Efficient V-Carving

[Davo]

I have a detailed v-carving and the machine loves to jog all over and cut down to the cut depth but instead of just cutting the same spot to the full depth it goes all over cutting then starts over to get to full depth

Lots of time wasted in jogging all over, I noticed unlike a profile pass there is no option for "shortest path" etc.

[steve_g]

Some of that seemingly random jogging around it due to the “pass depth” set in the bit definition… If appropriate, try setting it deeper…
SG

[Davo]

Correct, but is there a way to make it work in one area versus cutting so many spots at once?

Say for example you have 10 circles - it's cutting a little of each and bouncing back to cut deeper, I'd prefer it to work one circle 100% before moving on

[bleeth]

By creating a separate toolpath for each circle instead of all at once you will get those results you wish.

[steve_g]

Not that I’m aware of… I have to walk away so it doesn’t irritate me!
SG

[srwtlc]

Have you tried choosing 'Vector selection order' in the V-carve toolpath form? Works in your given example. It can get tedious if you have a lot to select though, but can be worth the time savings sometimes. You could make small groups and separate toolpaths and possibly 'merge' them (results may vary).

[Davo]

Yea I have the selection order chosen, but it's working in groups of separate objects and bounces around in each group

May have to spend the time and select individual pieces

Would be nice if Aspire updated that to work smarter to save the user time

[RossMosh]

By creating a separate toolpath for each circle instead of all at once you will get those results you wish.

This is the way to do it. The other benefit is being able to break up and monitor the job. For example if you notice your piece isn't perfectly flat, you may want to stop the job and adjust your Z. If you run the whole job at once, this isn't as easy to accomplish.

[paul_z]

If you are importing the circles from another program, the circles may hundreds of line segments. Look at the circles using the node edit tool. If needed, smooth them with the fit curves function using as little as 0.002" tolerance.

Paul Z