The Big Blue Saw Blog has moved to a new location. Please visit http://www.bigbluesaw.com/saw/blogsection/ for the latest blog updates.

Here's a great testimonial we received from Russell Kirk, one of our customers:

"Congratulations on a great website and service! It is something we've needed for quite awhile in the prototyping industry. We work with another local water jetter for parts larger than 36". We have already sent and received parts from Big Blue in the time that it has taken them just to get us a quote. Keep up the great work!"

Thanks for the kind words, Russell.

The Big Blue Saw Designer now no longer uses a pop-up window; it appears right inside your main browser window. This is a much cleaner design and should eliminate some of the problems people were having with security software blocking the window.

Also, the Designer will automatically save your working design so that when you re-visit the designer page within the same browser session, your work will be re-loaded.

Try the Big Blue Saw Designer

Labels: CAD, Designer

There's now a demonstration video on the website that takes you through the process creating a part with the Big Blue Saw Designer, from creating simple shapes and ordering, to a look at the final part. Check it out.

Labels: CAD, Designer, video

Be sure to check out the latest additions to our customer
projects page:

First up are Carlo Bertocchini's RoBoxers. For more information about building and competing with your own RoBoxer, visit the official RoBoxer website.

Next, we present the live steam hamster wheel from David Wegmuller. Don't miss the video at YouTube.

Labels: customer, example, robot, train

I'm happy to announce that we've begun testing Big Blue Saw Designer. This tool lets you design your part and get a quote online. Try it out and let us know what you think.

Link.

Labels: CAD, Designer

As you've probably noticed, Big Blue Saw's website has a new, slick appearance on all pages. This is just one of many wonderful changes you'll see in the coming months.

At the suggestion of our customers, we've added a price break when you order 5 or more parts. Previously, you had to order at least 10 parts to receive a price break. For parts made of inexpensive materials that were easy to cut, it didn't matter much, as each part was fairly cheap. But it made ordering a few expensive parts too pricy for for many of you.

Labels: waterjet

I've been looking for a good example of this kind of construction for a while now. The idea behind this is that you can assemble a series of thin pieces together to make a continuous, arbitrarily complex curvy surface. Of course, your accuracy will be limited by the thickness of the pieces.

This is a 3D surface function made from a series of thin pieces. It looks like cardboard. The pieces were laser cut.

I've also read about prototype rocket bells being created using a similar technique.

Link.

Big Blue Saw has focused on bringing our customers the best online waterjet service available. I'm often asked by friends and potential customers why we use waterjet cutting to make our parts. The waterjet cutting process offers several advantages:

• Waterjet cutting works with a wide variety of materials, including nearly all plastics and metals.
• The stock material is mostly unaffected by the cutting process. Little heat, for example, is generated by a waterjet cutter.
  
• Nearly any two dimensional shape can be cut from stock material.
  
• The accuracy is high enough for most ordinary purposes.
• You can design parts using common 2D CAD or drawing programs, making it more accessible to non-specialists.
• Its easy operation and simple design lower costs.
  

Our long-term goals do include offering other types of machining and manufacturing. Waterjet cutting does have its limitations, but I figured that it was the best technology to start Big Blue Saw with.

Labels: waterjet