When I lent my services to a collegue who was working on a film about 12 years ago, I was introduced to the world of cnc. I remember watching this huge machining centre milling out a slab of mdf and turning it into a fantastic set of gears. I knew that it would have taken me hours to achieve the same thing with traditional power tools. I decided then that I would invest in a cnc router for my own business Oxenham Design. At that time I could turn on a computer, but even to check email seemed like a crazy set of operations. I persevered and learned every piece of relevant software I could get my hands on. I am now fortunate enough to be using Vectric's ASPIRE software, and Techno cnc routers, which has helped us to create some amazing projects, both in part, or in full. I thought that this blog would be a great place to share "behind the scenes" adventures with the software, materials and equipment we use, as well as the projects we build.

Friday 8 February 2013

Entertainment Engineering!

Oxenham Design was very quiet today! Due totally to the snow storm we're experiencing! They haven't even plowed our road yet, and it's 6:30 pm. Oh well, we're all in the same boat around here! I decided to use our snowblower to help most of our neighbors dig out. A lot of them are getting older, and there was no way they could shovel this much snow. In fact, I couldn't shovel this much snow!

We finished all of our "Alphabet soup" job, and got it delivered to the sign shop that needed it.

Yesterday was spent cutting sheets, and sheets and sheets of plywood for a series of vending machine bases. We do these from time to time for a local vending company. The space between these jobs is just long enough for me to forget exactly what everything is, sending me back to Aspire to refresh my brain with all the toolpath set-ups!

This was my whole day! I often talk about how our Techno cnc saves us a huge amount of time and money. It does the work of a dedicated employee, without any mess ups or breaks!
However, the real truth is that I get a little mesmerized by it. Effectively causing me to stand around and watch it in awe, wasting time. Oh, it's an awful catch 22!

I was sent a link today that I thought I would share.
It's a two part story on us, and our Techno cnc, featured in Entertainment Engineering magazine!
Woo-Hoo!


Stephen Glad did a great job with the interview and story! Thanks again Stephen!

Well, I hate to say this, but we won't be doing any fabrication at the shop this coming week, as we have a commitment that we need to fullfill. However, I will be back to our blog starting on the 18th.
We have a number of neat things coming up, and I can hardly wait to get started on them!
Until then, everyone take care!!!!!

8)
JO

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3 comments:

  1. John Christensen20 February 2013 at 15:10

    Just read your articles and I had forgot that you have had experience in gluing up layers of styrofoam. What glue did you use?

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    Replies
    1. jamie oxenham20 February 2013 at 16:42

      Hey John!
      It depends what your doing. If it's large parts, then we use a low expansion door and window spray foam. You have to spray one side of the join with water to insure that it cures fully. With this method, you also have to spread it around a couple of times to dissipate the expansion qualities of the foam, and clamp it good. If we can't deal with the possibility of the pcs being pushed apart by the foam, or if the pcs are smaller, we'll use a water based contact cement, applied to both pcs.
      Hope this helps!

      Delete
  2. John Christensen21 February 2013 at 23:28

    I saw a video on Youtube that recommended using primer. Specifically Glidden Gripper Paint. I believe it is actually a primer. It works pretty good, but it does take a while to cure all the way through. After 48 hrs it is pretty well set, but can still break apart if you are trying to separate it. After 72 hrs it is pretty strong. Just FYI.

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