I'm Michael Hackney, here to encourage, inspire, and empower you to master Digital Fabrication Technologies. I'll share my passions and experiences in CNC machining, 3D printing, laser cutting, CAD/CAM, and image editing software.
With each video, I aim to share something informative, entertaining, and maybe even inspirational. I also hope to learn some new things myself, so don't be shy with your comments and feedback. Please hit subscribe and join me on this creative journey!
Excellent video... one of the most helpful / easy to understand I've watched regarding bitmap tracing and curves. And I've watched alot of them... LOL. As a brand new Vcarve Pro user, I started on V12 and so I have no experience with the famed draw curves tool. They have brought it back in V12.007, but after watching this video, I don't think I even want to use it.
Thank you for the feedback Michael. Yeah, as I say in the video, I was not a fan of the Draw Curves Tool. I learned how to do vector tracing from professional CAD and graphic designers and most of them go about it like I describe here. But it is good to have options. If you learn this technique, it is applicable to nearly any CAD or drawing/painting software.
Hello! New subscriber... waiting for my Onefinity to be delivered probably mid to late June. I also have a spindle kit on order from Pwncnc. I agree that makes everything neater and more organized, but I would be concerned about future upgrades / changes / cable replacements which may be necessary. For example (I know it's unlikely but it could happen) if one of those cables goes bad and needs to be replaced, you're going to have a much harder time of it.
Thanks for subscribing Michael. I've been building CNC machines and 3D printers for several decades and rarely have I needed to replace cabling once the machine is operational. I have had to add additional wires to implement new features though. It is true that the split looms can be more convenient if you anticipate making changes but they are considerably more expensive than a spool of wire wrap. I do use both wrap and split loom and the main reason I use wrap is in cases like this where there are a lot of cables and the overall finished diameter is quite large. A few years ago it was difficult to find split look that could handle a 1" diameter bundle of wires. It's available now but expensive and I do believe that wrapping produces a better result. Once you've wrapped a a couple of times, wrapping can be very quick - especially on these large bundles of wire.
Followup comment. I am really bummed now. I went step by step through your setup and with an exception or two my Widows setup is almost identical to yours. My machine is a 2023 MacBook Pro with 64 bit operating systems, 16 GB of installed Ram, 3.20 GHZ (4 processors), 4TB Internal SSD. There was one difference in the CPU and Memories Selections. Your machine has "Automatic Selected" and my Machine Has "Manual selected" with Processor selection Auto Recommended, 4 CPUs assigned and Memory 16 GB assigned. I don't know how to change this to the Automatic selection. I attempted but the screen states this can't be changed while the virtual machine is running. I am in process of trying to use Google to figure out how to do this. Maybe I will use Chat GPT. I have no idea where and when this was set. Other than one of the Parallels Support Techs may have set it during one of the two sessions I had with them for other Parallels issues. I really want my MacBook back so I can make my videos with Camtasia on Aspire or vCarve. I only mention Camtasia to show there is another Mac program running while I am running the Vectric software - not always, but much of the time. If you have any other ideas on places I may check would appreciate it. Because if you and others are not having my problems, then something should be able to be tweaked to make my machine run well like it did before version 12. If will ing to reach out you can contact me via email by going to my YT page about section or my website contact section: RobSandstromDesigns.com. I would place my email in this comment but think YT may not want me to. Glad I found your channel. Keep up the good work.
You need to suspend the virtual machine or shutdown windows to make that change. Your macbook should scream with that much memory and ssd. I’m away until monday but I would be happy to hop on a zoom or facetime and see what we can learn.
Thank you for this video. I love my MacBook Pro that runs in M1 chip and has every option offered in Jan 2023 with exception that I opted for a 4TB Ssd vs. the 8. It has performed well with Vectric VCarve Pro and Aspire until recent releases. I admit to not knowing best parameters ir maybe even how to setup the windows side of MacBook via parallels. I am not at my computer now but will return and rewatch this video when I get back after grandkids soccer games. Not sure I will know how to adjust specific parameters for windows and parallels but will do what I can and continue to look for support if I can’t. So far I have found the Parallels support staff to be helpful - may reach out to them. I do often run Camtasia to do tutorials while running vectric, that’s a major part of what I do. I recently subscribed because I appreciate you also make tutorials and seem to care alit about helping people. Which is my goal with my YT channel. Thank you again will check back in once I get to look at my setup. Please keep up your quality videos they are so helpful.
Thanks Rob. I subscribed to your channel too. Check out my new blog that’s associated with my channel and subscribe to my newsletter if you don’t mind. ahackofalltrades.com
I can't seem to replicate your results with my Mackbook pro on a M1. I have run both aspire and vcarve pro for a couple years on my Macbook Pro. The latest release which you are demonstrating is really bogging down in Parallels now. When I hove over menus it isn't always showing the text for the button right and when I render in 3D modes it takes for ever and sometimes crashes/times out the vectric render process. This is especially true in Aspire. Maybe I missed something but did you have to change some setu parameters or something on the Parallels side of the Macbook. Not very savvy in this area, but I can hardly tolerate how my Vectric sodftware is running on my Macbook and it is driving me crazy. Any insights or places you send me to get help I would appreciate it. I really want to use my Macbook and not go back to a windows machine for running my software.
I posted another video that goes through my entire configuration in detail including all versions. Make sure windows, parallels, and aspire are all up to date AND make sure you have free disk space. No disk space is a show stopper. Your aspire issue seems similar to the issue that was fixed in the 12.005 release. Report back when you’ve worked through the configurations please.
Firstly, the good news is that the crashes some users have reported have been fixed in version 12.006! See my video for an update: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kkgZpNZ5Occ.htmlsi=C6bKB0g7BRTwLruj Secondly, this video is a detailed walk-through follow-up of my "Run Vectric VCarve Pro and Aspire on MacOS" video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UDlXwjE_QEM.htmlsi=a2L9Vyw7ulMY--no
The new v12 releases of Aspire and VCarve Pro no longer have the Curve tool! This video shows how to vector trace photos and drawings without it using techniques that I learned from professional graphic artists and CAD modelers. If you'd like to learn more about vectorizing and 3D modeling, leave a comment! And please subscribe to keep up to date when I publish new videos.
This is a quick update to my more detailed videos on running Aspire and VCarve Pro on MacOS (Intel and Apple Silicon / Parallels and VMWare Fusion). See: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UDlXwjE_QEM.htmlsi=I4H5v24PNsQFZvrZ for the original video and the followup video that walks through my Parallels configuration in detail: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7Ki7OArqWWE.htmlsi=XJK1ascng345QegU Subscribe and Like to get notified of any updates to these and new videos I'm working on!
Another Pro Tip: When tracing those straight lines it's super helpful to use the X and Y shortcuts in node editing mode. You can box pick the nodes and or handles and press X to align all selected points in the X direction making them all in a vertical line or Y will align them horizontally.
I agree with your strategy of tracing vectors. I also can understand why people are upset about using a tool they feel comfortable using. Sometimes people find ways to use tools that the creators of the software never even thought of. I really think they should put the Draw Curve tool back in. Or give an option how you want the FreeHand drawing tool to function. V12 has some great inovations but it also has some draw backs. I'm sure Vectric's will make the proper changes to make people happy. Thank you. Jimmy
I agree, it doesn't seem like there would be harm in leaving the Curve tool in. I like the idea of adding it to the Freehand tool as an option. Overall, I REALLY like the new UI that combines the 2D vector and 3D modeling tools on on panel, the new 3D view enhancements that allows editing of vectors in the 3D view, showing the vectors, keep out zones, etc, and the overall simplification of importing art under one button. I've gotten so used to these in just a few weeks that when I went back to look at 11.5 for this video I noticed how much the workflow had changed in such a positive way.
What are the problems subscribers and others are saying they are having? For me (M1 Max 64GB) its. a bit slow, but useable. Definitely more lag than Aspire 11.554 though.
Vectric software is crashing when they mouse over a button (like Cancel) in a dialog window. Apparently Vectric has enough information and believes they will have a fix in the next release.
They half-modernized it. Still has a lot of the old-style icons, but a step in the right direction. They still have the weird thing where if I edit a tool and change the units from inches to mm, it doesn't convert the units. So if I go to a 1/8 inch end mill, it will list the diameter as 0.125 inches. So far so good. If I change units to mm, that should change to show 3.175mm, but instead it shows 0.125mm - same bug as in version 10. Same as for stepover - it should convert from inches to mm when you change from inches to mm. Why make the user convert it when the program is running on a computer and can do it?
I also have problems w/V12 Aspire. MacPro (2021 w/M1 processor and Parallels Next Wave HD510 CNC) V12 will load (showing V12.005) and displays PP (Post Processor) warning as soon as I hover my mouse pointer over the close button V12 shuts down. I got around that by NOT clicking on Close, but clicking the "X" to close that warning. Next comes the option to review the Release Notes the option buttons on that will also cause a shutdown, however I found I can maneuver to the "Later" button w/arrow keys and hit Enter to avoid the shut-down. Not sure what it is about the Radio Buttons and mouse cursor? This appears to happen with any alert windows, etc but not any of the design or toolpath functions. 😬 So far I like V12 overall, just need to find a solution to the shut-down issue (remember to save files often!)
@jamesstuart5997 - what version of parallels? I posted a new video yesterday that goes through my complete setup of versions and Parallels configuration at: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7Ki7OArqWWE.htmlsi=pC17YSxRkOzAnKbK Perhaps there is something useful in it. This crashing issue is odd. Are you saying that Aspire shows a PP warning as soon as you launch it? Is there anyway you could send (email or message or Facebook message) me the post processor? And what does the warning dialog say? This seems like something that is solvable! I am not sure what you are referring to with "Release Notes option buttons". Selecting Release Notes from the Help menu launches a browser window - whatever browser your Windows system is configured to launch,. I use Chrome. I do know (because I have experienced it) that there are issues with Microsoft Edge browser. In the video I linked to above I opened a carve file that had a Notes field configured to display a dialog when the file is loaded. As you'll see, I could dismiss that dialog with the button. This would be something for you to test - create a simple file and add a note that starts with a "." - like ".this is a test" and then save and load the file. Does this crash when you click a buttion?
@@AHackOfAllTrades Best I can tell all my software/systems are up to date. When I 1st tried V12 it was V12.003, then V12.004 and yesterday I uninstalled V12 then downloaded and reinstalled and now have V12.005. The crash w/mouse hovering over buttons only seems to be with warning notices. All the design and toolpath buttons seem to work along with the Notes that open w/Aspire (".") As to the PP notice on startup that has been happening for quite awhile on Desktop V11.5, Aspire V11.5 and now Aspire V12.005; I haven't found anyone that knows how to eliminate it. I will attempt to show PP used as well as the notice. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aspire X [Configuration PP] POST_BASE is no longer supported. Please update your post to the latest version, or merge it with the base post "Next_Wave_CNC_inch.pp". On line 27 of file C: \ProgramData\Vectric\Aspire\V12.0\My_PostP\Next_Wave_CNC_mm.pp Line POST_BASE = "Next_Wave_CNC_inch.pp" OK ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Machine Shark HD 510 - Default Post Processor Next Wave CNC (inch) (*.tap) _________________________________ I sent an email of my 1st Reply to your other video to Vectric Support, maybe they will have a solution. I could not figure out how to send you an email.
James, I understand the reason for the POST_BASE error and know how to fix it. Vectric deprecated the POST_BASE variable as of v11. There is info on it that even uses your PP as the example: docs.vectric.com/docs/V11.0/Aspire/ENU/Help/form/migrating-post-processor-post_base/index.html However, I went to the Next Wave site and see that they have an updated PP for v11 and later at nextwaveautomation.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046235651-Next-Wave-CNC-Post-processors You should use this one and it should be available from Aspire’s post processor list. Email me if you need help.
I have Parallels Desktop 19 Pro Have just upgraded Win 11 Home to Win 11 Pro No improvement; Mouse hover on warning/alert buttons cause Aspire V12.005 to crash. No crash on Design or Toolpath buttons.
Apparently, a number of users are having an issue with Aspire 12.004 running under Parallels. When a dialog box pops up, by hovering, or in my case, clicking on the "ok" button it causes Aspire to crash. This has been reported on the Forum. I plan on making sure my MacOS and Parallels are up to date (they should be) to see if that helps.
I just installed the 12.004 Aspire update and I am not seeing any issues yet. Preview works fine. 3D rendering is responsive. @cstull - can you give an example of a dialog box popping up by hovering? I'd like to test that but I don't know where a dialog pops up by hovering.
Having issues installing VCarve Pro, Makerspace, via Win 11 using Parallels on MB Air, missing 4 *.dll files so no success. Updated Parallels, Win 11 and tried again to no avail. Comments/suggestions? Thanks
Hi How much memory does your Mac have? I'm running Vcarve Pro 12, have Mac mini with the M2 Pro chip and 16GB of memory and do not have the performance you are showing. Any tweaking needs to be done? Thank you for the feedback..
My iMac 2019 Intel processor has 64Gb. My MacBook Air M2 has 16Gb. I didn’t do anything special, what VM are you running and what version of macOS and windows?
@@AHackOfAllTrades In case you are interested, I upgraded from 13.4 to Sonoma (14.4) and everything works and has great performance. Thank you for the feedback...Subscribed!
That's great! And I'll file that in the "maybe this info will help someone else" department. Yeah, my performance is spectacular, every Mac M1/2/3 processor should be similar.
I'm using Aspire on a 2023 MacBook Pro. At some point in the recent past, either due to a system, Parallels, Windows or Vectric update, the 3D view randomly started going totally black. It usually resolves temporarily if I save and restart Aspire but sometimes I even have to restart Windows (in Parallels). This was happening in the latest updates of Version 11 and it's still happening in V12. Kind of annoying. Switching to software rendering in the Aspire settings seems to fix the problem but it's super slow for animated previews of the toolpaths. Any ideas?
I have not seen that but I’ll do some experiments today to see if I can reproduce it. I assume you are running the latest windows 11 (home or pro?) and MacOS. That MacBook Pro should handle it fine.
@@AHackOfAllTradesMy old MacBook can no longer be updated to newer OS since it tells me it’s no longer compatible. It’s stuck with OS 10.13.6. The HP laptop is only about a year old, so I’m guessing it’s pretty up to date.
I've seen this on both Parallels and VMware Fusion when the Mac goes to sleep with the VM running. Didn't find a workaround besides restarting the Vectric software.
total memory ram 12.0 gb, total physical memory 9.88 gb, Availible Physical memory .99 gb, total virtual memory 5.28 gb, and 23.2 gb of page file space
To be clear - there is NO Mac version of Vectic software, it is a Windows-only product. You can run Windows on a Mac using either VMWare Fusion or Parallels and installing Windows. A 2010 Mac is probably going to be too underpowered. You can actually try it for free though and I'd recommend using Parallels as it seems to have better performance on Intel based Macs. Get the free trial of Parallels, install Windows 11 (they make it easy to do this by downloading a trial from Microsoft) and then installing your Vectric software. This should give you a good idea how it works. If you do try it, please post a comment here on how it works!
Brent, that is exactly how it works. Check out the screen capture I posted the link to in the video description, it shows the rapid tool paths avoiding the keep out zones by going around them.
I put a Keep Out Zone at the entrance to our driveway! Now, all the 4WD guys are exploring their limits. Thanks for sharing your mistake and help those of us who haven't made that one just yet.
I actually mention this - in v12 these buttons are turned off by default but you can show them by changing a setting in the options dialog. General Settings->Show additional file operations
My guess is it will not go into that keep out zone at all, so z-gap would not come into play as far as the keep out zone goes. I saw another video that alluded to that. It showed toolpaths going around it, that otherwise would have gone through it.
That is correct. The generated rapid paths will go around and not over the keep out zone. I have a screen capture to show this but I can't post an image in a comment but I posted the link to it here: github.com/mhackney/HackOfAllTrades/blob/8a48ec2aab13ae1b68bf51c1abba966526aa2391/Images/Keep%20Out%20Zone%20overview%20markup.png
Very interesting. I was wondering if the upgrade was worth the cost and effort. This keep out zone is very useful. Your video was very helpful with this.
Each of us have our own needs and wants to upgrade! If you do a lot of V carve work from photos or drawings then the new Sketch Carving and VCarve Inlay tools could well be worth the upgrade themselves. If you are a casual user and happy with the features in your current release, then maybe upgrading isn't needed. Vecrtric has an amazing upgrade policy that allows you to skip multiple releases before upgrading without charging you extra. So you can always upgrade to v13 or another version in the future if you skip this one!
More to come! I really want to dig in and do tutorials on designs, implementing them in VCarve and Aspire and then actually cutting them on my Onefinity CNC. I have some creative approaches to materials that might be interesting to folks.
Thanks. I still love KISSlicer and the company is still working on enhancements. But new printers with integrated slicer software like the Bambu printers are really taking the lead. I was an early Bambu customer and their slicer - based on PrusaSlicer which is based on the original Slic3r - is very good, especially when combined with all of the sensor technology (lidar, etc) in the printer! What 3D printer and firmware are you using?
@@AHackOfAllTrades That's pretty neat stuff! I'm using a Kingroon KP3S hotbot. It's very small and compact but precise. I'm not sure what the firmware type is, I still don't know much about this type of thing. I'm having fun figuring everything out though
Hello. Sorry for my English. Do you know how Jonathan is doing? I wanted to know how the work on the KISSlicer update is progressing. But his site throws an error, e-mail and Facebook does not respond.
Good afternoon and thank you for this video. I have a problem with adjusting flow rate. We are testing new materials and I have to increase the flow without increasing the printer speed. How do I can do that in Kisslicer ? I feel like it is not possible to split printer speed and material quantity from the flow setting ... I thank you in advance for your help ;)
