Introducing Roland iModela, the cutest CNC mill

[autobot]

Check out the Roland iModela:
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Srm46mL3tM&feature=related"]iModela_Roland_Howto iModela_en3.0_part2 - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz1yujoLrQw&feature=related]iModela 3D Printer - YouTube
"iModela" is a completely new digital craft tool that implements these ideas by computer control.

Unbeatable in cuteness thats for sure.

[RomanLini]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing that!

To say it is "light duty" is a bit of an understatement, most of it's insides look like "toy parts" or maybe more accurately "cheap bubblejet printer parts";



But it's clever and will probably sell well. I like their dual leadscrew idea, seems to be visible on both the axes seen above. It looks like a tiny stepper motor with toothed belt/pulleys driving 2 leadscrews. Saves racking and adds overall rigidity to whatever is being driven. Very cool!

(edit) On closer inspection it might just be two green gears being driven by the stepper motor?

[foam27]

LOL, what a waste of money

[autobot]

I like how they zero the z axis. Just unscrew the set screw and drop the cutter to touch the workpiece. Dont you wish you can do this on your mill too. No need for Z height offset sensors or the paper shim method.

Also this is not just an ordinary 3 axis mill. Its almost like a mini machining center in that it has a full enclosure.

About cost, yeah its not 'worth' it to the practical man. But you cant put a price on cool gadget factor. To the practical man, expensive collectors items and art are also a waste of money. Its definately not 'worth' it for production cnc but i cant help but want one anyway to have on my desk.

Oh and if you think thats cool, wait till you check out the fact they can do 4th axis:

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgGwOPWKCYU"]iModela_Rotary_firstlook.avi - YouTube

[Miata2k]

It looks like a great toy, and I'd like to have one on my desk at work to route PCBs and fabricate small parts, but it probably won't do 2d, nor will it work with normal materials. That block of stuff being machined didn't look like wood or plastic. Maybe it was some type of craft foam. But if you could sell it for the $299 price point.... Hmmm.

For most people it just looks like it would be too complicated. First you have to put it together, people hate that, they want to take it out of the box and plug it in to the wall. And it should have a wireless connection to the computer, no messy cables or drivers. People don't want to load the cutter and install the blower fan. What's with that setscrew, that would be lost before they turned it on the first time. You said turn left to tighten, right?

Then they are taking too many steps to finish a product and people and general don't want to fuss (or wait) around with all the steps. Pick tool, pick path, generate code, download to device, rinse and repeat. Now what do I do with this double sided tape? Can't we just sick it in and have it come out the other side finished? Like and easy bake oven!

Still, if they release it in the US, the early adopters will sing is praises and have a wonderful time with it, at any cost. I'd personally like to have a Widgetmaster machine sitting on my desk, but I don't see that happening anytime soon, so send me the $300 desktop toy and I'll make it work.

-C

[autobot]

I agree. Somewhere around 300-500 dollars and they will get my sale. The current list price is around $800, which includes proprietary CAD and CAM side. I also dont know if it will accept being run by conventional driver software like mach3 or EMC2 (though the fact its USB suggests probably not). If it does then it will be pretty cool, but I dont think its impossible. Even if not, they should have an open source part where you can put your own gcode in.

They technically have enough space to fit a better motor in there for the spindle to put in better torque to maybe machine something a little harder like the copper on pcbs. But even still, I think it can cut PCBs, just take lighter passes. I know people using those similar hobby level DC motors for PCB milling.

[MichaelHobbyson]

I am using iModela for some time now and I got pretty much what I have expected:

- this is the first "consumer" machine that I used so far. All other non expensive routers were not really consumer machines. They were light Cnc machines for hobbist. You get a nice coffer, modern Usb connection, quick start up guide. In 10 minutes, you get software installed and get machine running

- online user manuals were all japanese, I guess they did not had time to translate them to english when they created the CD or there is a language bug in the install routine

- it would be very nice to have LED light inside. I will maybe install such thing myself. If anybody has ideas for this, please let me know

- To answer question below, it can read G code from other Cam system. Not tried this yet myself

- creator software on the CD is very easy to use, good job. But tool paths can be better, a lot of time is wasted in air or already machined regions

- would love to use 4 axis unit for unit machining. Is there any way to get this for affordable money without buying the Artcam express software?

- any ideas where to order different materials and tools, would be good

- my first project was today machining personalized beer mats, worked very well, but had to use sand paper to remove chips at edges later

[Winnfield]

That first video might very well be the most annoying youtube video I have ever seen. Neat machine for 300.00 - I agree. 800.00 is crazy, though.

[autobot]

I am using iModela for some time now and I got pretty much what I have expected:

- this is the first "consumer" machine that I used so far. All other non expensive routers were not really consumer machines. They were light Cnc machines for hobbist. You get a nice coffer, modern Usb connection, quick start up guide. In 10 minutes, you get software installed and get machine running

- online user manuals were all japanese, I guess they did not had time to translate them to english when they created the CD or there is a language bug in the install routine

- it would be very nice to have LED light inside. I will maybe install such thing myself. If anybody has ideas for this, please let me know

- To answer question below, it can read G code from other Cam system. Not tried this yet myself

- creator software on the CD is very easy to use, good job. But tool paths can be better, a lot of time is wasted in air or already machined regions

- would love to use 4 axis unit for unit machining. Is there any way to get this for affordable money without buying the Artcam express software?

- any ideas where to order different materials and tools, would be good

- my first project was today machining personalized beer mats, worked very well, but had to use sand paper to remove chips at edges later

I looked at the roland store and their cutting tools are a major ripoff. If you are buying replacement tools and you want them for cheap, check out ebay. I dont know what diameter shank they take but if its made in Japan I bet its metric. Probably 4mm shank from the looks?

Does it really take Gcode input? I dont see that in the software.

For 4th Axis, where are you buying the 4th axis rig? You also need the 4th axis CAM I suppose. Whats your budget on spending? THeres a good 4th axis CAM from deskproto for hobbists that run pretty cheap (cheapest in the market and works really well).

A suggestion about removing 'chips at the edges', Im assuming at the lowest Z height (the base of the stock cloest to the base)? Perhaps you can raise your stock material by sticking something on the bottom so the perimeters are raised and have the gcode under cut the material so it leaves the part clean on the edges. What are you cutting? It could be burrs too, if thats the case the yea you probably need to deburr.

[MichaelHobbyson]

About tools: shank diameter is around 2.3-2.4 mm

Roland offical forum on iModela seems to contain some posts about where to buy tools and other stuff

I was surprised to see that only 2-3 active users are posting interesting stuff to Roland forum regarding iModela. Rest is from Roland employees. I guess, it will take some time until a bigger iModela active community grows

G code: controller software has NC code selection combo box. You might want to check users manual before you buy to be on safe side

Chips: yes, deburring is the issue, wish toolpath generator would do this as well

4 axis: Delcam is currently only company offering this. I would like to see more options from other suppliers for this.

Same for stronger spindle, some folks did this DIY, but it would be good to order a kit for this. Roland forum has a good discussion on this topic.

At last, I wish more posts here. There should be some thousand users of this machine already, nobody else wants to share his experience?

[autobot]

price is their biggest downfall. ~$800 before tax and delivery is steep. People around here consider bigger mills like the X2 too small even. For $800 you can get a proper benchtop mill, albiet not CNC yet, although you can probably get a 2nd hand one @ this price. They look at the imodela as a toy, as such it will only fit as a toy and should be priced as such given the mil itself is constructed of cheap parts.

But to honest though it does come with a lot of quality stuff like the box and the CAD/CAM software which normally costs extra for normal CNCs. I think they can definately drop the fancy case and get the price lower. Other than that Id say for me my max expenditure is $300. The truth is i like many here will probably play with it a few times and then it goes into storage, so it really isnt worth more than $300 and I'd consider that a splurge too cause I really dont need it.

As for burring, I think that normally has to do with cutter sharpness, cutting speed, and the material properties. Nothing much you can change there. If you know G code maybe you can add a deburring tool and run it along the tool paths to automate the deburring.

What are you milling? from the vids, people milling the foam doesnt seem to form burrs. They are kinda brittle powder compacted stuff.

[MichaelHobbyson]

300$ price idea: I agree, a consumer product should be around $200 to $500 range. Compare with ipad at 500$. Nobody really needs an ipad, but at that price, people do buy it. Same for hobby cnc machine. At lower price, more people can buy. But you need to sell 100.000 or more units per year, such production cost can drop in that region. I still feel, that this is the first consumer CNC machine and initial price is low enough for early adopters. I spent some time with low cost routers, they need serial ports, have dozens of settings to set to make the machine work, such they look like DIY machines, nothing for consumers. I like iModela, because it is simple enough, I can have fun with my kids doing creative projects with the machine.

Deburring: was cutting beer mats, card board. To reduce time, I went down to 0.5mm full depth and only roughing toolpath. This created the burrs. At smaller depth steps, this will not happen. Sand paper solved the issue, though a deburr toolpath at 0.1 depth with 0.1 negative offset to contour should remove the burrs, will try next time.