Woodscape Designs
Joe Valasek, owner of Woodscape
Designs, is a signmaker and sculptor with 25 years experience. Examples
of his intricate work can be seen to the right. Until 4 years ago much
of Joe's work involved a great deal of hand carving with chisels,
routers and rotary tools.
Joe's continuing frustration with
the fact that traditional tools would only allow him to carve one piece
at a time caused him to investigate the possibility of utilising some
kind of CAD Software.
"In the middle of a
carved mural I realized that I should be able to develop a method of
reproducing them so that I could make the prices viable for a larger
market."
After looking at the master stylus type of carving
reproduction machines, Joe decided to pursue getting a CNC Router.
Then, he began his search for the software that would help him build
his intricate designs. Joe considered a number of options, but after
seeing a presentation in the States demonstrating ArtCAM's
capabilities, he chose the solution from Delcam.
"My
experience is that ArtCAM is an incredibly capable and easy to use
application. It provides the tools and flexibility I need to produce
extremely detailed work in a timely manner, and leaves room to
experiment with new ideas. There's nothing better on the market."
Joe
made excellent use of Delcam's training. He was up and running in a
short period of time and applying many of the software's features to
his detailed designs. Now, he uses the program for his work nearly
every day.
"ArtCAM is an essential ingredient in all the work I do nowadays. I couldn't be doing what I'm doing without it."
The Inlayed Floor
Joe
created the design of Oak leaves and acorns in an oval using the
drawing tools in ArtCAM. When the design was complete it became
necessary to have each shape be a closed vector like pieces in a jigsaw
puzzle.
At this point the shapes were then nested and cut
out using the Straight page under Male Inlay or 2D Profiling. Joe used
a zero tolerance to get a very tight fit.
The wood used was Birdseye Maple which being quite hard needed 3 passes using a ¼" straight bit to cut the ¼" wood.
"I
found it best to simulate the shapes of the wood pieces in Artcam and
add the knots so the inlay shapes could be fitted around them."
The pieces were screwed to a spoilboard and routed through. |
