Bit Changes

Anything and everything CNC-Shark-related

Moderators: ddw, al wolford, sbk, Bob, Kayvon

rrsnith
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:55 pm

Bit Changes

Post by rrsnith »

I'm new at this so bear with me.
I imported clip art and I want to use a different bit on different parts of the art (ex; mill bit, v-bit etc).
How do I select each different part of the art to give it a tool path?

User avatar
Kayvon
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:46 pm

Re: Bit Changes

Post by Kayvon »

RRsnith, this sounds similar to your previous post: http://cncsharktalk.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 887#p30887

To start with, did you check out the video and pdf I suggested? Those will help a lot. The pdf covers absolutely everything and the video series will cover the basics in detail, which is what you're asking about here.

Following up from your previous topic, you've created vectors from an imported image (from your "clip art"). Now you're ready to cut it, but when you click on it everything is selected at once. That's because, by default, the converted vectors are grouped together. You need to select the vectors and ungroup them using either the ungroup icon (see the pdf) or the keyboard button 'u'.

After that, you can select (multiple) vectors and assign a toolpath to them, so you'll maybe end up with a V-bit toolpath and an end-mill toolpath.

Don't worry about being new--we were all there and we're all working together to figure stuff out. But do at least glance at the pdf and see what other tutorial videos are available. You'll be glad you did.

rrsnith
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:55 pm

Re: Bit Changes

Post by rrsnith »

I watched all the videos,,thanks anyway for your help. I'll call tech support if they'll answer the phone. :lol:

SteveM
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2016 1:29 pm
Location: Franklin, Wisconsin

Re: Bit Changes

Post by SteveM »

You should listen to Kayvon! He is trying to assist you. You will get more help on this forum faster than calling tech support. They are there to assist in problems with your machine.

User avatar
Kayvon
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:46 pm

Re: Bit Changes

Post by Kayvon »

Kayvon wrote:But do at least glance at the pdf and see what other tutorial videos are available. You'll be glad you did.
rrsnith wrote:I watched all the videos,,thanks anyway for your help. I'll call tech support if they'll answer the phone.
Excellent! What did you think of the videos? Have you glanced at that pdf also?

Their tech support is available by email for things that are broken (I have reported a bug in the past with a good turnaround time), but they don't offer individual training for their products. That said, what part of my instructions isn't working for you? If you give us some feedback, we're happy to help you learn the tools, especially as you continue to put in some work on your part with the video tutorials and documentation.

rrsnith
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:55 pm

Re: Bit Changes

Post by rrsnith »

I've watched a lot of videos on YouTube and have gotten some questions answered,,now what is this pdf video you keep referring too?

User avatar
Kayvon
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:46 pm

Re: Bit Changes

Post by Kayvon »

rrsnith wrote:I've watched a lot of videos on YouTube and have gotten some questions answered,,now what is this pdf video you keep referring too?
It's not a video, but a document. It requires reading, but it's absolutely chock full of great information.
Kayvon wrote:1) Watch a video example of the tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HudEeCEgcQU
2) Skim over the VCarve/Aspire manual to see what tools are available. You can find this manual by pressing F1 from the VCarve window, which will open a separate pdf file. It has instructions for this tool and every other tool. It's extremely helpful--I still go through it from time to time.
Make sure you're not just watching random YouTube videos--most of them are junk. Vectric has great tutorial videos, many (all?) of which are on YouTube, but the other YouTube videos aren't usually worth your time. Check out this link: http://support.vectric.com/training-material

rrsnith
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:55 pm

Re: Bit Changes

Post by rrsnith »

I've really come a long way and feel more comfortable and have been spending hours a day just playing with the program.

I do have several questions though, first after I save the file as G-code how can I go back and edit it ? Windows wouldn't recognize it. Am I saving them wrong?

Second, when working with clip art some of the vectors are missing and the depth of the cut is very shallow in some parts. How do I connect the vectors and lower the cut, I've tried several different ways but nothing works.

User avatar
Kayvon
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:46 pm

Re: Bit Changes

Post by Kayvon »

Glad to hear you're getting more comfortable with the tools. The more you use them, the easier they get.

You can edit the G-code file after you save it--just open it in any text editor, like Notepad--but you probably won't want to. The G-code file is a very raw format. It's not intended to be user-friendly. Your best bet is to load the VCarve project file, make the changes you want, and create a new G-code file. I like to use very descriptive filenames to help me keep track of the files.
rrsnith wrote:when working with clip art some of the vectors are missing and the depth of the cut is very shallow in some parts
What type of cut are you performing? V-Carve toolpath? It might help if you could attach an example of what you're talking about so we can see it in the program, then we can give you a better answer.

rrsnith
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:55 pm

Re: Bit Changes

Post by rrsnith »

1Verse.tap

This is how my files are saved under a folder named (Projects) when I try to view it Windows says it can't and to choose a program to open it. This is where I'm lost.
Attachments
1Verse.tap
(184.65 KiB) Downloaded 943 times

Post Reply