Vectric Customer

Hi all,
It has been a long time since I have posted and I hated missing McGrew's camp this year. Since I left my job a little over a year ago and went full time with the CNC it has been a little busy, but great.

I have used this trick before and thought I had it wrote down, but who knows. I am cutting a shallow pocket in a panel to accept a carving. I will be using the carving boundary by offsetting outwards once, inwards twice, and outwards once by the diameter of the bit...... or 1/2 the diameter of the bit? That is what I have forgotten. This allows for the bit and creates a tight fit. A little help please.

Thanks,
Mark Farris
DigiFab LLC
Gainesville FL

Offset outward by the radius of the bit
Offset inward by the diameter of the bit
Offset outward by the radius of the bit

There's also a gadget that does it as well which can make things a bit easier if it's something you do a lot - http://forum.vectric.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=27848

Thank you, much appreciated. I have to learn to write this stuff down.

Mark

I am trying to get my head around this:
1 step to the left
2 steps to the right
1 step to the left.
Doesn't that get you right back where you started?

Yes but each time it's rounding the corners by the radius specified so you need to do it that way to get the inside and outside corners converted.

For a single rectangle the fillet tool can be just as quick without having to remember to alter the offset radii and direction of offet.

Can someone remind me why this is a better approach than using an inlay toolpath? This is a practical question, not snark, as I am about to do this exact thing in expensive signboard and I would prefer not to mess it up.

Can someone remind me why this is a better approach than using an inlay toolpath

Because I remember and understand the offset method, and I've not tried the inlay toolpath to do the same thing.