I am looking for something to do

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jimandi5000
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by jimandi5000 »

Hello All,

Just so you all know "I am not a slacker" ;)

Here is where I am now.

I'll keep you posted as I go...
Attachments
2021-08-16.png
Thanks,
Jim

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FixitMike
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by FixitMike »

Looking good.
You are welcome to quote from my notes if you wish.
Last edited by FixitMike on Tue Aug 17, 2021 1:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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gkas
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by gkas »

FixitMike wrote:
Tue Aug 17, 2021 1:34 am
Looking good.
That looks really interesting...

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jimandi5000
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by jimandi5000 »

FixitMike wrote:
Sun Aug 15, 2021 8:21 pm
My thoughts for a Zank inlay gadget:
1. Start with the file and toolpath for the female base.
2. Enter the male inlay specifications: Flat area cleanup tool, how far the male plug is to stick into the female base, what is the air space between the pieces. Possibly material size if it differs from the female base material.
3. Check that the male inlay specifications are reasonable.
4. Generate a male inlay crv file (or another layer or sheet on the original file) and toolpaths, including those necessary to keep the pass depth to what is specified for the bits.

I suspect this will keep you busy.
Hi Mike,
I am using your list. I is great guidance. :)
Thanks,
Jim

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FixitMike
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by FixitMike »

jimandi5000 wrote:
Tue Aug 17, 2021 2:57 am

Hi Mike,
I am using your list. I is great guidance. :)
One thing that I left out: The boundary offset distance around the vectors. The boundary vector must be added so the insert is cut as a male. I usually leave about a half inch wide offset so the insert can be easily cut out with a band saw.
Zank Boundary.png
Knife block for Roxanna.JPG
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jimandi5000
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by jimandi5000 »

FixitMike wrote:
Tue Aug 17, 2021 6:46 am
jimandi5000 wrote:
Tue Aug 17, 2021 2:57 am

Hi Mike,
I am using your list. I is great guidance. :)
One thing that I left out: The boundary offset distance around the vectors. The boundary vector must be added so the insert is cut as a male. I usually leave about a half inch wide offset so the insert can be easily cut out with a band saw.Zank Boundary.pngKnife block for Roxanna.JPG
Mike... Now you cannot add to the spec's after the contract is signed. :wink:
Thanks,
Jim

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adze_cnc
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by adze_cnc »

“V-Bit Clearing Bit” is a bit clunky as it implies that the chosen bit must be a v-bit when it reeally is a sqaure-end bit. Perhaps the wording used in the “V-Carve / Engraving” toolpath would be best?

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FixitMike
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by FixitMike »

jimandi5000 wrote:
Tue Aug 17, 2021 4:05 pm
Mike... Now you cannot add to the spec's after the contract is signed. :wink:
Sorry, my brain doesn't have an off switch. :wink:
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jimandi5000
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by jimandi5000 »

Hi Guys,

I have some bad news...

Countless attempts to create a V-Carve toolpath with a clearing path to produce the V carve with a flat bottom has ended in failure. After reading the SDK and running the simple V carve sample that is included in the Gadget SDK I am unable to produce a correct toolpath with a clearing bit.

Has anyone successfully created a V-carve toolpath and clearing toolpath? If so, please send me a copy of the gadget so that I can see what I'm doing wrong here.
Thanks,
Jim

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FixitMike
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by FixitMike »

This is not as popular subject as the Zank inlay, but the Gear Gadget on the Vectric site has some problems. The primary one is that it does not take into account the radius of the cutter. The gadget result has sharp inside corners, which if not cut out can cause interference with the mating teeth. Also, there is no provision for modifying the tooth form or providing backlash. Paul Rowntree wrote a program to incorporate my method of drawing a gear that incorporates some of my fixes, but unfortunately, the virus detectors don't like it, and it wasn't completely finished. It appears on the second page of the thread listed below.

If you want to learn more about gear design than you ever wanted to, take a look at http://forum.vectric.com/viewtopic.php?t=21084 ...
Mike
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jimandi5000
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by jimandi5000 »

Mike,
Are you asking me to switch gears and complete the gear gadget?
Thanks,
Jim

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adze_cnc
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by adze_cnc »

jimandi5000 wrote:
Tue Aug 17, 2021 9:03 pm
Has anyone successfully created a V-carve toolpath and clearing toolpath? If so, please send me a copy of the gadget so that I can see what I'm doing wrong here.
Hello Jim,

Sorry to hear you’re having problems. I managed to find the last copy of the SDK (Vectric_Gadget_SDK_V3.vgadget — thank you “Wayback Machine” https://archive.org/index.php ) that worked with my v9.5 VCarve install and installed it. Within it is a sample v-carve/engraving toolpath LUA file. I ran it and it worked fine.

I’ve attached it here for you to compare with the one from whatever version of the SDK you have installed.

Steven
Attachments
Create_VCarving_Toolpath (SDK 3 for v9_5).lua.txt
(8.06 KiB) Downloaded 98 times

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FixitMike
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by FixitMike »

jimandi5000 wrote:
Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:07 pm
Mike,
Are you asking me to switch gears and complete the gear gadget?
:lol: Only if you run out of other projects. Something to sink your teeth into.
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jimandi5000
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by jimandi5000 »

Hi All,

After a ton of testing, let me tell you what I have discovered. On this laptop I have version 7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 9.5, 10.0, 10.5, and 11.0 of VCarve Pro. The "Create_VCarving_Toolpath.lua" file that is a part of all of the SDK tutorials and samples for each version. Does not work on the VCarve Pro versions above 9.5. I have gone through the SDK documentation thoroughly and I am very confident that I have my settings and arguments correctly matching the SDK documentation.

It is my opinion that something has changed internally to prevent the code from executing correctly and resulting a clearing bit toolpath in its output. I will send the support team my findings. Please be aware there is no guarantee the support team will have resources to spend resolving this problem. Hopefully, it's just a documentation item and they can provide some insight.

Until then, this one is stuck.
Thanks,
Jim

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FixitMike
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Re: I am looking for something to do

Post by FixitMike »

jimandi5000 wrote:
Wed Aug 18, 2021 2:15 am
Does not work on the VCarve Pro versions above 9.5.
There was a similar problem with other gadgets. One of the threads posted the explanation. I think it had something to do with how a tool is called, but that is all I can remember.
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