New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

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DanielBEE
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New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by DanielBEE »

Hello,

Just trying out Aspire, I watched the Magic Bean tutorial, so I'm pretty confident I drew my vectors correctly, and made my components correctly, however I'm haveing issues while trying to apply tool paths.

(See the attached pictures for errors messages.)

http://img257.imageshack.us/i/quilt1.png/
http://img257.imageshack.us/i/quilt2.png/

Edit: Sorry couldn't get the images to load right so you will need to just go to those links I guess.

The first error message is :
Error ocurred while processing data - please check for duplicate lines, crossings etc
The second is:
Check that the stepdown for the tool does not exceed the depth of the model being machined and that the tool actually fits inside the model and selected boundary.

The depth of the Z level passes is controlled by the stepdown by the stepdown value for the tool.

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metalworkz
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Re: New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by metalworkz »

Hello Daniel,
For the first error, it sounds like the software detected overlapping lines etc. when it tried to create the toolpaths. If you get that error you will need to look at your drawing very closely to find the crossed or overlapped vectors. Sometimes the lines will even be completely on top of the other line segment making it hard to find the problem area. You will find that if you click on a line in the drawing it will be highlighted, and if there is another line below the color will be darker than a single vector or line. So if you click to select the different vectors(lines) you may be able to see the area where the overlap exists by the color of the vector. Sometimes you will even have to select 'node edit' and actually move the nodes around to find the problem. These kinds of problems are not very common and if you use some care in drawing the vectors you will usually not have these problems. Many times these type of problems are created in a CAD program and imported into the Vectric software.
The second error is related to the tool depth and Z depth of the model, and may have something to do with the stepover/stepdown of the tool not fitting within the vectors for the model. Look at the tool definitions and adjust them as needed.
If you can upload the .crv file someone on the forum will most likely be able to provide better advice for fixing it. Sometimes you can zip the .crv file to get it withing the limits for posting to the forum. I hope this helps.
Best regards,
Wes
wes.spence@comcast.net
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DanielBEE
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Re: New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by DanielBEE »

My lines are probably overlapping then. I haven't received my tutorials in the mail yet, so I'm kind of running Aspire blind right now.

If you look in my screen shots from above, you can kind of see what I'm doing, the quilted pattern. I wanted a whole bunch of diamonds to completely cover the area, so I made my first one and did an array with a 0 gap. Is that 0 gap causing the overlap and errors? Do I need to give it a very small gap instead?

Thanks,
Daniel

I could only get it zipped down to 8 mb, if someone would like to take a look at it, I can e-mail it to them.

I'm sure its as simple as you need to draw your 2d model like this instead, or you need to select this when making your toolpaths instead (I hope anyways).
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metalworkz
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Re: New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by metalworkz »

Hello Daniel,
You can send it to me and I will take a look at it. I can at least try to figure it out. My email address is in my signature below. I will be looking for the file.
Best regards,
Wes
wes.spence@comcast.net
Gingery Machines:
Lathe, Horiz. Mill, Shaper, Leaf Brake

gravirozo
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Re: New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by gravirozo »

hello daniel bee...


i was looking for the image you posted... i can see squares and on their corner some circles...
when you make toolpath do not select all vector... instead make one conturline all around model...
convert all model to component leave nothing in working model area... after that in 2d window select all model and after they are active... ask for vectorizing... with the bird sign... in vectorize select the upper left option inly, and it will make a conturline around your model... selected only this vector and aspire will compute toolpath withouth error...

of picture looks you already got the model, so it should work...

i hope it helps you
viktor

DanielBEE
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Re: New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by DanielBEE »

All is well!

I got my simulation to run properly, I just can't test it with the Trial versian. As soon as my DVD gets here I will reprogram it, and if it works I will tell and picture and try to show off my first creating from scratch.

Thanks to Viktor and Wes for your help!

-Daniel
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Re: New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by neighborjim20 »

There is one question about stepdown values & z level passes posted here. Unfortunately, the only answer given "you have to set the stepdown value" defined the problem with the problem: not very helpful. I have been having some success getting my modeling to take. Now I can't calculate a toolpath because I keep getting this error. I see nothing anywhere on the program about any stepdown value. I already cut my piece. But, now I need to cut a clean up pass with the raster going at 90 degrees, a substantial overlap, minimu depth, & slower speed. I did this once. Now it won't take. I'm about ready to just give this up & sell the stupid machine.
And then I've been fighting all morning trying to model my piece. When I set the roughing tool It puts the piece at the bottom of the material with a dozen passes over it. So, I tried to set my material value just double the cut. Now is when I get the stepdown value error. Either way, this process is just not working.

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Adrian
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Re: New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by Adrian »

Stepdown is the same thing as pass depth which you set in the tool database for each tool.

In the latest version of the software that error message should say pass depth rather than stepdown as that's a historic term that is no longer used.

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dr_when
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Re: New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by dr_when »

It is truly amazing that people will reply to a post that is 4 years old and really does not apply to anything current.
Bob

"He's no fun, he fell right over" - Firesign Theatre

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dealguy11
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Re: New to aspire.. trouble getting tool paths to take.

Post by dealguy11 »

Since Jim posted here, let's see if we can help him.

Jim - I'm a little confused about what you've done so far. It sounds like you've done some carving already. If what you're trying to do is generate a finish toolpath, then the pass depth error is puzzling, as Aspire generally ignores pass depth on finish carving toolpaths. If you've already run a roughing toolpath, there should be no need to run another one. The purpose of roughing is to "roughly" remove a lot of material reasonably quickly so that you can run a finishing toolpath to complete the carving. You generally only run a roughing toolpath once for a simple carving. The next step would be to define one or more finishing toolpaths, typically using a smaller tool, to actually add the detail to the carving.

As far as the carving being buried in the wood, you should not have to increase the material thickness. At the top of the "Toolpaths" menu on the right side of the screen, there is a button for Material Setup. This allows you to define the depth in the wood where the carving will be done, along with other parameters. Since you have already done some carving, it is probably best to leave it as is for now, but in the future, the material setup screen is the way you move the carving closer to the top of the wood. There are other ways as well, but that is the most straightforward.

Perhaps some pictures, or a copy of your file could be posted here so that we could provide better guidance.
Steve Godding
Not all who wander (or wonder) are lost

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