Mark thank you so far I have watched your series from start to this one and I will certainly be wathing to full series and the other content you have put up. Thank you again Sir excellent content.
Mark your series on 3D workflow from Part 18 through to Part 21 has taught me more than any other tutorial ever has. very well detailed and extremely helpful in gettin' me ready to hit the machine bed with gusto! cheers
All your videos are awesome. But this is invaluable. If only I was lucky enough to see it when I was a newbie. This is worth some workhours of try and error. Greetings from Greece. And congratulations.
@@MarkLindsayCNC You are wellcome. But I am the one that should be thanking. And yes the videos are very helpful. I am new to Vcarve. I had some small experience in artcam witch is very similar to Vcarve. But in the workshop that I work we use the Homag woodwop. Just for cabinets from mdf and melamines. At home I use the last couple of months the Vcarve.
Great info! Thanks so much! I was particularly looking for re-centering during tool change as I seem to need a full xyz zeroing or the path goes crazy... offset anywhere from 1/2" to off the end of the y axis, and more than once driving the z right thru the piece (good that I have a thick spoilboard) even though i had re-zeroed Z. But then when I re-zero all 3 axes even though I have to fine tune the xy for true matchup with the previous toolpath, it behaves itself. I am using an inherited aspire and gsender on an old laptop, cutting with a new 3018Pro on slate Sooo, I am naturally looking for the easiest and most repeatably accurate way possible to zero everything and the 3axis tool shows promise although a washer doublesided taped to a safe part of the material that would stay put thru all the cutting and tool changes might be even more repeatable on the flaky old slate with crumbly corners I am cutting. I went to the 3Axis website and it appears to be coupled with mach3 or mach4 software, and the tool movement during zeroing works automatically within that software. will the 3Axis tool work with other apps? Thanks again!!! Your series is awesome!
6:49 In defense of offset mode: My cutter is an engraver, and it cuts well in the climb direction, but poorly in the conventional direction. in Raster, half your cuts will be in the conventional direction. Offset works better for me
not sure if you monitor this any longer but I just viewed and was VERY helpful but I did see the 'finishing pass' edit tool did not have a setting for max cut depth per pass? Does it just go as deep as needed regardless of how deep? 1/16" is a small bit and fearful that it will have to make a constant X or Y cut ?? inches long cutting say 1/4" of hardwood? Also, while I get that the roughing pass with Raster will take a lot longer than the other way, will it then help remove a lot of the excess that the finishing pass (with no max cut depth) would have run into if not done that way? I am willing to take the time to remove more material when roughing than to have a bit break half way through the project due to it removing far more that it would have needed? Thanks in advance for any help and great job explaining!
Your concerns are valid, and it's good that you're questioning the cut depth. The short answer is yes, the bit goes as deep as needed, regardless of how deep that is when you're talking about a 3D Finishing toolpath. That's why a roughing toolpath is so important. Having said that, even though it's got a 1/16 inch diameter tip, a tapered ballnose bit will clear away a lot of material along the length of the taper before the tip gets to it. The only exception to this is the initial plunge when you first start the finishing pass. Once that plunge is done and the bit starts moving in X or Y (or both,) the taper will help clear away material. If you're willing to take the time to do a 3D Raster roughing pass, with a Machining Allowance of .030, then that's the best way of making sure that the maximum amount of material is removed without the roughing pass cutting into the actual finished surface of the model. Ultimately, the choice is 100% yours. Good luck!
Mark thanks for the video it was great to see some one do a cut on there cnc. now I have a couple of questions. First are all of the clip art models in the vectric soft ware ready to cut to some preset thickness. So that all I have to do is select the proper tools and vectors to cut the job. Second is your touch probe When you do a xyz with your probe in the center of the hole where does z touch the probe. Also are all touch probes made to turn over to do just the z probe. My Shapeoko cnc probe has the bottom machined out to fit the corner when I do a xyz probe I put the probe in the corner and start the probe with the end mill in the center on s small circle in the corner of the probe . Hit start and it moves down and does the z then moves out past the front on the probe moves down and the back till it touches the plate. and zero there picks up and does the outer side in the same manner. and we are done. When I do a tool change I set the probe on top of the work piece just like you do but do not turn it over, I hold on to it because I feel if I don't it will tip. No one has ever said to turn it over. So after all of that should I be asking about turning it over to do the Z setting. One other question after you set the Z with your new bit did your router move up and move to the x&y position and then start the cutout. thanks Jeff
Hi Jeff. Lots of questions! First, the clip art does have a certain thickness, but it can be resized and the thickness adjusted if you want to do that. Refer back to Part 19 of the series for a demonstration of that (the wedding ring plaque.) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rIcP0L0jyNI.html Second, your touch plate is no doubt different than mine - use it the way it has been working for you. The way I use mine is specific to my brand of touch plate. The hole in the corner of my touch plate is for setting the X and Y only. To set the Z, I would normally move the bit over the top of the touch plate and use that surface to set the Z, right there on the corner of the material. I only flipped it over and set my Z away from the corner in this video to show a couple of people who had been asking about using the Triple Edge Finder in the center of a piece of material. If your touch plate has been working for you, don't change a thing. For a demonstration of how I normally use the touch plate, refer to this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JGToDuTAAvY.html Lastly, yes the router moves over to X and Y zero, then moves the Z to .8 above the material (that's the Home position in the g-code,) then moves over to start the cut. It always does that. Thanks for watching, Jeff!
Thanks Mark and i use your CA glue method a lot... only problem with it is i'm allergic to CA so I have to mask up then leave the shop until CA cures... LOL
Mark, watched a lot of your videos and they are absolutely AWESOME, learned a lot. I have what I think is a simple question (or maybe not) on bit changes and setting the "z". Let's say I am making a sign and it has 3D models on it. I use a roughing toolpath and remove a lot of the material other than maybe a small area on top of one of the models the surface has been lowered in the roughing. Now I put the finishing ball nose in. With the original wood surface gone (lowered) other than maybe a very small area on one of the models; how do I set the "z" for the finishing ball nose bit since most of the wood surface is gone? Thanks so much in advance and for taking the time to share your knowledge!
You can set the Z zero on any surface that hasn't been machined away, or on a piece of scrap from the same board/piece of material. It doesn't have to be from exactly the same spot you set the X and Y zero from.
Why did you go straight to finishing toolpath in this example where as in the medallion example (part 20) you did a roughing toolpath first. Was it merely because the medallion was much more complex and roughing was necessary to save time?
In this case, the reason I went straight for the finishing pass was due to the amount of material being removed - which was slightly more than 1/16 of an inch (a little more than 1.6 mm.) If I had done a roughing toolpath with this particular model, it would have just added to the overall amount of time spent carving it without accomplishing much at all. The reason for using a roughing toolpath is to remove the bulk of the material to make it easier for the finishing bit to carve away the remainder. In this case the total amount of material being removed was well within the finishing bit's capabilities.
The 3% stepover on a 1/16th bit is overkill, especially in something as soft a cedar. The cusp height at 3% is 0.000015" The cusp height at 17.9% stepover is 0.0005" . Plenty smooth for most softwoods. A good rule of thumb is 10% stepover for a 1/8" and 15% stepover for a 1/16. Both yield similar cusp heights. Cuts your machining time by 2/3.
I agree with you 100%. Please remember that still fairly new to 3D carving when I made this video, so I was still learning. I now use anywhere between 7-10% stepover when 3D carving. As a home hobbyist, machine time is less of a concern to me than finish quality and time needed for cleanup sanding on the piece. Thanks for checking out the video!
Mach 3 tip that makes life easier ---- in the gen.eral config screen -- note the UPPER LEFT CORNER. there is 3 check buttons. the top is ignore tool change. next one down is pause on tool change, bottom one some text basically saying use atc.. . UNCHECK the top one and check the middle one. Save and your done. Now use a mach 3ATCunit post and save ALL toolpaths to one file. The ony difference is you have to hit cycle start TWICE to get the file(s) going. When mach 3 hits a tool change and the new bit is NOT the same as the last toolpath it just pauses. Now change bit and set Z then hit cycle star and youre off and running again. The only real operational difference is you DO NOT have to make up a batch of individual files and load them as needed, its all there and just waiting on cycle start to get hit. Try it. you can easily revert back to back to the stock one file at a time method if you dont like it. Personally that is one of several reasons why I use mach 3. Another video up to your usual standards... :)
In your video here you indicate that you should NOT run the G-Code from the flash drive. This may hold true for Mach 3 and Mach 4 users but with Masso this option may not be possible. There are only 2 options with Masso router CNC, Flash Drive and Wifi transfer, and in each case you are required to ensure you have a Flash Drive installed.
Thank you, Charlie. I thought I made that point in the video. Some systems require you to run the g-code file from the flash drive in their controllers, which do not use a PC to run the software. My point in the video was that if you run your control software on a PC, transfer the file onto that PC, and not to run it directly from the flash drive.
Hi Mark - Have you done any beginners tutorials on using Mach 3 software which explain in your beautiful simple terms what all the features are and how to use them?
No sir, I have not. I'm a babe in the woods when it comes to Mach3. I know just enough about it to run my machine, and that's about it. I do plan on digging into it further, I just haven't gotten there yet.
A zero plane wouldn't have accomplished anything with this model. A zero plane is usually used on models that are recessed into a bowl or dish, but don't do much (if anything) for a model that's meant to project upward from a surface like this one.
Thank you, Jim! You're the first person to give me positive feedback on music! The tune is called Don't Look and the band is called Silent Partner. It's here on the RU-vid audio Library for every RU-vid member's use. Thanks!
No. Once you set the X and Y, you don't have to reset it for a tool change. The X and Y zeroes are set to the center of the bit, and the toolpaths are calculated for each bit's diameter based on that. The only thing you have to reset is the Z zero, due to different tool lengths, how far you put the bit into the collet, etc... Thanks for watching!
In a roundabout way, yes. Each tool is run on its own file. That way one tool finishes cutting, the machine returns to home, and I load the next tool and cutting file when I want to. That way I can start a job late in the day, run one tool file, then come back the next day and run the other if I want to.
I like to see how the bit is cutting in the material, then adjust it from there. There really is no "perfect" time. Just whenever it has cut enough that you can see if you're running too fast or too slow.
Hi Mark, Great videos, new newbie here looking a little help. When using vcarve free clip art on occasion the cutter cuts areas it shouldn’t as if the z height is too low . I haven’t changed any settings from the original Gcode file. Appreciate any feedback you give.
There are a lot of variables involved here. Firstly, when you've calculated the toolpath, hover your mouse cursor over the name of that toolpath in the toolpath list. A window will open, showing you the total cut depth. If that doesn't match up with what you're experiencing when you cut, you'll need to look for a mechanical problem on your CNC - losing or missing steps, etc... If the max cut depth listed in that window is too deep for your situation, you'll need to adjust the model thickness in the Properties form in the Modeling tab.
Hi Mark, thanks for your speedy reply. The cut depth thickness matches fine. After running the file again I notice that full depth of cut required 11mm . My 3mm ball cutter has only a cutting length of 8mm, which It looks like the shank Is rubbing against the inside wall of the pocket and not cutting it, maybe causing it to lose or miss files. Does this make sense..
Yeah, you'll need a bit that will cut at least the depth of the model, or you'll have those problems. That or you can decrease the model thickness as I mentioned above.
Another great video Mark, I have learned so much from your series. From time to time I use 1/8” brass for some projects, are there any videos coming up that shows speeds and feeds for cutting brass?
Thank you, Jim. I have no videos about metal. I'm a wood guy. I occasionally dip my little toe into plastics, but after 5 years of doing this, I've only cut plastic twice. Sorry, but I can't help you with brass.
@@MarkLindsayCNC Right.. That's what I used to yell out at certain clubs when I was on active duty in the Marines before I got thrown out. People had no sense of humor. LOL
