4.60 update

Discuss Thermwood 3-axis Machinery, Controller, and Software.

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Glenn Van Reason
Guru Member
Posts: 459
Joined: Tue, May 17 2005, 4:00PM
Company Name: TBA
Country: AUSTRALIA
Location: ORANGE NSW AUSTRALIA every now and then between trips lol

4.60 update

Post by Glenn Van Reason »

It was with great excitement that I downloaded and installed this update as it contained two features I was looking for since starting to use Rolling nest and eCabinets...........my only problem is how does it work???
This is very frustrating.

*Rotate ability for OffFall so that alternate fence may be used (ADDED)

OK so how does it work.... I load an offfall sheet and I get some radio buttons for 0, 90 180 and 270 degrees, I hit each one and nothing happens......zip nada zero, I hit enter I use the tab key I hit every key on the keyboard.....nothing....

Just a thought, how about some instructions on how to use these features when they are added, they really don't seem to be intuative.

PS the second feature that I wanted was the metric add sheet input fixed, now I need to rotate it once it is in the machine.....oh well.
Paul Ford
eCabinets Beta Tester
Posts: 632
Joined: Wed, May 18 2005, 1:18AM
Location: Rotorua - NewZealand

Post by Paul Ford »

Hi Glenn,
I used the rotate function once and it worked great! I was very very happy that it was all made so easy.
What I did (or at least what I think I did) is clicked rotate 180 deg button and then scanned the barcode of the offcut I wanted to use. Then I nested the job and it nested facing the other direction and in the G901 position.
THEN! the second time I went to do it the same way (or at least I think it was the same way!) it rotated the part but didnt put it in the G901 position. I thought it did because when I went through the CNC code it showed G901 in one of the lines but I was wrong.
So if you get a good answer on this could you pretty please let me know??
I have to admit it is all starting to get much much better with this software! Can almost go as far as to say its easy to use.
I dont know how to use the manual panel input so have not really bothered with it. When I get a little bit of spare time I might have a bit of a play.
Glenn Van Reason
Guru Member
Posts: 459
Joined: Tue, May 17 2005, 4:00PM
Company Name: TBA
Country: AUSTRALIA
Location: ORANGE NSW AUSTRALIA every now and then between trips lol

Post by Glenn Van Reason »

Hi Paul, you see this is strange, I don't get the rotate buttons untill after I have scanned a sheet in.
Also Paul I take it that you had to nut out how to get the rotate function happening in the first place. Why did this update not come with instructions for use? Yes yes yes I know you can say that it intuative, you can say that all we have to do is jump on the phone and call, but hey we are on the other side of the world from you, not only do we have the cost of the call but the time delay buggers everything up.

My questions is always the same, why is this so? I have countless questions on the message board reguarding eCabinets that have still yet to be finalised after sending cabinets and job files to Thermwood.
What gives here, are we not deemed important in Australia?

I would like to get this function working as fast as possible so could someone from Thermwood please explain how this works.
Thanks
Paul Ford
eCabinets Beta Tester
Posts: 632
Joined: Wed, May 18 2005, 1:18AM
Location: Rotorua - NewZealand

Post by Paul Ford »

Hi Glenn,
Im pretty sure the rotate function just showed up after I updated.
You could possibly try updating it again and see what happens then??
Some instructions would be wonderful!!
Hope it all works out for you Glenn, I also find our time delays very hard to deal with at times and the cost of the calls so I usually just email Jason direct and get a reply either the same day or the next day. I have found him hopeful with everything I have tried to do so far. I know it can be very frustrating at times but I have heard the support system is alot better than alot of other companies but because the terms of agreement I cant mention any names.
Glenn Van Reason
Guru Member
Posts: 459
Joined: Tue, May 17 2005, 4:00PM
Company Name: TBA
Country: AUSTRALIA
Location: ORANGE NSW AUSTRALIA every now and then between trips lol

Post by Glenn Van Reason »

Paul,
I totally aggree, from what I have heard and read from this board Thermwood's support is second to none. How I go about getting it to set up and improve our business is the problem.
We have, from day one, been dropped a machine had minimal training and left to our own devices, I personally had about 4-6 hours instruction in eCabinets and Rolling nest. The majority of my learining curve has been from this board and trying things out using my computer knowledge.

Lets not dwell on the past though, but you can see where my frustration comes from. I am still waiting to hear how to fix pocketing in eCabinet/Rolling nest, that's where I want to cut out a shape from the middle of the panel and what it does is rout out the entire shape instead of outlining the void.
Why do my hole patterns dissapear in layout mode?
Why do I always get errors when using the hole editor?

At this stage 6 months down the track we have no productivity gains over a spreadsheet and panel saw, Don't get me wrong we are getting there, we are catching up every day, but these advancements have been gained with no outside help apart from this board.
This is why it is so critical for us to get timely, constructive solutions from here.
This is also why when we get advancements that can save us time and money that don't work, or have no instructions to get working our stress levels go up.

Heres hoping
Glenn
Paul Ford
eCabinets Beta Tester
Posts: 632
Joined: Wed, May 18 2005, 1:18AM
Location: Rotorua - NewZealand

Post by Paul Ford »

Glenn,
Now I am starting to see where you are coming from,
We are also waiting to hear back on this pocketing problem.
We had about a 1/2 hour training session once the machine was installed but are getting there also. How ever, we did not ask or pay for any extra training although it was offered to us with the installation, we chose not to do it because money was rather tight. I am now wishing that we did do the training but it is now too late because we will have to go to either Australia or America to do it. (I dont think my boss will send me to either of those places even if I talked nice to him lol).
Well I best get to work, Im sure the guys at thermwood will see this thread and contact you in one way or another to sort out your frustration.
Larry Epplin
Thermwood Team
Posts: 668
Joined: Tue, May 17 2005, 12:44PM
Location: Thermwood

Info on your issues

Post by Larry Epplin »

We unfortunately do not have a solution for your pocketing problem. If the through cut was the only cut in that area of the part, then you would not get a pocketing operation. The pocketing operation you are seeing is the outlined edge of the cut which is not a through operation. We are diligently working on a solution for this problem, but unfortunately there isn't anything that can be done at this time.

The rotation of Off-Fall is done the way Paul has mentioned. Click the appropriate rotation button to get the desired result prior to scanning or selecting the Off-Fall. It will do the rotation during the load process. If you are not seeing the rotation buttons on the Sheet Entry dialog it is probably due to the size of your table. There seems to be a bug in 4.60 which doesn't move the buttons down to a visible area. Click on the white area near the lower right region. They should appear. We will have a fix out for this soon.

Paul has mentioned that the Off-Fall rotation didn't work the second time. I'm not sure what he is referring to. Just to help clarify, you need to realize that the nesting is still done from the top right corner no matter what rotation is applied. The rotation simply allows you to get your Off-Fall orientated so that the good corner is where your fence location is.

You say your hole patterns are disappearing? I think you are referring to the blue objects you see when in the Cabinet Editor. They are only seen in that editor. They are not shown in the Room. The resulting operations are still present though.

The problems you are experiencing with the Hole Pattern Editor will need more explanation. Your best way to get answers on that would be to either email cabinets@thermwood.com or use the feedback in the software under Communications.

I hope this helps. If not please inform us through email or feedback and we will assist you on a more personal level and hopefully straighten things out! :D

Larry
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