Taptastic organization

[jimily]

Even though I've only been doing cnc things for a couple of months now I already have a bunch of Tap files called all kinds of things. I ask you how do you record all of your taps in order to go back 6 months later and run them without having to go back into the crv and see what they do etc.? Anyone have a good system? I used to teach and make databases and it seems like I need some way to record all of these in an organized manner than the chaos I'm currently rendering. I find I have clipart, inkscape files, sketchup files, bmps, crv and toolpaths all pointing at one project. My brain reels at the organizational task this represents.

Any tips on organizing these files and projects?

Thanks!
Jim

[4DThinker]

I use the notes feature in Aspire or VCarve to put reminders in the .CRV or .CRV3D files. Tap files have a few clues in their header which you can see if you open them up in Notepad, but are mostly fairly cryptic G-Code. A few of my .TAPs have clever names that give me a clue about what is in them, but eventually the volume of .TAPs makes them not easy to categorize or sort.

[jimily]

Ah yes I have begun putting some notes in and it is nice it shows in the header in the Gcode. I'll mess with excel or access and see if I can whip something up. Or at least a form that can be put in a notebook I can fill out. And what makes it worse is I'm running 2 machines so I do the USB hustle to transfer the taps. Who knew all those free giveaway schwag USB drives would come in handy?

I'll keep poking at this problem, thanks for the info!
Jim

[WGP]

I create folders for each project and save all the files pertinent to that project in the folder. Then I add a word document that explains the project and some of the details.

[jimily]

It's the TAP files I'm really getting drowned in once they leave the project folder (usb drive then onto an XP machine-3 places it exists at that point).
I have started taking shots of the simulated thing in it's cut out state so I know what it should look like in reality and adding that to the project folders. And I have some with readme files as well so I must be on the right track. It's the taps. I have started 5 digit numbering the ones I made today along with the description. I'll see how this goes. I'll keep poking at it.

Thanks!
Jim

[meb]

I store everything in project folders.
If it is for a customer the folder is stored in a folder for that customer.
If it is one of my own projects it is stored in folders with category names (Signs, Crosses, Jewelry, Furniture, ...).

Most .crv and .crv3d files have the size of the material added to them (_0.75x6.0x20.0). Each project folder has a Toolpaths folder where the .tap files are stored.
If there are several .tap files for a project they start with a number by order of use (1_xxxxx, 2_xxxxx, ..) and the tool is appended to the end of the name (_0.25em, _60deg v-bit, ...).
Sometimes, like when doing 2 sided carving, I might start file names with 1_back_xxxxx, and 1_front_xxxx so I know when to use the .tap file. Cutting alignment holes in the spoil board my .tap will have "spoil board" in the name (5_back_spoil board_0.25 em), that is the last toolpath cut before starting the front of the project.

If the project is revised it gets a new folder marked as revised and dated with the date.

Everything is together on the design computer.
When I save files to the thumb drive I save the whole project folder to transfer to the control computer. If you need to make small changes in the shop you will have all the files available. When the thumb drive starts getting crowded I delete everything except the newer one or 2 files.
I transfer the project folder to the control computer from the thumb drive. If I will only be cutting the Item 1 time I will delete the folder after use. If I revise a file I delete old files from the control computer so I don't accidentally cut the wrong file.

This whole process takes a while but I can look for files I designed 4 or 5 years ago and find them without much trouble.

[jimily]

Yes now is when I need to start this kind of organization. I wish I were more innately organized but alas it is a struggle.

Thank you, there are some good tips here I can use.

Thanks again,
Jim

[Eagle55]

Hi Jim,
Personally I am more attentive to what I name the .crv files than the tap files. I try to categorize the names so that they will stay together, like plaque ~ xxxxx or headstone ~ xxxxxx then I can at least get to the same kind of design and look through the files to see. I do have a lot of tap files on the carving computer that are what I do on a "production" basis but much of what I do is more like, do one similar but slightly different so I keep the crv file that I could generate another tap file from. I rarely go to the machine and make something from a tap file. Its always change the name or date or completely redo a file but with the same general shape etc so I would have to regenerate a new tap file anyway. And unless you know exactly what that tap file does it may be something entirely different. If you use control panel 2.0 it might help to show you some of the details but not always everything.

Roger