Stipple (Half Tone) Drilling

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adze_cnc
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Stipple (Half Tone) Drilling

Post by adze_cnc »

Bharris wrote:
Tue Feb 16, 2016 8:48 pm
...Unfortunately, when I apply a VCarve toolpath to a selection of overlapping shapes, it creates a group of anomalous paths that ruin the cut (See attached). From what I understand, this is simply how VCarve path calculation works and is to be expected. Drill paths, on the other hand, do not suffer this problem....
 
Overlapping V-Carve.jpg
This gadget takes a selection of circles and a choosen v-bit, engraving, ball end, or tapered ball end bit. It creates a drlling toolpath using the bit and selection the result of which is a conical or dish shaped depression to fill the circle.

The circles can come from a half-tone creation program such as the one for Windows written by https://jasondorie.com/page_cnc.html Jason Dorie. It also works well with StippleGen2 from https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2012/stipplegen2/ Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. A similar result can be obtained from the "V-Carve / Engraving Toolpath" in the Vectric software But that toolpath does not handle overlapping circles as mentioned above.

Note: because the Vectric gadget API seems to have no way of obtaining the side angle of an engraving or tapered ball nose bit you will need to enter that manually if you use one of those bits. Take note of the side angle when you select your bit and enter it in the field below the "Bit" button. If you are using a v-bit or ball end bit you can leave the field at 0.

The "Use Peck Drilling" has two choices: 'Peck' and 'Plunge'. Peck will use the bit's pass depth to peck down in steps. It will retract to the last cut depth rather than the top of the material to allow chips to clear. Plunge will step the bit down the full depth to be cut in one go.

The "Starting Depth" field will normally be left at 0. If you are stippling the bottom of a dish or box you can enter the depth of your pocket here. As with other toolpaths when cutting the job it is up to you to make sure that material had been removed.

If the diameter of a circle is greater than the diameter of the chosen bit it will not be included in the drilling toolpath. The depth of any cut will be limited to the material thickness between start depth and the bottom of the material.
 
V-Carve/Engraving toolpath. Circles missing. Overlapping causes odd shapes to be cut.
V-Carve/Engraving toolpath. Circles missing. Overlapping causes odd shapes to be cut.
  
Stpple Dril gadget properly drills circles
Stpple Dril gadget properly drills circles
 
This gadget works in Aspire and VCarve Pro versions 9 to 11. I have not tried it in Cut2D Pro but gadgets are claimed to work in that program.

I have not tried it in version 10.x but as underlying SDK entries have not changed between v9 and v11 it should work fine. I have also not tested it in versions less than v9 but I expect that it should work.

Because the forum software doesn't allow attachments with ".vgadget" extension the file is uploaded as "Stipple_Drill_v1_0.zip". Rename this to "Stipple_Drill_v1_0.vgadget" after downloading and before installing.

To install the gadget into Aspire/VCarve Pro choose on of the following methods:
  • with Aspire/VCarve closed you can "double-click" on the .vgadget file in Windows Explorer to automatically load Aspire/VCarve and install the gadget.
  • if you already have Aspire/VCarve open you can install the gadget by using the menu option: Gadgets > Install New Gadget...
If you use the latter option you will need to restart Aspire/VCarve to see the new gadget on the Gadget menu.

Some changes that might be made for the gadget:
  • remove manual side angle entry if API method is identified
  • user input toolpath name
  • copying invalid circles to a layer for further processing
—Steven

To use this gadget just follow these simple steps:
  1. Select the circle vectors for the gadget to create a drilling-style toolpath
  2. Go to "Gadgets" on the toolbar and select the "Stipple Drill" Gadget
  3. Choose your bit (or use the last chosen one); set side angle if needed; choose peck or plunge; set optional start depth
  4. Cick OK to create toolpath; click Cancel to exit without creating
  5. When the gadget is finished a "Stipple Drill" toolpath will be created
If there are circles that are too large an error message with the error count will be displayed.
Attachments
Stipple_Drill_v1_0.zip
(7.77 KiB) Downloaded 166 times

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adze_cnc
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Re: Stipple (Half Tone) Drilling

Post by adze_cnc »

 
Version 1.15 gadget update:
  • altered to work under VCarve 7.x & 8.x as well as Aspire v4.5
Installation Instructions

Because the forum software doesn't allow attachments with ".vgadget" extension the file is uploaded as "Stipple_Drill v1_15.zip". Installation instructions are the same for both new installation or in upgrading a previous version:

Instructions for Aspire and VCarve Pro versions greater than v8.x
  1. download the gadget attached below as: Stipple_Drill_v1_15.zip
  2. rename it to: Stipple_Drill_v1_15.vgadget
  3. in Vectric Pro or Aspire click on then menu option: Gadgets -> Install Gadget
  4. navigate to where the downloaded and renamed file is
  5. select it and click Ok.
VCarve/Aspire should give you a pop-up saying the gadget was installed and you should see "Stipple Drilling" in the Gadgets menu.

Note: after downloading the ZIP file do not extract it but continue on to the rename operation (unless you are running Aspire v4.5 or VCarve v7.x in which you need to manually unzip and move the folder to where your gadgets are stored).

This gadget has been tested to work in Aspire v4.5 and versions 9 to 11 and in VCarve Pro versions 7 to 11.

I have not tried it in version 10.x but as that version uses the same toolpath selection as v11.x it should work. Choose a tool and if you get no errors it should work.
Attachments
Stipple_Drill_v1_15.zip
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adze_cnc
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Re: Stipple (Half Tone) Drilling

Post by adze_cnc »

A small update to fix the following:
  • Vectric software versions 10+ were not reading the last used cutter as a default
  • when running under v11.5 software for the first time gadget would not start but would give a "no overload" error
Installation is as in the previous post except substituting Stipple_Drilling_v_1_18 for Stipple_Drilling_v_1_15

Note: The default for Microsoft Windows is to hide extensions of "known" file types. This means that you may be renaming "Stipple_Drilling_v_1_18.zip" to "Stipple_Drilling_v_1_18.vgadget.zip" without knowing it.

In the Windows Eplorer there is a View tab (probably) and under that is an option to show file extensions:
 
no hide file extensions.png

LittleGreyMan
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Re: Stipple (Half Tone) Drilling

Post by LittleGreyMan »

Hi Steven,

I don't see a link to v1.18. Is it me or did you forget it?

Obviously, one of us needs some coffee :D

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adze_cnc
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Re: Stipple (Half Tone) Drilling

Post by adze_cnc »

LGM: I didn't forget. I just differently remembered...

Steven
Attachments
Stipple_Drill_v1_18.zip
(7.77 KiB) Downloaded 67 times
Stipple_Drill_v1_18.vgadget
(7.77 KiB) Downloaded 17 times

LittleGreyMan
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Re: Stipple (Half Tone) Drilling

Post by LittleGreyMan »

Thanks Steven!

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Tex_Lawrence
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Re: Stipple (Half Tone) Drilling

Post by Tex_Lawrence »

adze_cnc wrote:
Thu Mar 23, 2023 5:32 pm
I didn't forget. I just differently remembered...
Just remembered that I forgot to remember to install your gadget! So, it quickly solved my problem to supply my grandson a grid of dimples for his "new" marble game. I was dreading using a drillpress and the CNC for a 12" game board.

Thank you! +1
Tex — Crooked Wood Products
Now there's a man with an open mind – you can feel the breeze from here.

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sharkcutup
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Re: Stipple (Half Tone) Drilling

Post by sharkcutup »

LGM: I didn't forget. I just differently remembered...

Steven

Going to have to remember that line! :lol:

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