Hey Mark! Thanks for this video. I’m the one that is posting in The Make with the Scroll Saw pattern for the Cathedral Clock that I’m making. The pattern I have has been a pain but your node videos, joining open vectors, all have been extremely helpful. However this video has been the best for me. The pattern when imported has thousands of nodes for each piece. It’s insane. This video helped clean it all up, reducing cut time, and way smoother cuts. I really appreciate the help and your videos. JB
Thank you for making and sharing these very, very, helpful videos. Without generous people like you, us "newbies" at CNC would find life a lot trickier. I for one am very grateful indeed.
Thank you for the great video! This is hands down one of the most important factors in CNC machining...having unnecessary node points leading to longer machining times and often more wear on the CNC's mechanical components.
Thanks very much, Mitch! I do appreciate the comment. If you're thinking about getting into CNC, the time to start learning the software is yesterday. There's a link in the description box to the Vectric website. You can download a free trial edition of VCarve Pro or Aspire and learn to use it. It's a fully functioning version of the software, with one exception - it won't let you save g-code until you buy a license. Any drawings/patterns/files you create in the trial version can be used in a fully licensed version ONLY if the licensed version is installed on the same computer the trial version was installed on. (Hope that made sense.) It's worth looking into - if for no other reason than to see if you like that software or not.
Thank you! I figure we're all in this thing together, so I'm just trying to help folks keep from making the mistakes I've made, and highlight the tips and techniques Vectric had buried in their longer tutorials. If it helps folks out, it's worth it.
Great instructional video! I fit the curve to the vectors I had in a eps imported logo and discovered not all of the vectors fit a new curve to the existing vector. After looking at the nodes in the original eps, I discovered that there was many nodes basically on top of each other. Thus the fit curve to vector didn't work. So I deleted the nodes that were on top of each other or really close to each other. Then I did the "Fit curve to Vector" and it worked. Thanks again!
Thanks! That was enlightening. Learned a new tool in Aspire! Very helpful for me today. I came here trying to figure out if I can delete more than one node at a time. I know I can select multiple, but when I click delete node with several selected nothing happens.
Hello very nice video I make couple tests and it’s make a different:) but just to clarify what’s better for Mach 3 g-code raining machine convert lines to circular Arcs or Bézier curves ? I see on your video that when you choose bezier courses you achieve less points that circular arcs. I read couple of forums, people mention that curves are the way to go when coming to machining ? Thanks for help
That's 100% your choice. If you'd rather use Arcs, then that's fine. I've never had an issue with Bezier curves, but I understand that some people have.
great vid !!! I'm a beginner and I'm struggling with problems that are easy for you. Would you be able to do a video or explain in the comments the basic rules for vector drawing, because in drawing I have problems with intersection of vectors and loops, I cant generate tool-path. What are the basic rules for drawing vectors. Tenx
The number one rule in drawing vectors is to remember that they need to be joined together to create a single, closed vector. I'll get into it further in another video later on. Thanks for watching!
Sometimes the vectors can only be cleaned up so much. This is especially true if it's a complex shape or pattern. Try previewing Bezier curves and circular arcs to see which works the best for you. Then again, some vectors will still have a lot of points. That's okay. Go ahead and calculate the toolpath and preview it. If it looks good, it is good.
@@MarkLindsayCNC Thanks for the reply. I ended up "cutting" each vector into smaller components then using "Fit curves" and rejoining. Something about this particular set of drawings caused the lines to be more nodes than I have ever seen. 1000's per inch. Possibly, my computer was not powerful enough to handle so much info all at once.
@@1metalmomma That's actually very common with files that were originally drawn up in a CAD program like AutoCAD. By default, they tend to make curves by connecting a ton of short straight line segments together. Glad you got it fixed!
Change the direction? Like make a profile toolpath run in the opposite direction? Just change from Climb cut to Conventional, or Conventional to Climb in the toolpath and recalculate it.
I always copy and past the design on top of the original changing the copy to a different colour then apply the fit curves to vectors. Then compare the original to the copy as they can differ.
That's a good habit to get into if it's critical that the copy matches the original. If it's not all that important, I don't bother. Thanks for checking it out!
