First 3D attempt

[scottp55]

Need to watch tutorials again, NEED to label better VCP saved as just roughing toolpath and finish toolpath does NOT hack it. Had to guess at what bits I stuck in at 4AM 2 days ago by watching the stepover on an aircut. All my fingers and no broken bit! Yeah.

[bleeth]

Doesn't VCP tell you what tool you made the toolpath with if you open the file and look at your toolpath set-up again?

[Brady Watson]

Scott,
You don't have to bring the toolpaths into VCP. If you are doing a carving like that where you want it centered in the board, you can make your 0,0 position center & then drive your tool over to that location and Z2. Then cut it. That only really makes sense for incised or dished reliefs like you show there. For positive reliefs, it is always easier to cut them separately and treat them as an applique.

Yes - it is a little hokey doing 3D that way. Aspire is certainly the way to go...but that also has a $1400 or so upgrade price with it. Not that long ago - ShopBot didn't even come with ANY 3D machining software at all...so you new kids don't know how good you got it!

-B

[scottp55]

Dave, Saw TJ drag it into VCP last Friday at basic, but I think he just dragged an EPS in. Like I said I got to watch it again. All I got was a .sbp and I didn't even know which one of the 4 I played with it was until I did the aircut. Pretty dumb but until my second triple expresso that day my mind wasn't fully functioning, That's my story and I'm... I claim newbieship.
Brady didn't drag it into VCP as I couldn't figure out how:) It's in the top right corner because that will be a blank spot, top center of my fourth crib board over. doing a "batch " of four proto's at one time(each different) with boundary boxes for customer options of favorite quotes/3D/VCarve graphic/ and dedication/made for on back. That was just a piece of scrap left from previous trial screwed down at my boundary box lower left corner.
Hey, I didn't hit the screws!:)

[Brady Watson]

Scott - You get that you need to calculate all the toolpaths within PW3D first & then SAVE the PW3D file (not the SBPs) - Right? After you do that, you can open up VCP & IMPORT the 3D file you saved & your toolpaths will come in with it. You can freely drag it around the screen to position it anywhere you like. Then, save out your 3D toolpaths from VCP (you can't modify them in there - but you can preview them)

Make sense?

-B

[scottp55]

Brady, I was pretty tired and I all I remember is seeing save tool path. Pretty disorganized and was just happy to find my"Get carving Quickly" cd which had those files on it and "dissapeared" that first week and then found that morning.
Makes sense that there is a file save as. I was wondering why it didn't appear in the folder when I tried to import it. Had a glitch in tool database saying "tool not saved" in PW3D and thought it was related. Been laid up for 10 days and wanted to cut. Will watch TJ's and "Not James" again, couldn't import any tools in PW3D, do you have to make all new ones? It wouldn't eat any new tools for me.
Thanks Brady

[Brady Watson]

Scott,
You need to make sure that you have full access/rights on the machine, or you could get that message that the tools aren't saved.

You can copy your VCP tool database from here (depending on your OS) :

C:\ProgramData\Vectric\VCarve Pro - Shopbot Edition\V7.0\ToolDatabase

and paste it into here:

C:\Program Files (x86)\ShopBot\PartWorks3D\ToolDatabase

if you want both tool databases to have the same tools in it. If you haven't done so already, make sure your login has Administrator privileges. You might also want to 'Show Hidden Files & Folders' via Windows Explorer->Tools->Folder Options 'View' tab.

-B

[scottp55]

Thanks again Brady, I KNOW I've never run it as an administrator.Will do the other tomorrow. Not computer savvy, as you know. It's still neat to watch it. Thursday TJ ran the Desktop at 5,5 for a small 3D, I didn't know it could even go that fast. Is that because of ramping values kicking in?

[Brady Watson]

It depends on the part - otherwise you beat the snot out of the machine & your part. Yes - ramping has something to do with it & there are certain realities. Many times it isn't possible to go full speed - especially with small intricate parts.

-B

[scottp55]

Yeah ran 1/8"BN at 2,2 and was still nervous, roughing defaulted at 2,1 with a 1/4" down. I thought the values had to be the same- or is that just a rule of thumb for finishing toolpaths. Just curious. I promise to do my research next time, just tired today.4-8 so far

[Brady Watson]

Go at the speeds that give you the best quality of cut. If the machine sounds rough or quality suffers, slow it down. Haste makes waste. Unless you are doing production and really have to run fast, it just doesn't make sense. Even running 'fast' - especially in 3D - doesn't mean that it will in fact run all that much faster due to ramping, and the cost may be quality.

I talk a little about good speeds for 3D here in the Ramping Article (http://www.shopbotblog.com/index.php/2008/03/a-ramping-the-vr-command-and-how-to-tune-your-tool-for-maximum-performance/).

-B

[scottp55]

thanks for the tips Brady, esp. the hidden files one. Did a new one at a good speed and shallower depth for a no roughing trial. Imported fine into the new folder. Newbie mistake- No wonder I confused Dave:) BTW that pic shows what happens when you use an 1/8Ballnose on a toolpath calculated for a 1/16 tapered ballnose:eek: I thought it looked funky. Still trying to paste database but at least I can see application data now. Spindle warming:)