Tool path modification...

[zaxis]

Hello, I want to cut a grid to make a vacuum table. I am attempting to do this using Melamine and MDF. Any advice out there for the build would be gladly accepted as I am self educating myself on this build. That being said...back to my intended question. The grid consists of many horizontal and vertical lines cut to make the plenum of the vac system. Vcarve generates a tool path that always goes left to right, therefore a lot of time is spent while the tool goes back to the start of the cut. Sort of a zig zag pattern, if you will. So how do I tell the software to simply step up or step over to the next line to begin the cut. Also a back and forth path would be nice to do the grooves in several passes. There must be a way.

[Adrian]

You need to alternate the start nodes (go into node edit mode and press P while hovering over the end node) of the vector lines and set the toolpath to Keep Current Start Points on the Start At tab.

[zaxis]

Thank you. I knew it had to be a simple thing. Is there any way to go back and forth in 2 passes to reach depth rather than going back to the beginning each time?

[Adrian]

You can make a line that goes back on itself or, if the tool can cope with half the thickness in one go, you can set the passes to 1 and set a spiral ramp.

[zaxis]

Thanks for your help. Those tips worked great!!