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Let me tell you about Chuck

Fred Weiss

Merchant Member
The most interesting thing I got out of MC's response, is to see that Janey's business looks like one that could serve many of us with an innovative product if she were to become interested in a merchant membership one day. And as an inspiration for many of us as we face similar design & product challenges in our business. Like myself, I just posted pics of my first bronze plaque in 13 years of business, and as a CNC owner, I fully intend to replicate a sample of my plaque design for the showroom, using HDU. Thanks in part to Dan Sawatzky's help, I know I can create a nice authentic metallic looking finish, but Janey has some even more interesting solutions to offer. It's a shame she thinks I hate her... but I'm sure I can take some of the blame for that. In reality, many of us have seen dramatic entrances into our signs101 community, that have looked for all the world like a trainwreck that nobody recovers from... but in the end, some of our favorite regulars here have started with similar fireworks & settled in to move past whatever the trainwreck was. I hope the same for Janey, and have no intention of fanning the fire... but I also will still call on her to try to balance out the story a little, if she wishes to continue telling her side of it.

I think Janey is a he.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
:Oops: I believe Doug was ripped a new one for referring to Janey in the feminine form earlier.


A slight oversight, but one Janey wasn't thrilled about.​
 

james mcgrew

New Member
i had to learn cnc by equating its functions like a go cart and a lawnmower

:banghead:

similar to cutting grass

writing your name in the grass-- profile cutting (software)

mowing the lawn-----pocket cutting and stepover (software)

3d raising and lowering the mower (software)

running straight----- no problem (material chipload, bits and feed speed)

rounding a curve or making a turn--- backing off the foot on the gas pedal to compensate (controller)
 

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briderx

New Member
Janey.. When you are on your Controller, while running a job (anything will do) press the number "8" on the controller. It will change from "feeds = 100%" to the actual feed speed being used by the router. This will tell you if that's set up correctly. Email me @ btaylor @ plumbsigns . com and I will walk you through the setup to make sure it's running correctly ( I run a MC 3000 and Enroute 4 - With ATC).
 

grampa dan

New Member
I had the pleasure of meeting Janey last week at the tail end of a trip to Pontiac to participate in the WallDog event there. Janey is definitely a she and cute at that. I was in her shop Sunday afternoon until late and again Monday morning to help teach her the art of applying bitmap textures to routing files and also creating more complex 3D files. Janey is a quick learner to say the least!

First I need to explain about Janey as I understand her... spending time with her was like talking to a double of myself. It was a little scary! :) She's one INTENSE person who desparately wants to jump to LIGHT SPEED as fast as possible with her MultiCam router and EnRoute software. Janey want to put complex files on the machine IMMEDIATELY! And the work they have done on the router so far (in only a couple of weeks) is amazing! She tells me by August 1 she'll be running full blast 3D textured jobs... and I BELIEVE her! Although MultiCam did offer her some training it didn't take her as far as she wanted to go... but I don't think there are many people who can teach her the things she wanted to learn. Hopefully, I helped her out some there.

I understand all that for I was in her shoes back 3 and a half years ago when I bought my MultiCam. Only I was prepared to spend months learning the software and the ins and outs of the router before I put a paying job on it. I had no one to teach me (although Enroute and MutliCam did their best!) for I was blazing brand new trails in this industry. I wanted to jump the basics and get right to the good stuff. Janey wants to get there a little faster than that... make it a LOT faster! :)

Janey tends to be like me when she runs into a problem... when the car gets stuck she probably puts the pedal to the metal and SPIN those tires! I suspect she knows more bad words than I do and isn't afraid to use them if she sees the need. Janey drives a cool hot rod convertable too! As I get older (and perhaps a little wiser) I have come to realise that its not always the best way. Slowing down just a little can sometimes get one there faster.

I happened to be on the phone today with someone from MultiCam's head office (on another matter) My contact there mentioned this thread to me. They are justifyably upset with the bad press . Just after I got off the phone with them Janey called me on another matter... (by coincidence) and I talked with her. Obviously she too is upset although I think what she types here sounds more upset than it really is. They just need to talk calmly and sort this out and I believe they will.

I gave Janey the contact information of my contact at MultiCam head office. He is eager to get these things solved in a hurry. There needs to be some dialogue between the two... but not here on a public forum where we hear only one side or the other. Both parties are great people with great integrity in my experience.

CNC routers are complex machines. They have a brutal learning curve the new user must suffer through. I think the problems Janey is having can be relatively easily solved and I believe the solution is the adjust the machine parameters to ease the rapid changes in direction the machine is currently making when routing her files. It's certainly beyond my non-existent computer skills but my tech guy from MultiCam tuned my machine in a hurry once I figured out the proper way to ask the pertinent questions. My problem was that I didn't know how to say what I wanted.

MultiCam in my experience has gone well above and beyond the call of duty in servicing my machine. Two issues I had early on were MY PROBLEM although I was reluctant to admit it wasn't the machine. (fluctuating local power and bad air pressure from my compressor) and yet MultiCam took care of both at their expense although they certainly didn't have to. It required patience on my part and understanding from my local MultiCam dealer. It seems each time there is an issue I am under (self-induced) pressure of a deadline. There shiould be a law against such a happening! I have to take a deep breath when I contact my MultiCam dealer and realise that MY PROBLEMS were not HIS problems. In doing so he remained my friend and was more than eager to help me out. But I know what it's like to spend a BIG wad of cash and not have an operating machine to work with... NOT a happy place!

Janey is a wonderful person who is easily excited. She has a passion within that will take her far in this industry. I have no doubt she will work out the relatively minor issues she has with MultiCam as she learns to use this exciting machine. I look forward to seeing some outstanding dimensional work off her first class CNC MultiCam router in the near future.

Go Janey GO! Once you get through the initial purchase/learning curve I have no doubt you have the right machine which will not limit your efforts!

If I can help in any way please give me a call.

-grampa dan
 
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Vinylman

New Member
I think the problems Janey is having can be relatively easily solved and I believe the solution is the adjust the machine parameters to ease the rapid changes in direction the machine is currently making when routing her files.

I have a limited understanding of EXACTLY what Janey has been experiencing with her Router set up, but I am fairly sure that Dan, and Bill DeBekker in response #13 on the first page of this particular post
have zeroed in on the main cause of her frustration.

If the proper settings are made to "ramp into, or out of" any change in direction, or depth of cut the shaking or chattering should go away.
perhaps Janey in her haste to solve the problem may have overlooked Bills comments about the "jog speed", I believe that may be the culpret in this whole fiasco.

The problem many operators encounter when first entering the CNC world is thinking that the machine "knows what to do". WRONG. The machine is only as smart as the codes sent to it from the computer.

If the initial settings are not properly adjusted to take into consideration the material hardness, density, or depth you WILL encounter problems.

After hearing Dans' explanation of the personality quirks that Janey displays of wanting to move at "light speed", it is no wonder that this thread, and her communications with the Multicam®{a shameless plug for the CNC company that Dan is ALL to familiar with from another site that will remain unnamed} people have gone on at the intensity level that they have.

Cooler heads, and a little patience will accomplish much to resolve this issue to EVERYONES benefit.
 

iSign

New Member
........ and :Welcome:........................

ditto!

Since my last post, I have again spent some time on Janey's website(s) & at one point decided my latest olive branch should be extended with the addition of a phone call... I didn't locate a number right away, and later decided there was no rush... but I do think she has accumulated a great deal of expertise, both in the world of signs and the world of internet marketing. She no doubt has much to offer, that we could learn or be inspired from... like Dan, for example, among many others. I still hope she can get the immediate equipment concerns taken care of, & enjoy many more productive conversations here.
 

grampa dan

New Member
I should add that I have been in way too many similar situations in my younger years. Looking back I should have taken a deep breath, counted to 10 (maybe 1010 in my case), taken another deep breath and then talked reasonably to the person which whom I thought I had a problem with. It would certainly have been a LOT easier than the many apologies I had to make after the fact.

In the end once I calmed down, made friends and was reasonable I found the other person to be just as reasonable as I imagined I was from the start.

It's funny how it works...

-grampa dan
 

slappy

New Member
I don't have a CNC but i feel for ya... and with the high volume youtube gets..... i'd be making a documentary on it with some pretty tags for the search engines. And also I would call the BBB or even check with the BBB to see if the company your dealing with has had past issues. I'd also want to know about the installer.... how long has he been installing them.
 

MVIP

New Member
I had the pleasure of meeting Janey last week at the tail end of a trip to Pontiac to participate in the WallDog event there. Janey is definitely a she and cute at that. I was in her shop Sunday afternoon until late and again Monday morning to help teach her the art of applying bitmap textures to routing files and also creating more complex 3D files. Janey is a quick learner to say the least!

First I need to explain about Janey as I understand her... spending time with her was like talking to a double of myself. It was a little scary! :) She's one INTENSE person who desparately wants to jump to LIGHT SPEED as fast as possible with her MultiCam router and EnRoute software. Janey want to put complex files on the machine IMMEDIATELY! And the work they have done on the router so far (in only a couple of weeks) is amazing! She tells me by August 1 she'll be running full blast 3D textured jobs... and I BELIEVE her! Although MultiCam did offer her some training it didn't take her as far as she wanted to go... but I don't think there are many people who can teach her the things she wanted to learn. Hopefully, I helped her out some there.

I understand all that for I was in her shoes back 3 and a half years ago when I bought my MultiCam. Only I was prepared to spend months learning the software and the ins and outs of the router before I put a paying job on it. I had no one to teach me (although Enroute and MutliCam did their best!) for I was blazing brand new trails in this industry. I wanted to jump the basics and get right to the good stuff. Janey wants to get there a little faster than that... make it a LOT faster! :)

Janey tends to be like me when she runs into a problem... when the car gets stuck she probably puts the pedal to the metal and SPIN those tires! I suspect she knows more bad words than I do and isn't afraid to use them if she sees the need. Janey drives a cool hot rod convertable too! As I get older (and perhaps a little wiser) I have come to realise that its not always the best way. Slowing down just a little can sometimes get one there faster.

I happened to be on the phone today with someone from MultiCam's head office (on another matter) My contact there mentioned this thread to me. They are justifyably upset with the bad press . Just after I got off the phone with them Janey called me on another matter... (by coincidence) and I talked with her. Obviously she too is upset although I think what she types here sounds more upset than it really is. They just need to talk calmly and sort this out and I believe they will.

I gave Janey the contact information of my contact at MultiCam head office. He is eager to get these things solved in a hurry. There needs to be some dialogue between the two... but not here on a public forum where we hear only one side or the other. Both parties are great people with great integrity in my experience.

CNC routers are complex machines. They have a brutal learning curve the new user must suffer through. I think the problems Janey is having can be relatively easily solved and I believe the solution is the adjust the machine parameters to ease the rapid changes in direction the machine is currently making when routing her files. It's certainly beyond my non-existent computer skills but my tech guy from MultiCam tuned my machine in a hurry once I figured out the proper way to ask the pertinent questions. My problem was that I didn't know how to say what I wanted.

MultiCam in my experience has gone well above and beyond the call of duty in servicing my machine. Two issues I had early on were MY PROBLEM although I was reluctant to admit it wasn't the machine. (fluctuating local power and bad air pressure from my compressor) and yet MultiCam took care of both at their expense although they certainly didn't have to. It required patience on my part and understanding from my local MultiCam dealer. It seems each time there is an issue I am under (self-induced) pressure of a deadline. There shiould be a law against such a happening! I have to take a deep breath when I contact my MultiCam dealer and realise that MY PROBLEMS were not HIS problems. In doing so he remained my friend and was more than eager to help me out. But I know what it's like to spend a BIG wad of cash and not have an operating machine to work with... NOT a happy place!

Janey is a wonderful person who is easily excited. She has a passion within that will take her far in this industry. I have no doubt she will work out the relatively minor issues she has with MultiCam as she learns to use this exciting machine. I look forward to seeing some outstanding dimensional work off her first class CNC MultiCam router in the near future.

Go Janey GO! Once you get through the initial purchase/learning curve I have no doubt you have the right machine which will not limit your efforts!

If I can help in any way please give me a call.

-grampa dan

Welcome Dan!
:clapping:

I'm saving my pennies, your class is on my short list of great things to do!
 

briderx

New Member
Janey.. If you're still checking this thread, I am PRETTY sure I can help you resolve your issues.. btaylor@plumbsigns.com. I can step you through the settings I am using (and have set up on my own) and we can hopefully solve this problem!
 
I have been in touch with Janey as well and we had a nice discussion of what to look for if it is a mechanical issue or what to look for if it is a software issue as well as what to look for if this is an operator error/ training issue. The path to proficiency as a cnc router operator is an ongoing at times difficult journey...it is not something anyone can pick up overnight.

As I told Janey the investment in this technology is significant. Not only in the immediate outlay of cash but in the time it takes to become productive, the loss of materials, etc. Many people are not prepared for the intense learning curve that is in store for them.

There are many things you can do to speed up the learning process, I shared a few of these with Janey in our conversation. The first tip I would offer to all cnc operators is to keep a diary, set up a notebook by the router and keep track of what materials you are using what feed rates, bits, etc and what your results are...in time you will have enough data to create a chart that any employee can utilize to produce a professional product.

Additionally, I recommended that she prints off an image of every screen that the technician who sets up her machine makes any changes in the perameters for the setup of her machine. This way you can create a 'manual' so that if you suspect that your machine is running erroneously because of a setting within the software you can page through this manual checking the correct settings in your 'manual' with the current settings in your software..versus what can be a long frustrating call with the manufacturer as they try to chase down the cause of symptoms you are trying to articulate on the phone.

A book could be written on the initial learning curve but these are just a few tips that I shared with Janey that maybe can be of help to someone else in the beginning of their journey.

As I also shared with Janey there are MANY questions that most first time buyers wish they would have addressed before making a purchase of this magnitude. I encourage everyone to have an in depth conversation with someone who has made a similar purchase to ask them what they wish they would have done differently, what their expectations should be...the variables are going to be different for everyone. but these are significant purchases with a significant learning curve that can change the direction of your business. take the time to research the purchase.

If I can help in anyway let me know.
 
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