Glenn Robertson, musician and creator of highly crafted musical instruments such as Mandolins, Ukeleles and Mandolas, discusses how Moon Beam Mandolins, his family owned luthiery in the Ozark Hills of Missouri, U.S.A, craft professional tools with Delcam's ArtCAM Express.
Glenn Robertson, musician and creator of highly crafted musical instruments such as Mandolins, Ukeleles and Mandolas, discusses how Moon Beam Mandolins, his family owned luthiery in the Ozark Hills of Missouri, U.S.A, craft professional tools with Delcam's ArtCAM Express.
Thirteen years ago, while studying how to play the mandolin at the College of the Ozarks, Glenn Robertson now the proud owner of thriving company Moon Beam Mandolins, was in desperate need of a professional quality instrument. Glenn recalls,
My parents wanted to help out, but couldn't afford the price of a fine musical instrument so they bought me a book on luthiery and some boards from the local hardwood supplier. With my limited carpentry experience, my father's familiarity with wood working skills and many hours of work and study, the first Moon Beam Mandolin was created.
A few years later, while attending a local music festival, an elderly gentleman came to the stand to look at our mandolins. His son had been a violin luthier and had a collection of exotic woods, some of which were extracted from a forest fire in Port Orford, Alaska circa 1934. He kindly offered us the collection which my father and I immediately accepted and arranged to pick up the collection of trees. After college, Bobbie [now wife and business partner] and I moved to the Robertson family homestead and with the support from my parents begun building mandolins full time.
Since starting Moonbeam Mandolins, Glenn and Bobbie decided to enter into the realm of CNC machining and purchased their first CNC machine from ShopBot to rough out some of the pieces of their instruments. They then came across a "great opportunity to own ArtCAM Express" the entry level CADCAM (Computer-Aided Design & Computer-Aided Manufacturing) software in the ArtCAM product range from Delcam.
At the time Glenn and Bobbie: "were looking for a program that could convert bitmap files to vectors. When [they] received information about ArtCAM Express and its features [they] were really excited. ArtCAM Express can do that and so much more, but the deciding factor was the price. It was so affordable that [they] could not refuse."
Moon Beam Mandolins now use ArtCAM Express in almost every stage of the design and manufacturing process, from the initial phase of creating the form and jigs to hold the pieces in place whilst they cool, to the sound holes and decorative inlays for the headstocks. Glenn states that in luthiery...
Assembling mandolins with their drastic curves and small pieces, for example, can prove to be very trying, making precision an absolute must! This makes having accurate jigs and side blocks to hold the musical instrument together crucial. By using ArtCAM Express we insure a perfect fit every time. It is the perfect program for making precise tools for every job.
For each individual instrument that Glenn creates ArtCAM allows him to utilize parts from previous projects and use them as a starting point to generate new unique instruments. Glenn believes that, "When designing a new instrument a learning curve is required but with ArtCAM Express makes the process seem effortless. With ArtCAM Express's simple vector offset commands, it is easy to assign proper depths during toolpath generations. Once the toolpaths are created and pieces are cut, a luthier can rely on the accuracy of ArtCAM Express."
In addition to the benefits of accuracy and speed gained by using ArtCAM, Glenn also enjoys the 3D Clip Art Library that comes free with ArtCAM.
"It makes it so easy to put together and design great projects. In fact we even carve wooden ornaments for family and friends, as Christmas gifts every year. ArtCAM Express offers precise detail to even the smallest projects. It is also very user friendly."
For all of Moon Beam Mandolins' pieces, Glenn and Bobbie inlay their logo into the headstock of the instrument. With ArtCAM Express this has completely changed the way they approach the inlay process. "In the past we have always used pearl inlay in our headstocks, but with ArtCAM Express we have derived a simple way to use wood instead. We can take a picture of our Logo and make usable vectors at the push of a button. The pieces are mirrored and offset slightly. I would say the excitement comes from not having to use any epoxy fill. The pieces fit so precisely that we just need a dab of hide glue." Glenn concluded that they have "enjoyed working with Delcam products because the programs operate so smoothly."
Since Moon Beam Mandolins began, Glenn and Bobbie are now the official sponsors of The Great American Music Festival, Merlefest, in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, which attracts over 100,000 participants each year. With the aid of ArtCAM, their luthiery skills have also broadened to include a greater range of mandolin styles and other string instruments as well as accepting custom orders. Their newly released 2009 line includes tenor and soprano ukuleles, mandolas, octave mandolins/bouzoukis and arch top guitars, all of which are created in ArtCAM and hand tuned and graduated with precise detail. They are built for musicians by musicians.