Mark I just want to say how much I appreciate your videos! I have had my CNC for about 5 years and took 18 hours of classes at Woodcraft. I learned some other stuff by watching other videos but not much. It is really hard watching the Vetrics videos, haven’t really gotten anything out of them. Yours on the other hand have been really informative and more detailed without being boring to watch. I feel I’ve learned so much and actually keep a notebook with notes from each episode. Thanks Again David Cable
My wife and I both agree that by making these videos you are kind of a saint. What do you get out of this? In any case, my family and I are very grateful to you!
Thank you very much for your kind words. I do get a little bit of a monetary reward as a member of the RU-vid Partner Program, but that's not why I do it. I do it to show folks that this isn't rocket science, it's not over their heads, and it's not beyond their ability to do IF they're willing to get in and learn it, then keep practicing it. I watched a man sell off a CNC router for a criminally low price (out of frustration) because he thought it was over his head. I'm trying to help prevent folks from thinking that by showing them that they CAN do it. I genuinely enjoy making and editing videos, and I'm glad that I've found a topic I can post about that helps other folks in the process.
Thank you so much for doing these. I'm new to CNC (still waiting on my Onefinity to arrive) and was getting REALLY frustrated trying to learn Fusion. Your teaching style is making an old dog feel like he can learn a new trick. Thank you!!!
Your videos should be included with Vectric Software as essential learning material, (with an appropriate fee for yourself obviously). Your videos are brilliant, so clearly explained and include many invaluable tips & pointers. The series of 50 beginner videos for CNC router using V-carve, has given direction to what would have been a monumental task. Each day or session, I can just take the next lesson like a college syllabus. I can't thank you enough Mark.
Thank you very much, Barry! The series just kind of evolved over a couple of years, until I basically ran out of "beginner" topics and got into some more advanced stuff. If you watch the first 7 of the Vectric for Beginners playlist, then jump over to the V-Carving for Absolute beginner series, you should have a good grasp of the basics. Then come back over to the Vectric for Absolute Beginner series, and follow along.
Really well done! And your soapbox about an upcut for drilling is a really important tidbit. May be old hat to you, but sharing those little things is a big deal. Makes great sense, but something anyone new might not know. You're doing a great job with this series! THANK YOU!
Mark wow, Thank you for a slow In-depth video on not just making a clock face but the how to figure the hole depth. your my go to instructor.. I'm brand new to the CNC and you are making it more easy to understand. I first seen you on the ICD woodcraft live so I look you up and seen what you had and now I'm hooked. what is the best program to load all the information to mill the job? I was told to get Openbuild or gsender. ?? Im slow but sure. age 75
Thanks for making these videos Mark. I recently bought a CNC machine and really had no idea where to start learning V-Carve. Really appreciate you putting yourself out there to help us all learn.
Mark, The only thing I'd change is the name of the series. I've been using V-Carve for about 3 or 4 years and just struggled through what I could learn here and there to do what I wanted to do at the time. I'm not an absolute beginner, but still am getting a great deal from these videos. Thank you SOOO much! This is a great course, even for someone that's used the software for some time.
Thank you very much, Terry. I really do appreciate that. I was that guy looking for answers, so I decided to really dig in and learn it, then try to share what I learned to others looking for those same answers.
Hi Mark, Your's is the best series of introductory VCarve training videos I have come across anywhere - thank you for your time, effort and expertise. I'm brand spanking new to the CNC world so really appreciate your logical step wise approach to the fundamentals - superb method to learn and create stuff at the same time. Looking forward to continuing through your series. Have joined your site. Thanks again!
Welcome aboard! Remember - tonight's our first Members Only live stream. You'll find the link in the Community Tab of my RU-vid page. Hope to see you there!
I get so much from your videos.hope you keep doing them.im new but am learning fast.bought a CNC before I knew how to run it..I'm fairly an old guy always learning but with out your help I think it would take 10 times longer to do the same thing..I'm glad I got the CNC.i always have a place to unwind and think thanks again for going slow most videos miss what I'm looking to do and yours is very much in full detail..keep it up there will always be a need for your help.THANK YOU
I’d just like to thank you Mark for your easy to follow beginners videos. I too was getting frustrated with trying to learn the Vectric software but your teaching style is brilliant and I feel like I am finally getting somewhere. As a total beginner I am struggling with knowing which tool bit to use but hopefully I’ll get to grips with that.
Thanks Eloy. Three years ago, I was the guy asking questions and searching for answers. I'm just taking all the info I've found from about a half-dozen different sources, and putting it all together in one place. (Half the time for my own benefit. This way, if I can't remember how I did a certain technique, I can come back and watch my video. Just don't tell anyone that...)
Great tutorial Mark! It’s so easy to follow along with you. There were only a couple of times that I had to rewind a little bit to see exactly where you placed your cursor.
I have really been appreciating your videos. Thank you for making them easy to follow and learn from. I ordered the Onefinity CNC and Vcarve Pro recently. So while I wait on my order to be delivered I am studying as much as I can to get ready.
Just to clarify, you said no tool changes for entire project. So i would use a 1/4" upcut endmill , correct? Appreciate all you do for us beginners in trying to learn this. Love your tutorials and your teaching methods.
It depends on the project. Most of the time (about 90%) I would use a downcut end mill to prevent chip out around the edge of the pocket. If I wasn't concerned with chip out, I might use an upcut end mill.
Mark, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to put these videos together. I just downloaded the V-Carve Desktop full version, and.... to say the least was bit overwhelmed. haha I started from the first video, (Agreed boring for me a little bit) since been using easel for last several months, and became comfortable. Video 2-3 have been very helpful to better understand the icons. Please continue to educate folks like me. I am starting to better understand why everyone said once you make the switch, you will leave easel in your dust. haha
Thanks very much, Brian! Now that you're past the very basics, things will start to pick up in the videos. I had to make the first few based on the idea that the viewer had never done anything like this before, and didn't know anything. With the very basics done, things will begin to fall into place, and the pace picks up. Hopefully you picked up a nugget of info or two from the first few. Thanks again!
Mark, Yes I did pick up quite a bit of info from this. I look forward to continue reviewing your other videos. Not looked to far ahead, but curious if already have or plan to show I g how then to use G-code sender to send your project to the Cnc for cutting. Thanks
I talk about saving g-code in Part 4, but not using G-Code Sender. I've never used G-Code Sender. I use Mach3 to control my CNC, and all I need to do is save the g-code to a flash drive, take it outside and transfer it to the computer out there, then load it straight into Mach3, then run it.
Another very good video for me I think I'm going to have to watch this series about a dozen time again thanks for sharing this wisdom you have a blessed day
Love the videos. Hope to soon be working with Vcarve. I do have one question. Is there a reason you use the pocket toolpath over the drilling toolpath?
Glad to hear it! Just remember that it takes practice to get and stay good at anything. The more you use it, the more comfortable you'll feel, and the easier it'll become. Thanks very much for the kind words!
Hi Mark, have drawn a Celtic knot, which is a triquetta intersecting with a circle. For the overall 100 x 100mm design, an engraved slot width of 6mm looks good. There are unders and overs in this design, with the circle and the triquetta interleaved, and as you follow the circle around, it goes under and over the triquetta. My question is, how do you do this on a CNC machine? The curved slots will be 6mm wide and 2 mm deep, and then filled with coloured epoxy. Hope you can help...regards, Joe
Good work as always, Mark! Thanks for sharing and helping me outside your videos. I was actually thinking about doing a click, so this was super useful.
Another superb tutorial, Mark! I went all the way through it without having to rewind once to try to understand what you were trying to convey. You're an excellent teacher. I was already going to comment on the fact that your screen capture software makes your Vcarve videos crystal clear, and we can actually see and read all of the icons on the Vcarve screen instead of only getting a general area of the screen like in most other tutorials I've seen. Especially Vectric's own tutorials. I'm not clear on what determines where the x,y datum position should be. For example, in this lesson at about 18:00 in, you change it from the center point to the lower left corner. Could you explain why that was preferable? Thanks for doing this series. It is demystifying Vcarve very well for me.
Thanks for your kind words, Jim! I set my X Y Datum to the center of the material when I'm drawing and laying out a design, just because it's easier to use the center as a reference point when I'm placing objects or vectors on it. When I get outside on the CNC, I set my X, Y, and Z zeroes on the material's bottom left corner, using my Triple Edge Finder touch plate. After I'm finished laying out the design and I'm ready to calculate the toolpaths for it, I change the X Y datum to the bottom left corner of the material so the toolpaths will be calculated from there. I'll get into that a little deeper in the next video. I'll get into saving g-code and cutting the project, so I'll talk a little further about the X Y datum point then.
Thanks Dave! I use Flashback Express from Blueberry Software - the free version. It comes with the Flashback recorder and the player. The recorder will record the screen in its proprietary format, then the player will convert it to MP4 so I can edit it with my editing software. The recorder can be set up to capture the screen, all of the Windows text bubbles that pop up under your cursor, Windows sounds, and it'll and record your webcam at the same time. I like it a lot.
Hello Mark, Thank you for the videos i downloaded the VCarve Desktop Pro to try to learn the software before i get my cnc. im on the 3rd video and when i try to set the 3/8' deep 3/8' holes and calculate the toolpath, it only shows one hole being cut. im sure that it has something to do with how i did the select, but i cant figure out how to make it right
Make sure you have selected all of the 3/8 inch holes. It sounds like you only have 1 of them selected. Open the Pocket toolpath (you can just double-click the toolpath that's only pocketing out the single 3/8 inch hole,) hold down shift and click on each of the 3/8 inch circles to select them, set up the toolpath as I demonstrated, then Calculate the toolpath. That should do the trick.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to use this software mostly because of your tutorials. With that said, is there a way to make text to follow along a circle or rather follow around the radius of a circle in this part of the vcarv software?
Great instruction....Working on the clock. Want to go back and edit corners of rectangle. Other than deleting and recreating the rectangle, is there another way? Skip....
Thank you, Skip. To edit an object like the rectangle, select it, then click the Draw Rectangle icon. You can make your changes, then click APPLY, then close that form.
Another great video. I have a question on how you clamped it down, when you did not use "TABS" as an option? .... I do not have "V Carve Software".... but I am trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
No worries. It was a good question. In fact, I'll add it to next week's video. I'm going to get into some of those things I kept saying were "for another video" in this one. Thanks!
An excellent project that summarizes the knowledge of past parts. Unfortunately, for the first time he disappointed the translation of subtitles. He couldn't explain the end of the mill. Is this explained in another video? Otherwise, thank you for the perfect work. Roman
An "end mill" is the collective name of the type of router bit I'm using. It has a cutting edge on the bottom end of the bit, so it will cut as it plunges into the material.
Hi Mark, hope you are still alive😁 to answer a question i have after watching the video(amazing video, thank you) Do we need to run the quarter inch end mill 3 times from the Datum position for those 3 files you saved including profile? Also, i can only create files in Aspire but have to use Easel, ugs or similar software to run this file? Or Aspire can be set to both design and run the files like Easel?
I'm alive and kicking, Robyn! I answer your first question and show you how it's done in the next video in the series, here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kFIkyl8tUFU.html As for running the file, I'm not familiar with Easel or UGS, but I believe you save the g-code using the correct post processor for UGS, then load that file into UGS, and run it from there. If anyone using UGS can confirm that for me, I'd greatly appreciate it!
Your videos are great. Thank you for the tutorials. I'm having an issue, I've grouped some vectors together but when I go to tool path it says that I have to ungroup and join them...? they are pocket though holes, not sure if you've covered that but any assistance would help.
Thank you! I covered this last year in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dWC1QesHduU.html Basically, one or more of the vectors you've grouped is an open vector. Check out the video, and it'll help you solve the issue.
If you stand the bits up so that the cutting tip is pointing upward, then look at it from the front, the spiral on an upcut bit runs counter-clockwise. On a down cut bit the spiral runs clockwise. I plan on doing a video on what I consider to be essential bits for the beginner in the near future, and I'll get further into the details. Thanks for watching!
Mark Great video. Have a question though. After you had all the circles drawn you deleted the 3 6 9 circle to resize them using the array tool. Could you have just selected the the 4 and grouped them and then resized them. Jeff
Excellent question, Jeff. If you need to resize an object, you need to select just one example of that object. If I were to group those 4 circles, then try to resize, it would increase the size of the group - not the individual circles. I'll demonstrate that a bit further in the next video. Thanks for watching!
Hi, Mark. I need some help. I'm using VCarve Desktop Trial Edition 11.555. I'm trying to follow the "project design and pocket tool path" tutorial, but I keep getting an error message when I try to calculate the tool path. "No suitable vectors selected. At leased one vector must be selected for this operation."" I'm lost here. I don't know what the program is asking for. Thank you for your help and I'm really loving the tutorials. Doug
Mark Grest video. Have a question . after you had placed all the holes you deleted 3 6 9 to resize them using the array tool. Could you have just grouped them and made the 4 holes bigger that way? Jeff
Hello Mark..When using an end mill to drill, why not use a bottom cutting end mill for the 1/4" holes? I have experienced the heat problem while milling. Skip....
You can use a bottom cutting end mill, Skip - the important thing is to make sure the chips evacuate upward, out of the hole as they're cut. Thanks for watching!
Watching this and I'm at 22:55 when you calculate your tool path . . . . So the bottom left going up to say the 1 o'clock position is the same. The rest of the tool path is mirrored or upside down. You have mountains with a flat sky, I have a flat bottom and large V on top. Makes sense? Does this matter and why is mine different? Is it just a software issue since your video was made 3 years ago and I'm using a current copy of Vcarve Pro?
Not if you're drilling straight down. The chips need to be ejected from the hole. Down cut and compression bits don't eject the chips out of the hole, and that causes friction, and that can (will) catch fire. Best bet is to use an upcut bit. If you're worried about chipout, just use the bit to mark where the hole goes (set it to cut maybe 1/16" deep,) then drill the through hole with a drill or on the drill press. If the hole is a larger diameter than the bit, meaning the bit will plunge down, then move in X and Y to cut the hole, you're fine to use whatever bit you'd like, as long as those chips can get ejected from the hole.
Thank you Mark...but is it possible to use metric for the tutorials? I think is more easier to us to understand the examples....inches is difficult... thank you..
Thanks for checking out the video! I do appreciate it. I don't want to get into the Metric vs Imperial discussion, but I was raised using Imperial, so that's what I use. Looking at the numbers, the overwhelming majority of my viewers are in the US (fully 91%,) and therefore use Imperial. Unless that changes dramatically, I have no plans to change. Thank you!
Also, please remember that the Vectric software has calculators built into them to help you convert from Imperial to Metric. I did a video on that subject last year. Here's a link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KE4kxHxE95g.html
That's something to do with RU-vid. It works on my end. I can't do anything to help. You can try closing your browser and trying again, but that's about the only suggestion I can think of.