Tim Kruse is an engineer, machinist, artist, designer, and longtime biker. His Cruzin Machine custom design and fabrication outfit specializes in building artistic theme images of motorcycle and automotive parts and accessories using VX CAD/CAM software from VX Corporation.
When a customer asks Kruse for an air cleaner that looks like a dragon, for instance, he imports a template of the air cleaner and scales the overlying image using VX. This becomes the base outline of the artwork. Kruse uses the software to accommodate screw or bolt holes. His engineering and artistic talents help him adjust the image, add lines, and contours so that function and form balance, becoming elements in the overall design. The results: beautiful, unique parts that perform as specified.
Cruzin Machine designs custom parts and accessories for cars and motorcycles using VX software.
Kruse uses VX integrated machining to generate parts. He carves out different levels of contours and creates a relief image that has more depth than a simple metal silhouette. ‚“Once the image is frozen and the customer has approved it, I use VX to create NC code which drives the machines to create the part exactly as the customer requested,‚†Kruse adds. After machining, the part is polished and finished with a variety of surface treatments such as chrome, copper, gold plating, etching, or powder coating.
VX Innovator comes pre-loaded with built-in tutorials and can be upgraded to any level of CAD/CAM including full mold and die, design, and manufacturing.
Kruse says that VX helps him build high quality custom parts at competitive prices. Before using the software, projects took weeks to complete. Today, he is cranking out designs in mere hours.
More news from VX includes its Innovator software, designed as a high-end CAD/CAM product that is affordable, easy to learn, and competes head-to-head with other players in the field. It is a hybrid modeler that provides tools that work seamlessly with surface and solid geometry. The software can import and work with poor geometry. Healing and surface editing tools work with non-solid geometry. You can add style to models with complex sweeps, lofts, and domes. Innovator includes an entire suite of detailing and layout tools, and popular assembly features for top-down and bottom-up design. It is scaleable to many other packages including assembly modeling, mold and die, and 2- to 5-X machining.
VX Corporation
www.vx.com
Cruzin Machine
www.cruzinmachine.com
::Design World::
Filed Under: 3D CAD, Automotive, CAM software, Software
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