We built a giant waterwheel for Kraay’s Family Farm two years ago, which they use to bring water to the gem mine flumes. Guests use screen boxes in water in the flumes to separate the gems from the sand. This sand currently washes down and into a pond. The owners have asked us to design and fabricate three mine cars, which will be located at the bottom of the flumes to catch and separate the sand from the water. These would make it easy to dispose of the sand by transporting it with a forklift rather than digging it out of the pond by hand. The mining carts are built extra sturdy to withstand rough handling and have two forklift holes built into the carts to allow for safe and quick transport.
Hanging art
The Copper Crown construction is now behind us, but the suite still changes daily in a dramatic fashion. The decorating is now in full swing. Peter has finished framing the wall art, and today, with Juniper, hung it throughout the multilevel room. The furniture is being moved in, and the curtains are being fitted. If you want a peek inside the royal suite, the open house is in 66 days on June 6th, right after the Yarrow Days parade.
IBEX 3D
Our friends at IBEX CNC Software have been busy creating a full 3D version of the routing software for some time. While I can’t imagine the complexities of writing this kind of program I do understand the kind of magic we can create with it. We’ve been testing the 2D version for some time to create our plasma cutting files with great success. But what we have been itching to get our hands on is the 3D version which has long been in the works. On Friday our friends from IBEX sent us the link to download this fresh off the press software. But sadly, I was tied up with some meetings and the sculpting in the shop for the whole day. Saturday I was again tied up with chores and other commitments. But this morning I finally had the chance to open up the software. While it was the first time I got to see the 3D interface and begin to explore how the tools worked I knew what it was I wanted to create. My first efforts took me back more than a decade and a half to when I first figured out a 3D routing software. While there was a little frustration as I attempted to build my first textured file it only took a couple of hours instead of the many weeks of experimentation to build my first file years ago. I sent the file along to the ShopSabre CNC router and jigged things up. When I pushed enter my finger was on the emergency stop - just in case. But I needn't have worried for the file ran flawlessly. I still have much to explore and discover but this fun new journey with IBEX has truly begun. Stay tuned…
