Only the world's best CNC machines!

[bholder]

I know one thing if the quality of a bass ever comes down to who does the best machine work my moneys going to the germans every time, one of my hobbies is building gas powerd rc race boats as well as other high performance engines and the difference in quality of machined parts available in that market is huge and in my experience the ones from Germany are allways leaps and bounds ahead of most other places including the us.
those germans know how to build a machine, that's all im sayin

I'm not sure I agree entirely, but I have to admit, I do drive a VW.

 

[SteveCS]

My mistake. I was thinking about the Stash Stainless bass. I don't think I have heard an all metal Chapman stick. Again. My mistake.

No worries.

 

[Revolver]

No they just generally advertise relevant changes and advances. Not "gee we paid a lot for our CNC to add perceived value."

Also, everything I've read indicates that Spector USA only uses CNC for basic initial rough cut outs and cavity shaping. Fine work is all by hand, which is why they are a bit inconsistent.

Their Czech factory utilizes them in a similar manner.

German-made Warwicks are done pretty much the same way.


http://mecsoft.com/CaseStudies/Stuart-Spector-Bass-Guitars.pdf

 

[96tbird]

Hey you cnc guys... Do ya think they could program that machine to pop out something that looks like a Precision bass? That would be cool.

 

[Jim C]

There is a difference between manually shaping a chair leg with a spokeshave, and using a lathe. I consider one "by hand", the other machine asisst.

All CNC does is automate an existing tool. An automated spokeshave is inaccurate just like a human operated spokeshave. You take say an existing 5 axis mill, add belts and motors and automated control. It was an accurate tool to begin with, now it is automated. Or a lathe, or welder, or whatever.

A trained, skilled machinist can match a CNC machine, IF they are basically using the same underlying 5-axis machine. The human is no match for CNC in the speed dept though. You could get a small mill w/o CNC and do extremely advanced highly accurate shaping, just at low production.

After a while, the tolerances don't matter anymore and you've hit a point of diminishing return.

While this is 100% true, many will not accept it as accurate.

I like it when the project is to duplicate something made by hand, and, you can't tell the difference between the first, 50th, or original hand made part.
Some amazing trim pieces and corbels copied form the early 1900's for historic restoration out of wood and plaster could never have been commercially viable without CNC.
The machine made copies of hand carved wood work is stunning.

 

[Jim C]

Hey you cnc guys... Do ya think they could program that machine to pop out something that looks like a Precision bass? That would be cool.

I think this might give you and idea of what could be made quickly and to very high tolerances.
Think if you had to make this part with hand machinery; it would take 100 times as long.
There are better examples on you tube but this was the first I found tonight:

 

[1stnamebassist]

Make some neat stuff on CNC Swiss lathes too. Go to youtube and look up Swiss Lathe or Swiss screw machine.
Oops! Shouldn't have said screw machine! Probably start a whole topic.

 

[Humbled]

OK, So what are the "king of the hill" brand names of current CNC manufacturing machinery now? ...Current production, not moldy oldies like Shoda, Heian, and Komo... Who's kicking butt now... ?

 

[1stnamebassist]

Morei seiki, Matsura are a couple milling and machining center names. Swiss screw machines would be Citizens and Star. Plenty of others out there! Oh yeah, Haas.

 

[Jeff Scott]

...Oh yeah, Haas.

I take it all you guys know about the upcoming (for 2016) Haas Formula 1 team using Ferrari power units?

 

[Humbled]

Haas is ubiquitous now, with a wonderfully effective business model, but Top Tier CNC technology? Really?

 

[David Jayne]

The machines do the tedious stuff-making the parts. They do it better, faster and more consistently than people, which reduces your cost, which cannot be anything but great. People still have to carefully finish the parts and assemble them and finish the instrument, which is where the magic lies. I don't see the problem.

 

[BassHappy]

Paul Reed Smith literally whittled a couple of bass bodies for me by hand from 1976-78. Here is how they do the bodies now:

 

[OldogNewTrick]

OK, So what are the "king of the hill" brand names of current CNC manufacturing machinery now? ...Current production, not moldy oldies like Shoda, Heian, and Komo... Who's kicking butt now... ?

In the world of woodworking CNC's common manufacturers would be Bacci, Biesse, Busellato, CMS, Homag, IMA, Maka, Pade, Weinig and a host of others.

 

[Imaginary Pony]

If you mean easily surpasses the ACCURACY of what a luthier can do, I'd agree. But alas life is not so simple as this. That is because a machine produces work no better than it's operator/programer. Making exceptional instruments isn't just about milling a micron-accurate object out of a piece of uniform aluminum. There is art involved. there is organic variations involved and hence the need for human sensitivity and "feel" of those variations.

Sure you can laser-scan a Ritter or a Drozd and make a very nice copy. But the value of those instruments is all about the creativity and feel of those makers. Even if it was a molecule by molecule perfect copy, without their authentic signature on the instrument it's merely a forgery like any fake painting.

Ha, you had me for a moment there, I almost thought you were serious!

 

[96tbird]

I think this might give you and idea of what could be made quickly and to very high tolerances.
Think if you had to make this part with hand machinery; it would take 100 times as long.
There are better examples on you tube but this was the first I found tonight:

That was a joke my man, kind of. I know they can do whatever they want with CNC.

I dislike the shape of all Warwicks except the Starbass. Ergonomic or not, they just look odd to my eye. A classic shaped model, P or J, would interest me. They could still keep the headstock.

 

[Jim C]

That was a joke my man, kind of. I know they can do whatever they want with CNC.

I dislike the shape of all Warwicks except the Starbass. Ergonomic or not, they just look odd to my eye. A classic shaped model, P or J, would interest me. They could still keep the headstock.

no worries Ther are a lot of folks that don't know about the amazing ability of a good designer / programmer/ machine capabilty!!

 

[zortation]

Next ad: "Each of our bodies is crafted to aircraft engine part tolerances!"

"...by our dedicated team of highly skilled CNCs"

yuk yuk

 

[awilkie84]

I disagree. In my experience I have had to repair manufacturing errors regularly. I had a $60,000 MILSPEC computer card one day that wouldn't fit. Inspecting it I noticed the locating pins were switched around. Male for female, female for male. Upon contacting the manufacturer we were told the entire production run had the same error. A few weeks ago I rceived five computers and compatible hard drive cages. The cages wouldn't fit and I had to come up with a fix for the problem. Early in my career I had a piece of machinery that had shear pins. The manufacturer supplied sheer pins were a few thousandths out so many times I had to resize new shear pins. A luthier will make a mistake either fix it or toss that one piece in the garbage and make sure the remaining are free from that mistake.
Many times a mass produced piece will get through with errors because the operator had seen it that way many times before. We trust tech too much in this age. The operator relies that the program will produce the correct piece. He or she does not care what the piece is, just that the machine is spitting out the exact same piece that it has been doing. Automotive recall anybody?

and that error on the entire run is because some schmuck didn't enter the data right, not because the machine decided to flip things.

 

[Canadian APII]

and that error on the entire run is because some schmuck didn't enter the data right, not because the machine decided to flip things.

You are missing the point. The mistake gets repeated over and over regardless where or how the mistake originated.