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Post by wyomingite on Mar 18, 2014 15:08:38 GMT -8
Hello All,
I've been using a Craftsman Carvewright for over a year and completed perhaps 110 projects but the machine is constantly breaking down and I've spent half again as much on repair parts as it cost new.
I'm looking at an Oliver 13" as a replacement.
I have a large number of proprietary *.ptn patterns purchased from Carvewright and other suppliers. Will these be compatible on an Oliver?
What are the most common problems / errors / breakdowns with an Oliver? Are these problems prohibitive from purchasing a machine?
Thanks
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2014 15:31:29 GMT -8
I also looked at the Carvewright before buying a 1013, I got scared away from the Carvewright when I read so many bad things about it on the web and Sears quit carrying it (hint, hint). I've had my 1013 for just over a year now, and have done about 75 projects. I a hobbiest type, some of the guys on here can do wonders with the machine through various non-standard software, I stay with the basic ipicture and grayscale photos.
#1. Not familiar with .ptn but if you can re-save them as a .jpeg, bitmap, grayscale, etc then you can use them for sure through ipicture. I'm sure you'll get another response from some other people with a better knowledge of using these, there are some great people on this bulletin board.
#2. I had only one small problem early on, the collet slipped on the spindle motor shaft and I had a little trouble changing bits. Minor problem. Then about a month ago I began having problems with my spindle motor, Oliver sent me a new one even though it was very close to being out of warranty, and when I installed the new one (easy to do) I saw that there appeared to be some contamination in the bearing. I had heard that Carvewright units went crazy over contamination, that is not the case with these units.
3. Most common problem is that the unit doesn't like variations in your electrical power - if this is the only thing running off a circuit that problem doesn't exist. Personally I run a number of things off the same circuit and never have had a problem, but I've seen it reported by others.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2014 9:37:47 GMT -8
I have looked around in the past for a way to convert PTN Files to one of the formats for I-Picture and did not find anything that would work. The key problem I believe is that these are proprietary to the Carvewright format. As far as durability of the I-Carvers, it is my opinion that these are well built and I for one have not had too many problems and only one breakdown (spindle motor) and that was under warranty and other than that it has been up and running since day 1. My machine is in service about 20 months to date.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2014 10:56:56 GMT -8
Bob, my uncle was a VP of computers for Verizon before retiring. Knowing that he'd bought a Carvewright years ago, and it's gathering dust for the past couple because of so many problems, I thought I'd ask him if he knew a way to convert the files. My first thought was that I'd get some free projects out of it, but he doesn't even have a home computer anymore with the CW software on it. But his suggestion was: Well a "give it a try" method would be to pull it up in the CW software, make it full screen and do a "print screen". Then "paste" it into windows paint program. He could then save it as .jpg or .bmp.
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Post by Greg on Mar 20, 2014 20:51:31 GMT -8
From CarveWright forums:
You can save your CarveWright scan as a PNG (using the "Export to Image" feature in the Pattern Editor), then convert the PNG to a BMP (in a photo editing program), then import the BMP into ArtCAM, then use the feature "Create Relief from Bitmap". At that point you can use any of ArtCAM's tools (sculpting, duplicating the backside relief, creating a "shell"/dish, export as an STL, etc.). If you are targeting the commercial CNC market, you'll likely want to save the relief as a RLF and/or STL...probably not a DXF.
From me:
If you need a link to a program that works with png files for free just ask here.
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