New user

[cometdye]

Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your group.
I have a shark 2nd gen that I purchased some 5 or 6 years ago and I could not figure out how to use it.
I have VCarve pro 8.5 and I have decided to give it another try.
I would like to find something easy that a pro has made that I can run on my router and look at the file and see how he arrived at it.
I will continue to work with it.
I have made a marble game with the help of a cad cam program and the cad cam teem and it looks really good I will post a photo as soon as I learn how.

[joeporter]

http://support.vectric.com/tutorials/V9 ... =1&order=1 I would start at the very beginning and go from there. The first set of these tutorials are named "Getting Started" that is a good place to begin..I recommend setting up two monitors so you can work along and pause and start the video when you need to..Also, get real familiar with your machine.

I would like to find something easy that a pro has made that I can run on my router and look at the file and see how he arrived at it

That is exactly what these tutorials are about, made by pros for beginners (myself included) I go back to them often and am surprised at how much more I learn...joe

[meflick]

Welcome, as a newbie myself, I would echo what Joe said. Go to the tutorials and start there. Download the User Manual and read, go back, back, back through the forum posts and find other files that have been shared, download, look at and give them a try (based on your machine and needed setups for tool paths of course.) Use the Vectric portal and the free files that they have provided there. We got our Shark in Dec., and that is what I have been doing. It is frustrating at first, even when using the tutorials because so much of it is completely new - the software, the hardware, etc. but with time and effort I am slowly making progress and learning. I have learned a lot from looking at the free files and giving them a try. I have made plenty of mistakes doing that - but I have been learning from those mistakes too. I have some items i have cut that I need to post so I will try to do that soon. All were from files that have been shared via tutorials, the monthly projects, or just kind souls over the years here on the forum.

One thing I do sometimes is simply watch the videos/tutorials through completely without trying to follow along first in recreating it. That helps to watch and listen to exactly what they are doing and helps I think in "learning" the software. I think learning the software and its features so that you understand what is being done and why so that it will cut what you want is the hardest part. That is in part because there is so much to it and to learn. Take your time and go one thing at a time. We can all learn together.

[martin54]

Joe has pretty much summed it up, start at the beginning & work your way forward from there, get the basics sorted & it then gives you a good understanding as you move forward, no need to look at files & try to figure out what the creator has done if working your way through the tutorials as it is all explained in easy to understand terms
All you have to do is download the files that accompany the tutorials & then follow along

Once you have a better understanding of how the software & the machine work then you can move on to some of the free monthly projects that Vectric provide, again start with some of the simpler projects to get a feel for what you are doing.

Most important of all, take the time to enjoy what you are doing, with the tutorials & the help of the forum learning can be fun

Best of luck with it all & don't forget if there is something you don't understand then just ask a question on the forum, lots of very helpful people use the forum

[meflick]

Joe, i wanted to add a link for you to the most recent projects that I have done. In it, I give links to the places that I found the files. Most are free files from Vectric. One is a bread board I found in old threads as noted. I thought if you saw them, it would give you some inspiration to keep working and trying. You can find them in this thread here in the gallery: http://forum.vectric.com/viewtopic.php? ... 78#p214178 You can also find the tablet holders that I created using Beki's free file recently shared (information on where to find is in my thread) here: http://forum.vectric.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29388

I will note that I first started out reviewing and watching the free tutorials and information to learn the basics of the software. Some of those projects I didn't actually "cut out" but I learned from them by watching the videos and learning the software that way. Good luck and let us know if we can help as you progress.