Newbie in Trouble

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tlmccaughn
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Newbie in Trouble

Post by tlmccaughn »

I'm new to CNC and obviously new to PVC
I decided to use the baby image in the samples folder as my first image try. This was after successfully making some Christmas ornaments for my great-grandsons using VC.

My 1st attempt was on 0.20 plywood and the results are shown in the 1st 2 images below. I looked like the carving was at two levels only and it also looked(while it was carving) that the bit was overlapping itself.

I made very, very minor adjustments for my 2nd try. The 2nd pair of images show the output. It got rid of the two level appearance but it still doesn't look like the baby. Also the bit is carving a line from zero to the start and from the end to start. VC had a place to set a point above the surface but there appears to be no place to set that in PVC.

I also added screenshots of where I could set stuff.

I appreciate any and all help anyone can offer( even if it is, "hey, you big dummy")
Attachments
t1.jpg
t1a.jpg
t2.jpg
t2a.jpg
ts.jpg
t3.jpg

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tlmccaughn
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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by tlmccaughn »

and this is what the outfile was looking like
Attachments
tp2.jpg

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Ms Wolffie
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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by Ms Wolffie »

By outfile, do you mean Preview?
BTW
I have never been able to master PVC so don't feel bad.
Cheers
Wolffie

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martin54
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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by martin54 »

Bit like MsWolffie, had a few tries & never got the results I wanted & haven't had time to go back to it but I do read all the posts & one thing that comes across a lot is that until you actually finish the piece it is often difficult to see any detail. Having said that from what I can see & what I have read you have no where near enough lines, you only have 149 which from what I have read on other threads is way to few.
Have a read through some of the gallery posts as often people will be asked how they have done it & most of the time an explanation of how the job was done is included.
I have seen some really nice work so know the program works, in my case it's just operator error :lol: :lol:

You do need a flat surface & some grades of ply the flatness isn't consistent enough, you also need to set your z zero very accurately. Lots of people will surface their material on the machine to ensure it is flat & parallel to the spindle/router.

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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by Bob Reda »

your z is off. at .02 depth you should barely see the lines. normally into wood people use .03-.04 depth. also your lines have no variation to them, they are straight and deep, like someone else says, plywood is often not the best choice of woods to use.

Bob

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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by weber765 »

It looks like to me that it is carved much deeper than .020 deep possibly caused by setting the z zero incorrectly, I usually bring my z down in increments to just barely touch a piece of paper. It also might be a v bit that is not coming to very sharp point or running out. I do not believe cutting any deeper would help you at all because thee bit is already taking more material then needed and removing your detail. Also as someone stated plywood will chip out, I would use some cheap pine to start with , as I have had good results with pine and it is cheap to buy.

Glenn

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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by grjensen »

Try
Set Cutting Parameters : key in 20% and see if you get the results you are looking for. Try different %'s

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tlmccaughn
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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by tlmccaughn »

all I got with pine was same thing but with less tear out.
< grjensen > I did the 20% thing and all that does is give me a perfectly smooth moat with no hint of the baby's face

I bought the Piranah and the PVC software with the sole purpose of doing pictures and so far it's looking pretty discouraging.

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StuartC
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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by StuartC »

Try cut depth of .01 with 8% line spacing. I would stay away from plywood, use something with a tight grain like hard maple. Pine tends to create a lot of fuzzies

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tlmccaughn
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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by tlmccaughn »

StuartC wrote:Try cut depth of .01 with 8% line spacing. I would stay away from plywood, use something with a tight grain like hard maple. Pine tends to create a lot of fuzzies
over 4 hours to carve

thing is, looking at other examples some appear a lot deeper than .01

I'll try this just to see what a little of it looks like; doubt I'll run it for the whole time.

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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by weber765 »

If you are trying to get results such as the baby face picture you will want to keep your line spacing at about 120 to 135 percent and maybe increase cut depth to about .025. I posted the settings I used in the PhotoVcarve gallery section under 15" clock photo I have done in cheap pine, if they would help you. There are a lot of folks here that post their settings If you are trying to carve the image similar to a low releif bas you would want to set you line spacing to about 10 % I believe.
Are you sure that the cutter is 60 degrees and not 45 degrees ? It really appears to me as if the cutter is to deep or to wide.

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tlmccaughn
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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by tlmccaughn »

< weber765>
I'm definitely using a 60 degree 2 flute 1/4" bit.
I've taken your settings from your clock as you've suggested and my preview looks great.

I got the Piranha Post Processor from support. When the sun comes up I'll see what happens this time.

Thanks for responding

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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by antennasDIY »

I cut this with a 50% line spacing (pretty sure) and .03 depth. It is in mdf. Cut then painted then sanded.
Attachments
MDF with a top coat of poly.
MDF with a top coat of poly.

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tlmccaughn
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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by tlmccaughn »

Attached is a picture my son took while I was napping of some of my efforts.

The bottom of the boy was a carving that I sprayed after the fact w/polyurethane then black paint then sanded.

The top of the boy was sprayed with polyurethane before it was carved with the same tap file then painted lightly with black paint and then sanded.

I both cases the painting and sanding were rush jobs because I was anxious to see some results.

The carving on the right(of my granddad(1896-1972) is one I had carved the day before and considered a total failure because it looked like just straight lines.

After the two on the left looked so good(to me) I quickly spray a dusting of black on this one for kicks and force dried it under a halogen lamp.
After sanding it for about 30 seconds I was amazed with what those "straight lines" turned into.

With the forums help I'm now thinking I might now "cut this hog in the butt"

Thanks for all ya'lls help. I appreciate it.
Attachments
a.jpg

SamPris
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Re: Newbie in Trouble

Post by SamPris »

Looks like you're on the right track. Suggest you try sealing wood surface first then once dried attempt your carvings you will like the results. Also the better quality of your images/photos the more details that will be picked up in your carvings. When you have time check the gallery and see how others have used PhotoVcarve.

Frank

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