Will Sampson talks about being an old dog trying to learn new tricks connected to CNC machining. His guest is Brian Adle, a senior software engineer for Inventables, a company that makes a range of CNC machines and accompanying software mostly targeted at woodworking professionals just getting started with CNC.
Sign up for the Easel Cabinetmaker Beta that Brian mentions on the show here: easel.inventables.com/cabinetmaker-signup
This episode of the Woodworking Network podcast was sponsored by the Executive Briefing Conference. It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them be even more isolated than usual. And it’s even harder if what you want is to network with the top-level executives in the industry. Where and how can you do that? The answer is the Executive Briefing Conference coming this September at the spectacular Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. This is an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology and to feed on inspiration from real leaders in the industry. Not to mention take in all the high-altitude hospitality, beauty and recreation offered by the Broadmoor. Learn more at ExecutiveBriefingConference.com. See you there.
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
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Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Intro:
Welcome to the fourth season of the Woodworking Network Podcast and a new episode. Join us as we explore the business of woodworking big and small and what it takes to succeed. I’m Will Sampson.
Today’s episode is sponsored by the Executive Briefing Conference. Today our guest is Brian Adle, a senior software engineer for Inventables, a company that makes a range of CNC machines and accompanying software mostly targeted at woodworking professionals just getting started with CNC. But before I get to that, I want to talk about:
Climbing the learning curve
They say an old dog can’t learn new tricks. Well, I’m just too stubborn to believe that, and I’ve recently embarked on a new adventure trying to bring CNC woodworking into my shop. There’s a lot to learn and how do you do it?
I guess you could call my approach just diving in. The machine I’m trying to learn is the Inventables X-Carve Pro, which is a 4x4 machine that fits in my shop, but through tiling has the capability to do full 4x8 sheets. It comes with proprietary software called Easel that is supposed to be especially easy to learn.
My first learning experience was assembling the machine, as the whole thing comes in a 300-pound box strapped to a pallet. I waded though step-by-step instructions and videos online to bolt it all together, square it up, and get it running. Boy, was that exciting to see it actually worked! Watching it true the spoilboard was riveting entertainment! I’m not joking!
But then comes the challenge of actually trying to understand the software and start to make stuff. One of the first things I found was that, at least at the beginning, I knew too much for my own good. The software designers had constructed a system that was designed to walk you through the steps without really having to know anything. But after covering CNC manufacturing for more than 20 years, I know enough about the processes to be dangerous.
The Easel software prompted me with a simple entry level project, and I got to the point where I was supposed to push a button labeled “Carve” to start the manufacturing process. But wait! I hadn’t put the bit in or located the x-y-z axis zeroes for the material I was going to cut. I was afraid to hit that “Carve” button, fearing the machine would tear something up. I went searching online for something to tell me what I should do next. Luckily, I found another overview video from Inventables that showed me what happens after I click on the “Carve” button, and the answer is it walks me through all those things I hadn’t yet done.
Software engineers and computer geeks always talk about things being “intuitive,” but I’m not sure anything really is intuitive. It must be learned somehow. Sometimes you have to unlearn what you already know. And what seems natural or intuitive for one person is certainly not for another. That’s what contributes to the ongoing mystery of how we really learn all of this new technology that seems so marvelous, how we climb that learning curve everybody talks about. Sometimes it takes being brave and pushing a button you aren’t sure you are really ready for yet.
I marvel at how some people, especially younger people, can just muddle through the tech and figure it out. But this old dog is determined and excited to learn these new tricks and teach the big CNC in the center of my shop to do my bidding. It has to learn some things, too.
I want to get to our interview with Brian Adle, but first, let’s pause for a word from our sponsor:
It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them be even more isolated than usual. And it’s even harder if what you want is to network with the top-level executives in the industry. Where and how can you do that? The answer is the Executive Briefing Conference coming this September at the spectacular Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. This is an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology and to feed on inspiration from real leaders in the industry. Not to mention take in all the high-altitude hospitality, beauty and recreation offered by the Broadmoor. Learn more at ExecutiveBriefingConference.com. See you there.
Now let’s get to our interview with Brian Adle.