Hi,

I wonder if anyone here might have enough familiarity with the emachineshop's
software that they might help me.

The part I've been trying to draw and order is a ~4 inch OD ring shape with
a"V" groove similar to a pulley, but with no hub.

--Chris Vancil

On 14 Jan 2005 22:58:29 GMT, (ClvspamX) wrote:

I wonder if anyone here might have enough familiarity with the emachineshop's
software that they might help me.

The part I've been trying to draw and order is a ~4 inch OD ring shape with
a"V" groove similar to a pulley, but with no hub.

I'm not familiar with their package but the general principles of CAD
and 3D software tend to be common to all programs. The command I would
be looking for is called "lathe" in programs like 3d Studio MAX.
Their webpage lists

Draw lines, rectangles, circles, arcs, text, splines
Snap to grid or to object, move to grid
Group, move, resize, copy, edit
Intersect, rotate, mirror, tangent, divide, contour
Chamfer, round corner
2D, 3D views
Automatic drafting style side view

The nearest thing I see there is "rotate".
Your steps would be to first draw a cross section of your ring with
its groove, then lathe (rotate?) the cross section through a full
circle. Usually the center about which the rotation is performed
can be offset-- by 1 1/2 to 2 inches in your case.

What's this thing going to be when it grows up?

You could just take a hand sketch to a local machine shop and get it
made. I played with their software and managed to draw a simple part we
had machined before. The pricing was way off though (300% higher), and
when I tried to contact them by email and telephone, there was no
response. Good idea and all, but IMO their implementation leaves a bit
to be desired.


ClvspamX wrote:

Hi,

I wonder if anyone here might have enough familiarity with the emachineshop's
software that they might help me.

The part I've been trying to draw and order is a ~4 inch OD ring shape with
a"V" groove similar to a pulley, but with no hub.

--Chris Vancil

I've struggled with eMachineshop software as well, and found it extremely clumsy. I was able to get my design close to what I wanted, then hit a road block.

I found an "approved Emachineshop design consultant" that is quite good with that software who helped me get over the final hurdle I was having, then fabricated the first proto-type article for me on his stereo lithography rapid proto-type equipment. He was very helpful and then only charged me $50 for the first article.

His website is:

http://www.spodaco.com/



I wonder if anyone here might have enough familiarity with the emachineshop's
software that they might help me.

The part I've been trying to draw and order is a ~4 inch OD ring shape with
a"V" groove similar to a pulley, but with no hub.[/i][/color]

Thank you and you other folks:

This eMachineShop software isn't much like AutoCAD and doesn't have lathe
function or a number of other function which would allow me to do what I need.
Even the ability to change or move lines made in another view is nonexistent!

They could get around this by adding a few extra functions to their groove
feature.

I think the only way to currently make the v groove is to request it in
comments to the machinist.

Before I came to rec.crafts.metalworking I checked all over the web for
eMachineShop related pages and ran across spodaco.com.

I personally think eMachineShop software is to buggy and should be more
transparent with have a couple more sample projects in their audio tutorials. I
will look for a local to Seattle area Machine Shop.

--Chris Vancil

Send us a sketch and we will offer you a very competitive bid. Leigh at
MarMachine.