Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

This forum is for general discussion regarding VCarve Pro
Post Reply
Ton80
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2018 3:48 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Shapeoko 3XXL / Carvewright RevB
Location: Rockland County, NY USA
Contact:

Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by Ton80 »

Hi,

I had someone make me a model for a customer of mine that owns an Aflac franchise in New Jersey. The model that he sent me looks really nice when I preview the STL in preview ( mac ). It also looks really great when I open the STL within VcarvePro as a component import. When I actually have it all imported though and start looking at the model on screen and the tool path preview it looks significantly lower quality.

What could I be doing wrong? The model details look really great in the STL preview but could it be an issue with the model?

Here is a screen from Preview of the STL file.
round 160mm 9and5mm image export.png
This is from the STL/Component Import screen
preview 3d view round logo on STL import screen.PNG

Here is the result I see in Vectric after adding tool paths. Even before adding the tool paths, the model started looking a bit jagged after I imported it as a component.
preview 3d view round logo.png
Here is the model after import but before toolpathing. I included my job setup to show that I have the modeling resolution set at the highest setting.
preview 3d view round logo as component model.PNG

ger21
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 1592
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 2:59 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Custom DIY
Location: Lake St Clair, MI, USA
Contact:

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by ger21 »

That's not the highest setting. Hold down the Shift key when you click the New File icon, and you'll have two more, much higher resolution settings. You may need to use them, due to the large size of the job.
Gerry - http://www.thecncwoodworker.com

Ton80
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2018 3:48 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Shapeoko 3XXL / Carvewright RevB
Location: Rockland County, NY USA
Contact:

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by Ton80 »

ger21 wrote:That's not the highest setting. Hold down the Shift key when you click the New File icon, and you'll have two more, much higher resolution settings. You may need to use them, due to the large size of the job.
Dang... I had no idea. I will try that later. Thanks!

User avatar
martin54
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 7339
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:12 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Gerber 48, Triac PC, Isel fixed gantry
Location: Kirkcaldy, Scotland

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by martin54 »

Just to add to Ger21 answer. once you have toolpathed your model you may need to increase the toolpath preview resolution when viewing. This is not the same as the set up resolution for the job. The toolpath preview resolution can be found by clicking on the toolpath tab at the top of the screen. It will only affect the toolpath preview, setting it high will increase the time it takes for the simulation to run so using a decent computer makes a big difference :lol: :lol: :lol:

User avatar
BrianM
Vectric Staff
Posts: 1964
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 10:15 am
Model of CNC Machine: A few ...
Location: Alcester U.K
Contact:

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by BrianM »

In your screen shot, you show a job size of 24" x 32" and your model is only about 5" square, occupying only 3.25% of the job area. This means you are 'wasting' over 96% of the resolution. You should make your job size just a bit larger than the model size.

Brian

Ton80
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2018 3:48 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Shapeoko 3XXL / Carvewright RevB
Location: Rockland County, NY USA
Contact:

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by Ton80 »

That is how large the job will be. It is for a 24” x 32” cabinet. The size of the carving is the same size as required on the final project file.

User avatar
Mike-S
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 1123
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 6:45 am
Model of CNC Machine: Joe's Hybrid 4x4 (but 3x3)
Location: Hayesville, NC

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by Mike-S »

Following up with what Brian said, will you be carving in the other 96% ?
You can specify a smaller work area than the actual material size, and get much better resolution detail.
BTW, are you anywhere near Blauvelt?

User avatar
mtylerfl
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 5865
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 3:54 am
Model of CNC Machine: -CarveWright CNC -ShopBot Buddy PRSAlpha
Location: Brunswick, GA

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by mtylerfl »

I would definitely do the majority of that job as 2D cuts. The only item I see that needs to be a 3D carve is the duck head.

Resolution is always a challenge when a model occupies such a small area of a much larger overall size.

If you had Aspire...Simplest solution would be to import JUST the duck head model in a separate instance of the Aspire software with the job size set at just barely bigger than the head and set at the Maximum (50x) resolution.

Export that model as a 3dclip, then import that into your actual job (also set at Max resolution). As long as you don't mess with model, it should be "packed" with as many pixels as possible and yield a better result.

BUT, since you do not have Aspire, go ahead and set up your job at Max resolution and import the duck head as-is (that is if you can get JUST the duck head). Re-create the rest of the job as 2D, so resolution won't be an issue for the text, etc.
Michael Tyler

facebook.com/carvebuddy

-CarveWright CNC
-ShopBot Buddy PRSAlpha CNC

User avatar
mtylerfl
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 5865
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 3:54 am
Model of CNC Machine: -CarveWright CNC -ShopBot Buddy PRSAlpha
Location: Brunswick, GA

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by mtylerfl »

Just had another thought...

Is it possible to do just the circle area as one part of the entire job? You would gain a resolution advantage doing it that way.

You could pocket out a recess in the large panel and glue the circle part into it.

(But, I still highly recommend doing mostly 2D cuts and just do the duck head as 3D)

As far as that goes, you could carve the head as a separate part on smaller material (again, bonus of better resolution), then pocket an area of your (hopefully) 2D remainder and glue in just the head!
Michael Tyler

facebook.com/carvebuddy

-CarveWright CNC
-ShopBot Buddy PRSAlpha CNC

Ton80
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2018 3:48 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Shapeoko 3XXL / Carvewright RevB
Location: Rockland County, NY USA
Contact:

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by Ton80 »

Hi Mike,

I am sure what you are suggesting is fairly simple but I am not sure exactly how I would achieve that with my current level of experience with the software. I'll keep it in mind as something to work on though as that makes a lot of sense since the lettering has no contour.

So much to get used to after using the CW Designer for 5 years ;)

Ton80
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2018 3:48 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Shapeoko 3XXL / Carvewright RevB
Location: Rockland County, NY USA
Contact:

Re: Model sent to me looks great but not after imported

Post by Ton80 »

Mike-S wrote:Following up with what Brian said, will you be carving in the other 96% ?
You can specify a smaller work area than the actual material size, and get much better resolution detail.
BTW, are you anywhere near Blauvelt?
I am in SUFFERN.. very close. ;)

Post Reply