What is this session about?
NC machines have been around for a long time but have been costly and, therefore, mainly restricted to businesses. In recent years modern advances have made huge leaps in the low-cost availability of 2D and 3D machines such as router cutters, laser cutters, and 3D printers. Makers have been keen on becoming involved with these new machines and have embraced the technology.
This presentation is about exploring new technology as it becomes available to makers and then taking that new technology wherever you can. Makers who want to go further than downloading files from the internet and making things that have been designed by somebody else will be interested in this discussion. It will appeal to people who want to make something that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Something that they have to think about, design, and then make parts for, and which will stretch their brains to overcome hurdles.
The main focus of the presentation, a practical one that follows the development and ongoing construction of a model Tower Crane, is on 2D Laser Cutter and 3D printer. The marriage of these two technologies takes both of them further than either can go alone.
About the speaker
Geoffrey Leonard Benton, aka Doonie, is mostly a blue-collar worker, a hands-on person with a couple of excursions into running his own business and spending some time as a Member of the Victoria Police. He has worked as a Tool Maker, Maintenance Fitter, and Metal Machinist, and ran a business selling and building garages, carports, sheds, and verandas. He has worked in shops selling power tools and industrial goods and as a truck driver. His hobbies included making things out of wood and building model ships. Then, he retired.
The first thing he did after retiring was to construct a big shed and fit it out with all the tools he had gathered over the years, and afterward, he built a Music Studio for his wife. Today his time is his own.
One day he went to visit a friend who had recently installed some new technology in his shed. His hobby was making Ukuleles, and for that, he wanted to see how this new machine could be useful. It was one of the first Emblaser laser cutters to be released for sale. Doonie was astonished by the accuracy of the cuts the thing made. As a toolmaker, he enjoyed working with tolerances, from fine ones in metal to a lot coarser ones in wood. In that instant, he saw a machine that cut wood accurately to three decimal parts of a millimeter. It changed his life. He soon purchased an Emblaser laser cutter of his own and embarked on a fascinating journey of exploration, learning, and creative revelations. He has since upgraded that machine to the latest Emblaser Core and also added a 3D printer in the workshop. The combination of those two machines has enabled his creativity to expand beyond belief.