Can you switch bits midjob?

[VonDrevon]

I just got my machine this past week and have been doing a solid job of working through the pains of getting it to actually work. These forums have been an incredible help in doing so.

I have a more technical question now that I can make the silly thing carve a smiley face into a piece of wood, though.

To save time on carvings, is it possible to start with the 1/8" cutting bit to get through the rough stuff and digging into the deeper parts of the project then switch to the 1/16" bit to finish the finer details?

Thanks for any help and advice.

[Pratyeka]

short answer: no
The path generated by designer in not optimized to do this. It does a single finishing pass, and there is no possibility to program a rough pass and a finishing pass in one project.

You could generate a project in draft mode, then generate the same project in best or ultimate mode, run both project on the same piece of wood hoping the machine will locate the board exactly the same way both time. All you will acheive is longer cut time, not shorter.

[swhitney]

short answer would be no.

you might be able to create a set of patterns, the first of which would "hog out" the majority... and then finish up with the final detail pattern.

I think it would be too time consuming, with no real positive outcome over just letting the CW do it's thing

[swhitney]

Pratyeka beat me by a few seconds, and it must be the "great minds" thing happening!!!

[VonDrevon]

Oh well... that would be a sweet feature, though!

Thanks for your rapid responses. These forums are truly amazing. We might have given up after the first hiccup if not for the wealth of knowledge supplied.

[Pratyeka]

Pratyeka beat me by a few seconds, and it must be the "great minds" thing happening!!!

He! That was a case of "drive-by posting"! I just happened to check this forum when I saw the post and I had a ready answer. But the similarity of both our answer is spooky.:shock: