to bild your own watch. The only thing which you have to do Is to buy the parts which you need and also watch biuld kit. Here you can find more information how to do that.

Ah crap, I broke my 4d 128x128 1.5' the other day. It had a dead line so I tried to fix it by messing with the ribbon cable and I screwed it up even worse. I was on the 4D forum and apparently this is a common defect with the 1.5' version. No problem cause I've got a replacement coming in the mail today (the smaller.96' one). Good news is I got your software working with no problem, and even started on some mods for my application.

I was wondering why you had the 'shut down' option until I started reading up on the oled - apparently they don't like having power removed all willy-nilly. I'll be sure to remember that with my new one. Fun stuff, thanks again for the instructable! I got the smaller screen in the mail Friday and had no problem getting your software to work.

Of course there was a wrapping problem due to the reduced resolution but that was easily solved. I had a few more problems however and decided to go another direction with this. First one was that I'm not happy with the smaller size and resolution so I ordered yet another 4D screen, this time the 1.7' version. The second problem is with the Arduino, and I kind of expected this. The 32k of memory just doesn't give me enough space for all the functionality I would like to add to my project, so I ordered a as well (512k program space, 100mhz =) ).

Not only did all the necessary libraries take up a ton of memory on the Arduino but also the annoyances of having limited serial and I2C. I plan on connecting at least one second serial device (probably an xBee) and that wouldn't be possible on an Arduino without having to rely on the buggy SoftwareSerial library.

I did write a pretty cool cursor routine for the Arduino platform that will even work on graphic backgrounds (it snapshots the 8x8 section under the cursor before it draws the bitmap so it can erase it before moving) that seems to work well, however I wrote it stand-alone and haven't yet integrated it into your project. Let me know if you'd like that code and I'll post it. I think it would be a cool addition to the main menu.

Also I'm using a configurable speed (pixels moved per trackball bit cycle) and increasing that to 2 or 3 seems to make the interface a lot smoother. I just hate having to scroll 4-5 times to move from corner to corner. I'll keep you updated. I have a ton of parts in the mail which should make for a busy weekend. Thanks, I'll post the cursor code and updated pics later on.

I haven't worked on the software at all but last weekend I made a fully enclosed metal case for the screen and another for the battery out of sheet aluminum. I'm still not sure if I'm happy with the design though - I'm using the screw holes on the OLED module which adds another ~12mm or so to the width. I'm thinking about chopping them off and securing it with hot glue in my second revision to reduce the overall size. I'm switching materials as well from aluminum to brass sheet metal. Hey i'm new at this and i wanted to know a little more about how to program this thing into doing things like radio and radio jamming.

Also i'm kind of a newb so i might add some comments later. One other thing i think you should post another version of this that could go under gadgets. The funtions i think should be in there are everything in here, a radio, a radio jammer, a 2 gb memory, a few more games, a word processor, and a calculator. I know it seems like a lot to ask but i'm trying to build something like that with those functions. Nice project and I just ordered the parts to try this on my own but when I was reading over your statement regarding the RTC you say: 'If the clock doesn't run try power cycling and/or use the reset button on the Arduino. Sometimes it takes a couple cycles to the the real-time clock going'. How is the clock functioning at all when the power requirements for the DS1307are 4.5V - 5.5V?

I assume there is some flexibility in these specifications but I cannot see it being reliable as the 3.7V Battery decreases over time. Have you had issues with this?

Well, the face of woodworking is changing. Technology has officially invaded the workshop. It started in the 80’s with the Sears Craftsman digital radial arm saw.

Then it was lasers on the tools. Next came CNC (computerized numerical control) machines like the. But it’s pricing is out of league with most home woodworkers. Now, Sears is making available the. It’s a computer-controlled machine that’ll carve in 3-D on workpieces up to 14-1/2″ wide by 5″ high and almost unlimited length. And it’s priced at around $1,900. It requires a PC hookup.

Think of it as sort of like a 3-D printer for your computer. Except you’re carving wood. The CompuCarve is made by who makes the machine.

It was developed by a couple of NASA robotics engineers (wouldn’t you know it) who happen to love woodworking. I can already think of uses for it like sign-making and carving panels for cabinet doors. The Sears product page says it’s temporarily out of stock. But there’s a link where you can have them email you when the product is available. Posted on Monday, October 16th, 2006 at 9:22 am.

Filed under,,. Both comments and pings are currently closed. Or follow this thread in the feed. 49 Responses to “Computerized Carving — from Sears Craftsman”. Wood Chuck said, I think I own every tool known to man. I have sears Computer radial arm saw.

I have Sears regular radial arm saw. I have Dewalt’s bigest compound miter saw. I have Sears biggest table saw with dado blades. I have Sears bigest Drill press, Mill. I have Ryobi Power Shop Plainer. I have Ryobi hand door plainer.

I have Dewalt 5 horse veriable speed plunge routor. The question That I have is can this Craftsman CompuCarve Compact Woodworking Machine do any or all jobs that other machines usto do before it? If not witch machines should I keep in my colection and why? As this lifestile has been a expensive one. Do you have any was to get any discounts on the machine please respond. Where can Iget all my questions answered with in the next few seconds? (posted on December 28th, 2006 at 2:15 am).

Woody said, I took the time to go through the carvewright (compucarve) site which pretty well demos what this machine can do and where it’s limitations are This is a first generation machine which I am sure will get bigger-better, yet. From what I can see, the potential of this machine exceeds the imagination of some who will own one; well beyond engraved cabinet doors and boxes with cool lids. I can see applications beyond this for making molds and three dimensional carvings by “layering”.

Among my collection of ancient tools is a machine used by pattern makers which resembles a 3D pantograph. A router/cutter on one side and a pointed probe on the other. It is manually operated by moving the probe over a relief and the cutter following. Slow going but thats all they had 60 years ago. I see they offer a “probe” which replaces the router bit, used to digitally scan a relief in 3 axis from an existing object.

If someone is into ornate antique restoration, this feature would be essential. Once scanned, it could easily be reversed/mirrored. Likewise, plaster, or wax casts could be scanned from just about anything. 4-5 years ago, I saw a mantle face with a very intricate relief carving 10″x6′ long; a rural scene with trees and a millhouse and covered bridgedetailed down to leaves on the trees. It was cut into a 2″ slab of dark walnut Carved by hand? If someone had a couple years to spend on a project and was a master.

It was done on a CNC machine, probably in a few hours. Sold on demand. Cost $1500, (take it or leave it.) And they were selling like hotcakes. All it takes is a little imagination. It wouldn’t take much to make a machine like this pay for itself in a couple weeks time.

(posted on January 2nd, 2007 at 10:46 am). Keith brazie said, I was concerned as well, but I thought about it a little more (not true I couldnt stop thinking about it). Even if it takes four hours, how long would it take you to carve it by hand?

Would you accomplish the same symmetry? Are you even capable of the same intricate detail? What about creating the same design multiple times – exactly the same? That’s five hours I can spend on doing or working on something else. In the end I belive it will still save time and I can make it work with any material that won’t coat or damage the bit, such as foam, cardboard, bondo ect Its a tool, and as Woody’s list of them illustrates so well, there isnt any “All in one-do it all, Swiss army shop tool.” Each, though limited and specialized, does what it does well.

The Compucarve being no exception has its limitations and its up to you to determine (as with all tools) its value and benefit. All tools are worthless in the wrong hands. Entry level CNC $6,500+, Hmmmmm. (posted on January 16th, 2007 at 11:51 am). Brazie said, Go directly to LHR technologies(link is above)and at the bottom of the home page you can download a trial version. Im actualy impressed,Ive used a wide variety of design software(softimage,maya,adobe,macromedia,autocad,ect)and really expected all the common limitations of low end software-not so.

I expected it to at least be vector driven accepting only cad type filesagain,not so. It turns raster images(your basic jpeg) into the mathmatical perameters it needs to create your image. Learning curve – very minimal, almost dummy proof. This is done in very much(if not exactly) the same way flash converts raster images to vector. Anyways, it couldnt be easier. The drawing tools are (in my opinion coming from someone spoiled with professional software)clumsy and limited, I recommend an external drawing program such as illustrator,freehand,canvas,corel draw ect.

But,no worries, you can also grab whatever you can get off the net. For the more demanding user to achieve more organic convex shapes, your gonna have to use 3d program or finish it out by hand using traditional methods.I dont like that your forced to choose from a limited selection of settings such as “1/4, 3/8,3/4” only, instead of a more sliding parameter allowing for that everything in between setting. I look forward to software updates. (posted on January 25th, 2007 at 3:29 am).

Said, Patrick, From all indications, the machines have been wildly popular (even at over $1900!) and from what I understand the people who manufacture the machines at are being swamped with emails and phone calls. They’ve updated the site to answer questions on availability, so I’d keep an eye on their site if I were you. Or, as you’ll see if you clicked the link to Sears website above, there is a way to recieve an email notification when they’re back in stock. One other thing I would do — consider reading the reviews on the Sears website BEFORE buying.

-Joel Hess (posted on January 31st, 2007 at 11:59 am). Craig Brown said, I just ordered my carver yesterday and sears indicated that it would be in by March 6th. I did have to pay up front and they would not sell the floor machine. From what I have read and seen about this machine I think it could be a great addition to a small home shop.

I would be happy to send in a review in a couple of weeks once I get some play time. I have a small woodworking business and think this will help me add some great options and products to my catalog. (posted on March 1st, 2007 at 6:56 pm).

Said, I would like to say that I have been very happy with my Carvewright/CompuCarve machine. I have had very little problem with it and have decided a lot of the problems are people buying them and expecting it to be as easy to operate as an inkjet printer.

After all, could these same people operate a ShopBot out of the box?? According to Carvewright, they’ve sold over 4,000 machines in the last few months and are expecting to sell 20,000 this year.

The vast majority of the people do not post on these forums if their machine is working perfectly the only ones you hear from are the ones having problems Anyway, I’ve started a forum for the machine as well, so feel free to jump over and check it out (posted on March 9th, 2007 at 3:05 am). David Allen said, I went ahead and bought one, after reading the forums at the Carve Wright website and learning as much as I could about the machine. Within an hour, I had my first carving under way. The software that comes with the machine is pretty nice, and makes layouts easy. It will make a 3D carving pattern from any digital image by converting it to a greyscale image. The darker the color, the deeper it will cut (up to 1″). My first carving was a scan of an old postcard that turned out pretty nice.

I’ve also worked up some designs in CorelDraw as greyscale images, and have been able to carve a business logo, a 3D swan, and a Volkswagen New Beetle. There are some websites out there that offer free patterns, and some that sell patterns. I’ve been doing pretty good with the free stuff and patterns I make myself. The latest model of the machine that is now shipping seems to have some modifications over the first generation (the forum mentions a few design problems that mine doesn’t seem to have). It’s also pretty fast, with the most complex stuff taking about 30 to 40 minutes. I read about extremely long carving times with the first generation machines, but I think that’s been fixed.

I set it up, give it a board, run through all the settings to avoid human error (the most common problem reported on the forum), and let it go. I’m off doing other stuff, so I really don’t care how long it takes. It’s a bit pricey, but I could never carve the things that I’m making with it. Everyone I show it to comes up with a list of things to make, so I don’t see it’s usefulness slowing down any.

The software and instructions show that it can edge route a board, trim pieces to size, do miters and bevel cuts, and such as that. I think I’ll continue to do those on other tools that are more suitable for those tasks, and faster. So for the fancy boxes they show, I’d carve the top and sides in blanks, then trim and joint with other tools. But it’s SO COOL!

(posted on March 23rd, 2007 at 4:23 pm). Said, [] It’s a bit pricey (as you’d expect) at around $1,900, but it moves us that much closer to the day when we can dream up a product and manufacture it on our desktops. At first glance it appears to be simply a carving machine (although a pretty nifty one), but as you can see by some of the comments to this article, with some imagination it can become much more.

This is a first generation machine and as it is improved it will get easier to use and more capable. You can read more about the Compucarve here. Another sign that the huge trend toward customization and personalization isn’t limited to the digital world.

[] (posted on March 29th, 2007 at 7:37 am). Mike said, I worked with a CNC machine in my high school engineering class, and this seems to be a really good step forward, at least from what I’ve read so far about it, because with the CNC machine I worked with you had to input each line of code, which if anyones worked with the same machine knows that it takes literally 100’s of lines of code to do a simple picture, so it’s nice that all you have to do is create a greyscale image to carve whatever you desire, I can see photoshop being used extensively with this tool.

(posted on June 3rd, 2007 at 12:51 pm). Said, Hello Mike, Just to clarify – the machine does NOT require a computer hookup. There is a memory card and card reader included in the package. You design your project with the “Designer Software” (also included), then save your project to the memory card (which is plugged into the card reader attached to the USB port of your computer). Then you remove the card from the card reader, walk to your garage (or wherever the machine is located), plug the card into the slot on the side of the machine, load your wooden board and start carving.

In short, you keep the machine in your garage and your computer inside the house – you do NOT connect the two together. Rather you transfer data between the two via the memory card. Hope that gives you a better understanding of how it works. The machine is a ton of fun and can be a very useful addition to any woodworker’s shop. (posted on August 20th, 2007 at 8:49 am).

Brad said, Saw this machine at the Portland Oregon Woodworking show today. I was struck by several features: It utilizes a metal stylus probe to “scan” a model for 3D (up to 1″ deep) duplication. It looks like a cross between a Subcompact Planer and an Office Jet Scanner /Printer.

The unit feeds stock using a sanding belt conveyor for long stock, or remains stationary for small items that are clamped in place with internal vices. The model/workpiece theoretical length with current software is 20 feet, more if the pattern repeats, I’m told. Software limitations, I guess. Still far more than adequate. A major plus for long shallow mouldings. Somewhat limited width, I think 12″ capacity, anything wider would have to be pieced together.

Supposedly capable of 3D work, within the 1″ limitation and assuming careful stock repositioning. Unable to “scan” (probe) larger, more complex, or deep base-relief carvings. Duplication feature allows carving after the stylus unit (an additional $249.00) is used to make a binary image of the model, then removed and replaced with the cutterhead, basically an OEM collet with one of several 1/4″ shank router bits with from 1/2″ to 1/16″ inch flutes. The machine “tells” you when to change cutterheads (router bits) during the carving process. The model is replaced with a suitable piece of raw stock, either wood or carvable plastic, anything you can cut with a router bit I assume. It is clamped in place with two separate vices integrated into the base of the machine, My Opinion: A good, maybe great idea with numerous drawbacks that should be worked out, and may be with time: 1) The probe may (will) damage wood or rubber, plaster, wax, etc. Why a read/write laser scanner head has not been implemented yet is a serious puzzle.

The steel probe scraping over the original model is like fingernails on a blackboard. Cant be good for the bearing surfaces of the machine either.

At least the cutter (router) bit “lubricates” the action when cutting. The probe is anachronistic. The duplication models at the show were all made of various metals, not wood.

Worse, they showed signs of serious scratching, even the cast iron items. Granted, these models have to endure hundreds of demos, but it doesn’t inspire confidence in the machine to see them so beat up by the probe. 2) The cutting action is limited to 1/16″ diameter at the smallest. I’m told they’re working on a smaller bit (burr), which would provide much greater detail. The current bit creates a carving that is, well, somewhat crude-looking. 3)The memory card is only 8MB, proprietary, not PCMCIA, and so must be read in a card reader with a USB dongle.

Very cumbersome for those of us who are accustomed to laptop computers. Heck, why not just use a Thumbdrive? These will be around for some time to come. This interface is outdated and easily upgradeable by the manufacturer, but not the end user once purchased, as the memory card slides into a permanent socket built into the machine.

This should remedied ASAP. The software screen looks like Ashlar or Corel but isn’t, this is no big deal, though. Easiest to upgrade at their website and a plus, in my opinion.. You can carve any pattern that you can produce on a PC. Don’t know if it’s compatible with MAC. Conclusion: This machine is good for turning out low to mid quality machine carvings – that LOOK like machine-made carvings, even from a distance of 15-20 feet or more.

It does a fair to poor job of reproducing existing carvings, and this will not improve until the company springs for a real no-touch scanner head. This is a no-brainer. It seems the machine design allows for them to build one of these for later sale as an accessory. Why the heck doesn’t it come with the machine now? I’ve had a portable battery-operated Canon (BJ-50) scanner/printer for my laptop since 2001. The scanner head on that 7 year old dinosaur (it has a SERIAL port!) is half the size of the clunky probe accessory on this brand new machine. Fix this, and the machine will be a serious winner!

(posted on October 20th, 2007 at 2:20 am). Wood carver said, Gee I suggest people to buy two! One to use while the other is at LHR for repair! Of course you can buy a real CNC for the price of 2 CW’s and not worry about down time! Seriously the machine works well when it is working. You will clean the machine more then using it and need to maintain it often. Otherwise it will break down.

Plus it’s slow and can not be set to carve faster. I do really like the designer it is user friendly.

If it was more reliable I would still have one in my shop today. I decided to buy a K2 CNC and a Shopbot. If and when LHR makes the machine reliable I will buy another one. But until then I suggest anyone interested in one wait until that happens (posted on June 28th, 2008 at 10:09 pm). 4cd Battle Dune Emperor Iso File.

Unwilling Beta Tester said, Do NOT buy this product. It is a hobby toy and it does not do what the manufacturer says. After you have spent $2-GRAND for a complete set of desk dodads in the shape of your grandkid’s names, you will put it away and never use it again because it is so frustrating. You will burn through lots of wood with no results, and buy maintainance tools you will never need again. It took me a month to learn the software. It’s a sweet idea but unless you have time and money to burn, wait.

Let them work out the problems, not you. You will see machines on ebay, etc why do you think they are selling them? (posted on July 15th, 2008 at 6:25 pm).