Hi All,
Trying my first V Carve inlay and had some issues with the female pocket. Please see toolpaths attached as well as images of how it came out…
1 - Any ideas why I am getting these cuts circled in red?
2 - I used the probe to Zero the Z height between the 1/4 inch End Mill (clearance pocket) and my 90 deg V Bit, but it seems the V bit cut slightly deeper. Any suggestions on how to avoid this?
Thanks for the constant help and support! You guys and gals are rad!
If you were using Fusion, I’d say you need to turn off your lead in and lead out options. However, you are not.
Did you happen to use imperial in the post processor? There was a bug in the post processor so you want to use metric instead.
Maybe some power users of Vectric can help.
-Tom
Thanks @cyberreefguru
I did use the metric post processor.
It looks like the marks are at your plunge point… maybe turn of ramp plunge to see if that works. I haven’t tried inlays yet, but I’m curious what is causing this.
So here is my second attempt.
I went back to check on the DXF file to make sure all vectors were joined and accurate. All looked good.
I removed the Ramp Plunge command to see if that helped. It didnt.
Still getting these weird travels up the side of the V Carve cut - as seen on the Vectric Toolpath Screenshot. Wherever there is a small blue travel line up the side of the chamfer, I am getting these cut defects.
I am also not too sure why the green retraction lines go up and down in the same spot at certain points - as seen on the screenshot as well.
I have got a few inlay orders I need to get don, so need to solve this issue asap if anyone has any further suggestions for me to try please let me know…
Would you mind posting the original vcarve file? I’d like to try it myself, see if the same thing happens on my machine.
Not a problem at all. Thanks so much, looking forward to hear what you find out…
First Inlay Attempt - Female.crv (392 KB)
The issue is definitely caused by the artwork (or possibly by VCarve itself?), not by a problem caused by the machine. you can see the “offending” tool movements in the 2D view of the toolpaths:
I’ve zoomed in on the artwork, and I don’t see any problems. No little jagged bit in on the curve, no discontinuity.
I suggest you try hitting up Vectric support with the file, see if they have any thoughts.
-David
I’ll preface this by saying I have no idea what I’m talking about. My 1F should be here later this month. It will be my first cnc and I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can before it gets here.
Are you sure the v-bit you are using is actually a 90deg bit? It really looks like the machine “thinks” you have a 90deg bit, but you are actually using something closer to a 60deg and the bit is hitting the wall where there should be no material left during the retract.
I paired up with my buddy from sincitywood.com on this - he’s a lot more familiar with VCarve than I am. I reminded me about the “Edit Nodes” tool in VCarve.
If you zoom in on the problem areas, and switch to the Edit Nodes tool, this is what you see:
There are bunch of extra (and unnecessary) points in those paths - I cleaned them up, and now everything works as expected.
I’ve attached the updated file.
-David
First Inlay Attempt - Female.crv (387.5 KB)
One more thing to mention - it’s important with VCarve (and other tools as well) to inspect the generated toolpaths for issues.
The 2D render of the toolpath can show you extra tool movements that might be wrong.
The 3D render is pretty faithful to the real deal - if your machine is working correctly, what you see is what you’ll get. Check it closely for flaws before you carve. You can save yourself a lot of heartache, wasted time, and wasted material that way.
Thank you for sharing these follow-ups, they are really helpful.
@dacarley I can’t thank you enough. I will need to play around a bit with the node editor and get up to speed.
I am used to designing my vectors in Adobe Illustrator and exporting the DXF file to V Carve. The lines seem perfect in AI, so its quite odd that they export with so many unnecessary nodes.
Really appreciate all the help!
That makes a lot of sense. My buddy from sincitywood.com uses Illustrator for all of his original art, then brings it into VCarve. He’s mentioned that he’s had issues with weird artifacts like this showing up as a result of the import.
To be honest, the lines look great in VCarve too, it’s just that those extra nodes seem to be giving VCarve a hard time with toolpath generation.
Thanks for posting the problem - and even more thanks to dacarley for solving it! I’m sure you’ve saved me a couple days of frustration somewhere down the line!
This is a fascinating thread. We know WHAT the problem was. Do we know how it came to be?
Jim
I appreciate the posting (and solution) of this problem. I have faced something similar in the past.
From the scenarios I’ve experienced first hand, it feels like a bug in VCarve’s vector import code, but that’s pure speculation.
Perhaps if the 1F community raises a support question to Vectric any time this is encountered, and provides a clear description of what they did, and what happened, and provides the original files, they can identify what is happening?
