gkas wrote:Not to hijack this thread, but is there some way to find the maximum cut depth of a Vcarve without hovering over an entire section?
Not sure what you mean by entire section.
If you hover over the Vcarve toolpath, information about the toolpath will be displayed including the max depth of cut.
You can also mouse over Preview Toolpath and the depth of cut for the spot under the mouse will be displayed in the bottom menu bar to the right of XY coordinates.
gkas wrote:Sorry for my misused wording. I would like to know the max depth of an entire toolpath without hovering the toolpath.
I'm trying to decide on the vbit for a carve.
Until you create a toolpath with a selected v-bit VCarve has no way of reporting the max depth of a toolpath.
It would be kind of a useful gadget or addition to the toolpath area, to tell VCarve what type of bit to use and the max desired depth of cut and have it recommend a bit to use with vcarve toolpath.
gkas...
Does your control software have a "simulate" or preview function? The ones that do will tell you many statistics about the toolpath. Min/max XYZ among them.
Gary Campbell
GCnC Control
ATC & Servo Controller Controller Upgrades
GCnC411 (at) gmail.com
Ok per request attached is the project that caused my frustration, but in general I am not at the point where I can intuitively predict a vcarve path even though I always run the simulation, usually multiple times. I have a big sign on the monitor reminding me to zero properly (so I usually remember...not always).
This is a simple test for a new fancy (i.e. expensive) conical bit that I wanted to use to carve trail signs out of "color core" plastic. So far I was shocked that a bit with a 1/32" tip appears too big (?) to do the job. Did a great job on the trail profile path. Looks like I am off to experiment with some other bits. I had to roll back some changes to get back to a snapshot from yesterday.
You're using a rounded bit rather than a sharp point bit so by the time the edges of the tool meet the vectors the actual depth is tiny (0.007") of an inch which is why you're not seeing much in the preview and it's giving the impression of air cutting as setting the z to be that accurate is nigh on impossible. On the smaller letters the penetration is only 0.002" of a inch.
The letters are tiny (0.1" high with a stroke of 0.01") which is the main cause of the problem. They are far too small for a bit with a tip of that size. Have you defined it properly? If it has a tip of 1/32" of an inch then that it's diameter so the tip radius should be 0.015625 rather than 0.03125 I think. That will give you twice the penetration but it will still be far too light for what you're trying to do.
For lettering of that size the usual approach is to use single line fonts and a profile toolpath set to be On the vector with a cut depth that give you the result you're looking for.
It would be helpful if you explained your calculations/numbers a little more . "The actual depth is tiny 0.007 which I calculated/observed from xyz..." etc
It would be helpful if you explained your calculations/numbers a little more . "The actual depth is tiny 0.007 which I calculated/observed from xyz..." etc