Imperial measures bits used in metric settings in VCarve?

[Toni CM]

Hi Guys.

I work in VCarve in mm, and I use metric sized bits, but I have some imperial sized bits as well. Can I use them when creating toolpaths and VCarve will automatically adapt the paths to them?
Thanks in advance.

[Rcnewcomb]

You, you can use imperial bits in metric projects, and metric bits in imperial projects. The software can handle that.

[Leo]

In my tool data base I have a mix of metric and imperial. I just set the diameter of each bit to the measurement as to what is actually is.

A 6mm bit is .236 inches
A 1/4 inch bit is .250 inches

A 6mm bit is 6 mm
A 1/4 inch bit is 6.35 mm --- Use a dot (.) not a comma (,)

[Adrian]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying but why set a bit to a measurement other than what it is? The software handles it without issues so there's no need to set a 6mm bit as 0.236" or a 1/4" bit as 6.35mm.

[adze_cnc]

 
What Adrian might have missed...

...but I have some imperial sized bits as well...

Some of the Vectric videos are amusing and don’t really help the cause of showing that the project can be in one measurement system and the cutters can be in either or even both measurement systems and the postprocessor output deals with all the conversions.

"Why in earth are they specifying a 0.118 inch router bit??? Oh… it’s actually 3mm but maybe they think Americans can’t deal with mixing and matching inches and millimetres…"

[Leo]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying but why set a bit to a measurement other than what it is? The software handles it without issues so there's no need to set a 6mm bit as 0.236" or a 1/4" bit as 6.35mm.

Hmmm - maybe, I didn't know this.

I will try it.

I always just set all my cutters to diameter in inches, I have never even considered anything else.

[Rcnewcomb]

I always just set all my cutters to diameter in inches, I have never even considered anything else.

I can certainly understand the advantage of working in a single measurement system.

It eliminates these types of problems
Mars Probe Lost Due to Simple Math Error
NASA lost its $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter because spacecraft engineers failed to convert from English to metric measurements when exchanging vital data before the craft was launched, space agency officials said Thursday.

A navigation team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory used the metric system of millimeters and meters in its calculations, while Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, which designed and built the spacecraft, provided crucial acceleration data in the English system of inches, feet and pounds.

As a result, JPL engineers mistook acceleration readings measured in English units of pound-seconds for a metric measure of force called newton-seconds.

[Adrian]

Living in the UK where we probably have the most mixed up measurement system in the world my settings are a total mish mash and I never really think about it as the only thing that really matters is the post processor.

If your machine is set to expect files in metric then you need to use a metric post processor. That will do all the conversions so you don't have to.

Some post processors will put a code in to tell the control software what the units are and the control will switch automatically. Not all do though (mine just warns me if the units are wrong) so I always recommend sticking to the same post processor and units in the control software.

[Leo]

Almost all of my cutters are imperial (inches).

I don't have any issues with metric.
I collage as an engineer we used metric almost exclusively.
In the workplace we converted all metric drawings to imperial so the workforce could use imperial all the time.
So, in the whole process I got so used to everything being imperial that my mindset is just that - all imperial.

I would switch over to all metric in an instant.

I also describe my cutters in this convention
7/64 (.109) End Mill-3
This way I can see fractional, and decimal size of the cutter
My metric cutters would be as
6mm (,236) End Mill
In the notes I have a full description.
This works for me - so I know what I have
Nobody else uses my database and I know the (inches) are in inches

I never really thought about Vectric being able to handle metric and inches interchangeable. Being a British company it makes sense.

To me - I will stay with my convention until we totally switch over to metric, whereas I will totally switch.
In reality that will never happen.

However, it is nice to know that Vectric has built in the ability for all to decide how they want to approach the issue on their own terms, at will.

It is interesting how the world approaches imperial vs metric.

To me - metric makes most sense, but I live in am imperial community,
When in Rome - do as the Romans do.

[Tex_Lawrence]

In my case, I spent my life in electronics which is inherently "metric". I can visualize what 1000 milliamps is or whether its too much or too little.

But, when it comes to 31.25 millimeters I don't visualize 1.2303 inches (yes, I needed a calculator to get that just right! ) In my mind, I know it is over one inch, but I don't see that in my mind.

That's where the problem is.

[Adrian]

<Rant Mode On>

I just wish the UK would stop messing about and finally go fully metric. No-one under the age of 55 or so has ever been taught imperial measurements at school yet so much of daily life is still imperial.

There's a gathering post-brexit movement to go back to imperial measurements only and drop the metric system which is madness in my view.

The Government department responsible for gathering opinion has produced a questionnaire with two choices. Do you want imperial measurements only or do you want imperial measurements alongside metric?

The fact that there is no option for metric only says it all really.

</Rant Mode Off>

[Leo]

Metric just makes soo much more sense. All based on 10. A meter - centimeter - millimeter - all based on 10. Why anyone that is as close to metric as the UK would want to go back to imperial is beyond me.

The US is different. We just don't use metric, or at least metric is extremely minimal. Car engines used to be measured as CID - Cubic Inches Displacement. So we all have gotten used to liters or CC and we all understand what a 3.7 L Dodge v-6 is now. We don't even try to know what is the CID of a 3.7L engine.

I use a 12mm socket on a nut or bolt. I don't even thing of it as a little smaller than 1/2 inch - it's just 12mm

The schools continue to teach imperial, except in technical stuff, like engineering

I am with you Adrian - I get it.

I wish we could all just go metric.

[adze_cnc]

Metric just makes soo much more sense. All based on 10.

Let’s play devil’s advocate. The great thing about feet and inches is that it is based on 12. With 10 you just have 1, 2, 5, 10 as factors but with 12 you have 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12. And as a bonus you can subdivide inches by 10s. (Most silly comment about why mm are better: I don’t have to use fractions!)

Ask the average person how many millimetres 73.24 cm is and even though it’s all about 10s it takes many people quite a lot of thought to get the answer (if they do).

I’m not an advocate for one system exclusively. I’m an advocate for using as many systems as appropriate and necessary. We praise those who know multiple languages so why not those who know multiple measurement systems?

It’s much easier to envision a horse that is 14 and a half hands at the shoulder than 1473.2mm. Even if you don’t know exactly what distance a hand is you have two (if you’re lucky) approximate reference samples at the ends of your arms.

And the Mars probe thing? That’s not really an error in maths or even in using multiple measurement systems. That seems to me an error in comprehension.

[Rcnewcomb]

An amusing YouTube video (0:07:20 long) explaining some of the history of measurement systems. It was certainly far worse 300 years ago.

[RickW3DS]

And retooling an entire country to use one system seems to be the bottleneck. We, as end users get to buy more tools to wrench on both imperial and metric. I can live with that. Most of my 1/4" bits are 0.248 ish. I prefer to work with decimals rather than fractions. Fractions of something/332 or something/126 chaps my ass. I can see 1/16" off at 20 feet so decimal seems to work better close up. I can measure the up close stuff with a caliper.