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Hey folks, has anyone applied for an educator account for Easel?
Any idea how long it will take to get a response?
I teach a vocational technology program at my local high school/tech center, and purchased a FoxAlien 4040 to use in my classroom in the fall. I’ve been trying to get the hang of using Easel for generating my gcode and I like it a lot. It has it’s quirks, of course, but its pretty simple to use. It will be perfect for plopping a kid down in front of the screen and say “Here is how you make something on the CNC”…
Nevertheless, my trial pro account ran out while I was on vacation, so I applied for the educator account and haven’t heard back. I am wondering if I should just wait, or just order the subscription and get the school to reimburse me. (its a little late to ask them to get a P.O. at this point…)
I taught MS Tech Ed/ IA for 30 years. I built my own cnc router about 15-16 years ago using John Kleinbauer’s plans as a point of departure. This was before all these " affordable" machines and software were available.
When I was teaching IA/Tech Ed, money was always an issue, from day one in 1982. I spent hundreds most years, and over $1000 of my own capital the last 5 years of my career, when the budget monies never increased, but supply prices went up.
I have often wondered if you could just plug in a straight bit into Easel, but use a V bit on the machine. Maybe spec out a similar diameter straight bit and adjust the depth of cut accordingly? I’d probably hit up the Computer Dept and have them buy the software…LOL. They seem to always have $$.
Well let’s see…he can wait for an answer, he can try to swap out the bit and use the standard Easel, and/.or buy it using his own cash and get reimbursed…Pick one.
…I suppose you can answer his question with a better answer? At least it’s an answer…not a snarky response…I have been where he is…that’s the point of it.
…LOL.
What was the answer you provided? Go back and read his questions, and identify where you answered them prior to my “snarky” reply to you. Your story leaves both (2) questions unanswered.
Sure, it wasn’t my intention to attempt to provide better answers, but then again any answer to the man’s actual question would probably be considered “better” so here goes…
Q1 ANSWER: I can say that it is very likely that the correct answer is Yes, someone has most likely applied for the program before Jon did today. But I cannot say for certain.
Q2 ANSWER: I don’t know. I’ve never applied for it & I don’t work for inventables. Probably best to allow someone who had either applied and received a response OR someone on inventables staff to answer this question.
What else did you expect to receive when you provide a soap boxed historical anecdote and fail to answer his questions?
Regarding the anecdote: Do you want a gold star for burning through your own personal money when you might have had another option that would allow no cost use of the software, like filling out a basic application?
I simply pointed out that the you neglected to answer his questions. Yes, sarcasm was in full effect. Such is life.
Some people do sort of use this method, but it is imperfect and does not generate the same toolpaths that the vbit toolpath creates as it does not account for the side angle of the bit. This is highly apparent in corners where the vbit toolpath generates 3 axis simultaneous movement, where as the straight bit will generate a maximum of 2 axis simultaneous movement.
He came to the forum as a means to fulfill the first option there, so he’s already picked one. That said, there are other options that you didn’t list, so why am I forced to pick solely from the supplied options.
Based on the differences in his post and your initial reply, I don’t think you have been where he is. Maybe in a general sense, like as an educator, but time and place can change a LOT of things.
Hopefully he can get a valid response regarding what the expected wait time is form a reputable source.
Boy! this got a lot of attention last night @SethCNC - I appreciate you looking out for the new guy, but it’s ok. Fellow educators speak there own language
The irony of the little back and forth is that Martin must be psychic or something. That idea of using the vbit in place of a regular bit was something I was actually thinking about when I posted my question.
So I checked it out…
I had used the v bit in some designs during the pro trial and the tool paths are very different from how they are now that the trial had ended. The v bit tool paths can make very sharp inside corners, that taper downward, where a normal bit will just leave them rounded. Trying to generate the same gcode as before is impossible, so a pro account is a must.
I enjoyed reading about your experience as an educator @MartinW.Mcclary . It is very similar to most teachers in afraid. Thankfully, I have a pretty great supporting administration at my school and they like to help me any way they can.
Sadly, I was there when the powers that be decided that hands on types of classes weren’t needed any more and everyone should go to college. I watched the shops/labs turn into computer centers and modular labs. Nothing wrong with that, except now we have two generations of people without those skills and experiences. I was adamant that I would keeps tools and machines in my classes as well as develop current technologies. We were doing CO2 cars, Digital Electronic Dice, CAD, Manufacturing, as well as Engineering design. My little Cnc was engraving kids names in boxes they made. The freeware software was just in its infancy. I learned to write gcode from scratch. It was a fun time actually. I felt sorry for my coworker who just had to maintain poorly built modules, as they couldn’t take the abuse the kids could dish out. Anyway…you are doing the kids a service by doing what you are doing. People in regular jobs won’t and don’t get it…:-).
I have an educator account also, it took a two to three weeks before it was all settled. I also was able to get the VCarve Makerspace edition for my nonprofit training facility (Future Tech Skills). I do use Easel quite a bit more than VCarve, I only go to VCarve for the complex 3D carves.
Hey all,
Very new to this and not sure if this is where to post this question, but is there a way to change the drill icon, or at least change the size of it?
I am trying to layout multiple parts (nesting the same part multiple times) but the drill icon is too big and in the way to see laying out the rest of the parts…
