VCarve Pro v10.5 3D color problem

[John E]

Hello,

I'm new to the Vectric/VCarve software. I'm attaching a file of a simple coaster that has some info engraved in it. My plan is to first engrave the wood. I would then stain the top surface with a darker color. The final step would be to skim about 0.015" off the top to remove the stain in the unengraved portion.

I want the lettering to be colored brown in the 3D view, but I want the skim coat to show in just the material color (actually not shown when the 3D preview is complete). I've scoured numerous forums and FAQ sections and found others have the same issue. However, all the solutions I've found apply to versions 8.5 or 9 and don't seem to work in v10.5. I understand that the solution is probably associated with layers, but I've had no success trying to attach colors to individual toolpaths/layers.

I'm now wondering if this is a bug in v10.5. I'm hoping that someone here, using v10.5, could look at the attached file. If there is a way to achieve the colors I want, please do me the favor of listing the steps you used to achieve my goal. Please don't just "fix" the file and return it to me. Thanks, everyone, for your help.

[scottp55]

Welcome John:)

That file was written in trial version....so no one can read it except you on your computer.
Pretty good description, but maybe some screenshots will help others to visualize it better.
scott

[John E]

Thanks, Scott. Maybe the stupid issue is related to the trial version (ugh). Attached is a screenshot of the coaster I mentioned earlier.

[scottp55]

Like this?

[John E]

Well, yes. I would appreciate others weighing in here.

[FixitMike]

Weighing in:
1. Seal coat the material after carving and before painting so the paint doesn't bleed into the wood pores.
2. If you are making a .015" skim cut afterwards, be sure to set the start depth of the VCarve to .015".

[Adrian]

Thanks, Scott. Maybe the stupid issue is related to the trial version (ugh). Attached is a screenshot of the coaster I mentioned earlier.

It's not layers that you need to be looking at to apply colours in the toolpath preview. It's the top of the Toolpath Preview form. There you can change the material, assign a single colour to all toolpaths or colours to individual toolpaths.

You can get more variations simulating colour core type materials etc by doing a pocket toolpath to a very shallow depth covering the whole material.

[martin54]

If you are wanting to colour toolpaths as Adrian has said this is the part of the form for that

Select Brown for your vcarve toolpath colour

[John E]

Weighing in:
1. Seal coat the material after carving and before painting so the paint doesn't bleed into the wood pores.
2. If you are making a .015" skim cut afterwards, be sure to set the start depth of the VCarve to .015".

Thanks for the tip, Mike. What is a good material to use for the seal coat?

[John E]

Adrian & Martin,

I'm very familiar with the Preview Toolpaths dialog box. However, I've since learned that you must follow a certain sequence of calculating vectors to get different colors for different toolpaths. Close the Preview Toolpaths dialog box > double-click on a toolpath > choose toolpath color from the next dialog box (plus any other settings) > click Preview Selected Toolpath. I was doing something yesterday that made all the toolpaths the same color. This included the skim cut, which basically colored over my entire drawing.

I'm starting to get the hang of VCarve Pro 10.5 from the trial version. Looking forward to the full version when I buy my Shark.

Thanks, everyone, for your input.

[FixitMike]

To seal, I've used dewaxed shellac, and also the varnish I use for a final finish. They both work. It is usually whatever is closest at hand.

[Adrian]

However, I've since learned that you must follow a certain sequence of calculating vectors to get different colors for different toolpaths. Close the Preview Toolpaths dialog box > double-click on a toolpath > choose toolpath color from the next dialog box (plus any other settings) > click Preview Selected Toolpath. I was doing something yesterday that made all the toolpaths the same color. This included the skim cut, which basically colored over my entire drawing.

I'm not understanding that flow at all. If you double click a toolpath you open the toolpath dialog for the toolpath itself and there's no option to select a colour there.

To change the toolpath colour you just click on the toolpath once to select it (it's then highlighted in blue). Click on Toolpath Color under Machined Area Color at the top of the Toolpath Preview form and the toolpath changes color. Repeat for the others if you want them different colours. If you want all toolpaths to be the same colour then select Global Fill Color and that's applied to all toolpaths then. The toolpaths don't need to be recalculated.

[martin54]

Weighing in:
1. Seal coat the material after carving and before painting so the paint doesn't bleed into the wood pores.
2. If you are making a .015" skim cut afterwards, be sure to set the start depth of the VCarve to .015".

Thanks for the tip, Mike. What is a good material to use for the seal coat?

Just about anything that seals the wood should be OK, I generally use a sanding sealer, either a spirit based sheliac sanding sealer or a celulose sanding sealer as both dry quickly. The shellac sanding sealer darkens the wood more than the celulose but I think it does a better job of bringing out the grain but with this sort of job it makes no difference since you are painting anyway. I generally try to avoid aqueous sanding sealer where I can because it makes the wood fibres stand up on a lot of the hardwoods I use which means I then have to sand

I know some people use a spray clear coat to seal from reading posts on here & other places but not something I have tried personally.