Download VB Sample Project
Updated to support 2nd Generation Controller
Download VB.Zip
(280 kb - Jan 14, 2005).
A small testimonial from Hollywood Foundary...
"Hollywood Foundry is a manufacturer of model railway parts, including
a powered motor drive bogie called the BullAnt. One of the critical tasks
in the manufacture of the BullAnt is the drilling of the main structural
spine section. This is a 1/4" x 1/8" brass C channel section that requires
a number of 1.4mm diameter holes to be drilled to a positional accuracy
of 0.1mm.
The BullAnt may be supplied in many variations, chosen by the purchaser.
Each BullAnt is, in effect, custom made, therefore the number of holes that
must be drilled can vary between 5 and 11. In addition, the position of
each hole is completely variable. The drilling of these holes would have
been a nightmare to do manually, and particularly so when the process must
be managed by operators not skilled in precision drilling techniques.
After consultation with Ron Sher in Melbourne, Australia, a Sherline model
5410 CNC-ready mill was chosen, purchased and delivered within two days.
A three axis servo-motor CNC package was ordered from CNC Tecknix in Sydney
Australia, and supplied two weeks later due to the need to order servo motors
from the USA.
Hollywood Foundry wanted a custom-designed software package to control
the process, with a touchscreen interface. The position of the holes is
determined by the wheelbase of the bogie as chosen by the customer, therefore
the software had to calculate the hole positions after the operator had
keyed in the wheelbase dimension via the touchscreen. Carl Kendrat at DeskCNC
was contacted and kindly supplied demonstration software utilizing their
API. Within two days a custom application was written, debugged and working.
Altogether, a remarkable piece of cooperation by all concerned and it provided
a perfect solution to the problem."
