Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

This forum is for general discussion regarding VCarve Pro
wannabecnc
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2023 7:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Home made CNC

Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by wannabecnc »

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to Vectric and CNC.
I have just finished building a CNC machine, I bought the raw materials some time ago and gradually I managed to build my CNC, learning and getting inspiration from Youtube.
I have Vectric V Carve Pro and UCCNC.
I need to level the table surface/spoil board. My table surface is bigger than the actual working area, therefore the surface to be levelled is a smaller area.
Would you guys be kind enough to help me out here and guide me through the process of setting up in VCarve Pro and then using the file for the levelling via UCCNC?
I have the AXBB-E Motion Controller which I bought with the UCCNC software and license.
I have read some info that a post-processor is necessary. Being new to all of this, I'm not too sure how to do this and I could certainly do with some help.
Thank you in advance

Kind regards,

User avatar
martin54
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 7339
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:12 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Gerber 48, Triac PC, Isel fixed gantry
Location: Kirkcaldy, Scotland

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by martin54 »

You might want to consider putting another board on top of the spoilboard you have that is a smaller size, the size you can actually machine with your CNC. Reason for this is that at the moment you are going to have to machine a pocket in your existing spoilboard which won't generally be a problem but may be if you want to do something like use a larger piece of material & use toolpath tiling :lol: :lol:
There are post processors for UCCNC in both inch & mm versions, when you go to configure your machine you will not find your actual machine if it is home built but you can give it a name add the cutting dimensions & associate the correct UCCNC post processors with it.


wannabecnc
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2023 7:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Home made CNC

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by wannabecnc »

Hi, Martin 54,

Thank you so much for your reply to my message, and the Vectric tutorial that you added to your message. it is much appreciated. I had thought about the fact that the workable area that potentially would be levelled and that I would be left with a ridge, and as you said, it may be a problem if I were to use anything bigger than the levelled area.
I will attempt to insert a pic or two in here so that you can see my first attempt to build a CNC. My background for many years was upholstery, so, nothing at all connected with CNC, Electronics, Electrics etc, So I surprised myself with the results so far.
Once I have found out how to set up the spoil board levelling in Vectric, I'm assuming I can save the file on a flash drive and take it to the pc where the CNC is, Will UCCNC then recognise the file and accept it so it can be run when ready?
Thank you once again
Kind regards,
Attachments
CNC BUILD FINISHED 4.jpg
CNC BUILD NOV 1.jpg
CNC BUILD NOV 2.jpg

Jimcad
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 316
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2022 12:59 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Alpha CNC 6090 with 4th Axis
Location: Dorset, England

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by Jimcad »

Could you use a very large cutter?
Like a Fly cutter? or is your board too big for that?
As for the USB stick to move files. . . . . . I email them to myself and open them in my garage on the laptop.
I can't get wifi there so I use my phone as a mobile hotspot. I find it easier that way.
Attachments
Fly.jpeg
Fly.jpeg (1.8 KiB) Viewed 2033 times

wannabecnc
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2023 7:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Home made CNC

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by wannabecnc »

Hi, Jimcad,

Thank you for your message. The table size is 1600mm x 1200mm, but the workable cutting area is smaller. If I wasn't a novice, I would have thought of making the framework a larger size, giving a full table workable area regardless of its size.
I'm presently looking for a reasonable surfacing tool to do the spoil board and hopefully, it will serve well for other things for a while.
Your idea of using your phone for a wifi link sounds good, but will the flash drive idea work?
Do you use either Vectric and, or UCCNC? Although I'm assuming it doesn't matter about the brand etc.
I have only just finished building my CNC, I still need to level the spoil board surface and square and calibrate the spindle etc so I have a decent level and square cutting CNC. Then it will be onto the first little project of whatever it may be.
It's all a learning curve for me, being an Upholsterer is a far cry from CNC building and using.
Thank you
Kind regards

Jimcad
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 316
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2022 12:59 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Alpha CNC 6090 with 4th Axis
Location: Dorset, England

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by Jimcad »

I use Aspire and Mach3 and it's a big learning curve to me too. I'm just a novice.
Don't think I could build my own machine though so Hat's off to you. Well done.

User avatar
martin54
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 7339
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:12 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Gerber 48, Triac PC, Isel fixed gantry
Location: Kirkcaldy, Scotland

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by martin54 »

As long as you use the correct post processor when saving your toolpaths then yes you can use a flash drive/usb stick to transfer the files from your design computer to the CNC control computer & open the files in UCCNC.
my control computers are not connected to the internet & only have the CNC Control software installed on them. I transfer all my files using a USB stick & it works fine :lol: :lol:

wannabecnc
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2023 7:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Home made CNC

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by wannabecnc »

Hi, Martin54,

Thank you for your reply. I looked in the post-process management list, and there is only one PP for UCCNC, which is UCCNC mm, so I'm guessing it's safe to assume that is the one for me to use.
In the Vectric demo video, the person used a pp named " Gcode mm " or something like that.
When you transfer your files on a USB, does your software recognise the file straight away, or do you have to save it into a specific place first?
I have another question, if you don't mind, In regards to spoil board levelling bits or surfacing bits, Do you know of, or have you used a reasonable bit that will be good for several uses?

Thank you

Kind regards

wannabecnc
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2023 7:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Home made CNC

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by wannabecnc »

Hi, Jimcad,

Thank you for your reply.
How are you getting on with Aspire? Have you done much with it yet?
Have you had to level your spoil board? If so, what surfacing bit did you use, and, How was it to set up in Aspire?
I have been told Mach3 and UCCNC are very similar in their setup
Although not too difficult to do once I had got the right instruction, I would say the electrics was the most difficult, and a bit nerve-racking because there was always a chance if I got things wrong, I could have fried a few things, including myself.
But, so far so good, thank you to the guys on Youtube that I saw build and wire their CNC's
Thank you

Kind regards.

User avatar
martin54
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 7339
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:12 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Gerber 48, Triac PC, Isel fixed gantry
Location: Kirkcaldy, Scotland

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by martin54 »

wannabecnc wrote:
Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:32 am
Hi, Martin54,

Thank you for your reply. I looked in the post-process management list, and there is only one PP for UCCNC, which is UCCNC mm, so I'm guessing it's safe to assume that is the one for me to use.
In the Vectric demo video, the person used a pp named " Gcode mm " or something like that.
When you transfer your files on a USB, does your software recognise the file straight away, or do you have to save it into a specific place first?
I have another question, if you don't mind, In regards to spoil board levelling bits or surfacing bits, Do you know of, or have you used a reasonable bit that will be good for several uses?

Thank you

Kind regards
Which post processor you use will depend on how you have UCCNC set up. Is the control software set up to work in inches or mm? You will know how you set it up :lol: :lol:
If you have set it up to work in inches then don't use the UCCNC post processor that has mm in the name. mach2/3 post processors will work with UCCNC in fact I use to use then as there were no UCCNC post processors when I first started using it.

I haven't actually used a spoilboard bit personally but they are easy to find online. I have never actually levelled a spoilboard using a bit which is the generally accepted way to ensure the table is flat & parallel to the cutting head. I rebuilt an old industrial machine that has aluminium slats for a table. Once I had the machine set up & leveled in the position it was going I shimmed the gantry & the z axis to get everything set up correctly. This is something that can be time-consuming & very frustrating even when you know what you are doing so not something I would recommend to people. I only did it because I spent 20 years in the Royal Navy as a mechanical engineer & have used & maintained manual lathes & mills along with a lot of other machinery :lol: :lol: :lol:

Jimcad
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 316
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2022 12:59 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Alpha CNC 6090 with 4th Axis
Location: Dorset, England

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by Jimcad »

Hi wannabecnc ,
No I've not done much at all yet. Hoping to get time to play this year. :wink:

wannabecnc
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2023 7:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Home made CNC

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by wannabecnc »

Hi, Martin54,

Thank you for your reply. I guess being a Mechanical Engineer in the Royal Navy for 20 years would help you just a bit when it comes to CNC, Milling machines etc.
When I was calibrating my CNC on the XYZ-Axis, I was entering measurements in mm, on the Z-Axis I used a dial indicator, and set the machine to travel 25.4mm. On the Y-Axis to travel 800 and the X-Axis to travel 600 using the right angle triangle, leaving the larger of the three lengths to be 1000mm, after a couple of attempts, it came good.
I also used the dial indicator on a length of wood attached to the spindle to see how far out of true the spindle was with the spoil board and had to adjust slightly in the X-Axis direction and shim in the Y-Axis direction.
Before attempting to level the main spoil board, I will do a pre-run on a smaller piece of wood so that I know whatever I set up in Vectric for the surfacing file, will work on the CNC, and would be more controllable just in case I don't get things right. Then if all is well, I just have to do another file with larger area measurements etc.
The piece of wood tramming jig that I used was something that I saw on Youtube, and although basic, it worked well.
I will let you know how the surfacing goes once I have the surfacing bit.

Thank you

Kind regards

wannabecnc
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2023 7:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Home made CNC

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by wannabecnc »

Hi, Jimcad,

What made you buy Aspire as a first software choice? It's quite a programme so I hear. I have VCarve Pro presently which should do plenty for now while I'm still a novice and learning. Aspire is if you're going to be doing 3D carving etc, most other things in Vectric can be done in VCarve Pro, Desk Top etc.
How long have you had a CNC and what is your main use for it?
I want to do some simple things first, signs, clocks, etc, then once I'm a bit more proficient, I would like to do 3D carving on panels etc.
Hopefully, the simple projects that I make will fund the step up from VCarve Pro to Aspire.
I wish you good success with your CNC.

Kind regards

User avatar
martin54
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 7339
Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:12 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Gerber 48, Triac PC, Isel fixed gantry
Location: Kirkcaldy, Scotland

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by martin54 »

Vcarve pro will do most of the things that you will want to be able to do with your CNC, it will do 3D carving & as you will know comes with quite a large selection of 3D clipart. You can also import 3D models so as long as you can find the 3D model you would like to carve then all is good :lol: :lol:
The main difference between Aspire & Vcarve pro is that Aspire has tools to actually create & modify 3D components & Vcarve pro does not. So if you have Aspire you can create your own 3D components from scratch & don't have to rely on what you can find or finding someone else to make components for you. Be aware though that there can be a very steep learning curve depending on what sort of 3D model you would like to create :lol: :lol: Michael Mesalick's youtube channel is worth checking out if you would like to know more about the process. He has some excellent tutorials on using Aspire to create 3D components.
There is some 3D manipulation within Vcarve pro but generally speaking you are quite limited in what you can do. For some that is enough & for others it is not :lol: :lol: Comes down to what you personally want to be able to do.

Jimcad
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 316
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2022 12:59 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Alpha CNC 6090 with 4th Axis
Location: Dorset, England

Re: Levelling a new spoilboard on a home made CNC, I have Vectric VCarve Pro and UCCNC

Post by Jimcad »

Hi wannabecnc,
I bought V Carve first but a couple of months later I reached the end of the tax year and as I'd earned a little from freelance CAD work I had a choice. Give it to the tax man or spend it wisely.
Aspire it was then ! :)
Just need more time to play with it now. :)

Post Reply