Similar question to 'cut rather than carve'

[smarder]

I'm working on a project that is somewhat complex, I have created STL files, then sliced the model to smaller pieces. I'm having a problem keeping the edges square, and also with the cutting time. Is it possible to 'cut' outlines with the 1/8" cutting bit rather carve everything with the 1/16th carving bit without distorting the model? FYI, this project is dimension critical, so distortions and feathering cause me problems. I have already noticed that the 1/16" carving bit seems to automatically subtract from the dimensions of the project because of it's taper, is it possible to make the bit carve outside the critical dimensions, so that I may do an 'outline cut', or trim the pieces after they're carved? I have the project set up on about 10 boards, attached is an example of one of the boards. Without attaching all 10 board files, I've attached 'board #1' of 10, which includes several pieces of the column face. The project is column panel faces, measuring approx 9' 2" by 25 ". Any ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[AskBud]

I'm working on a project that is somewhat complex, I have created STL files, then sliced the model to smaller pieces. I'm having a problem keeping the edges square, and also with the cutting time. Is it possible to 'cut' outlines with the 1/8" cutting bit rather carve everything with the 1/16th carving bit without distorting the model? FYI, this project is dimension critical, so distortions and feathering cause me problems. I have already noticed that the 1/16" carving bit seems to automatically subtract from the dimensions of the project because of it's taper, is it possible to make the bit carve outside the critical dimensions, so that I may do an 'outline cut', or trim the pieces after they're carved? I have the project set up on about 10 boards, attached is an example of one of the boards. Without attaching all 10 board files, I've attached 'board #1' of 10, which includes several pieces of the column face. The project is column panel faces, measuring approx 9' 2" by 25 ". Any ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I applied an "Outline" to all three items and then applied the Cut-Out. Is This what you had in mind?
AskBud

[smarder]

I applied an "Outline" to all three items and then applied the Cut-Out. Is This what you had in mind?
AskBud
That's very close, except, there seems to be some funny business with outer curves. Looks like the outline is chopping off a little. The outer curves should be smooth and continuous. I had the same problem when I tried it, it seems to always chop off something important or distort the model slightly. I resorted to outlining the patterns with the 'connected line' tool and carving the region pierced, which added hours of cutting time and still subtracts from the outer dimensions. The 'outline' setup seems very useful to shrink cutting time, except for these imperfections. Any ideas on retaining outer dimensions in conjunction with the 1/16th inch carving bit? Thanks so much for taking time to look at it.

[Ike]

I am most likely way off but still gave it a shot! I am sure the expert(s) will figure it out! Anyway here is my attempt I am sure I over simplified it!

Ike

[smarder]

Thanks very much for looking at it, though I think you may have changed the pattern details on the surface? It's a very tricky problem.

[Ike]

Like I said I was probably way off and over simplified it.

Ike

[AskBud]

That's very close, except, there seems to be some funny business with outer curves. Looks like the outline is chopping off a little. The outer curves should be smooth and continuous. I had the same problem when I tried it, it seems to always chop off something important or distort the model slightly. I resorted to outlining the patterns with the 'connected line' tool and carving the region pierced, which added hours of cutting time and still subtracts from the outer dimensions. The 'outline' setup seems very useful to shrink cutting time, except for these imperfections. Any ideas on retaining outer dimensions in conjunction with the 1/16th inch carving bit? Thanks so much for taking time to look at it.

On mine, play with the "Inset and Flip cut. See if that helps.
AskBud

[mtylerfl]

... Looks like the outline is chopping off a little. The outer curves should be smooth and continuous. I had the same problem when I tried it, it seems to always chop off something important or distort the model slightly...

Can we assume you already tried moving the bit in relation to the outline using the Inset feature? You should be able to get it positioned just like you want, without cutting off anything important.

If you are unfamiliar with this feature, refer to your Owner's Manual - Chapter 8, pg. 80 and Chapter 9, pg. 94-96

If you don't have the Owner's Manual, you've been missing a lot! Here's the link to download it...

http://www.carvewright.com/downloads...al_rev1.02.pdf (http://www.carvewright.com/downloads/CarveWrightSoftwareManual_rev1.02.pdf)

[smarder]

I think "askbud" and "mtylerfl" have the right procedure. I'm playing with the 'flip cut' and 'inset', which seems to be getting it very close. I'm not done working it, but what I'm trying is this:
1. drop the pattern on the board
2. adjust feather to "none"
3. apply outline cutout
4. flip outline cutout
5. adjust inset

....or something along those lines.
I will work on this, and I'll post another comment to tell how it went. My hope is that setting the feather to "none" right after dropping in the pattern, then applying the outline, will give me more accuracy. I realize the carving bit has a taper and will draft the edges no matter what, but my hope is that the outline cut will correct some of that on the 90 degree edges. We'll see. Got some tinkering and measuring to do. I'm having a bit of time getting use to the vocabulary used with the software, very different from other cut path software, but I'm getting there. oh, one more thing, you think it's going to prompt me to change bits?? 1/16 th carving bit + 1/8th cutting??..or will it try to do the pattern with whatever bit I start with?

Many thanks for the very helpful tips, will update progress shortly.

[mtylerfl]

Hello smarder,

Yes, you will be prompted for the bit swap. Just be careful you follow the prompts carefully during setup - some folks get "confused" (the machine asks for the last bit first - makes sense if you think about it, nevertheless, some people get thrown off for some reason).

If you want a sort of step-by-step preview of how the "typical" setup and bit swap procedure works, you can download the latest Tips & Tricks newsletter. The free project contained therein gives the lowdown on how most projects proceed when using just the carving and cutting bits. Here's the link to download the newsletter...

ISSUE 26 November – December 2009 -Noël Holiday Decor Project (http://www.carvewright.com/downloads/tips/NOV_DEC_2009_Tips_and_Tricks_Files_for_Distributio n.zip)

[Ike]

See I knew the expert my friend Michael would have the answer! I feel so dumb I think I will just give up trying to think I know what to do! Another learning lesson and reason this forum ROCKS!

Ike

[chkorte]

I have been playing with my new CW for abouta week with some success. I have a pattern set to carve but I want to cut the outside perimeter off the pattern. I can manually place the cut path using the connected lines tool or the spline tool but it will take me forever. Is there another way to set the cut path? Basically I have a square with one of the corners out of the basic file designs on each corner. I can click on the corner pattern and use the outline tool to set the cut path but that would cut out the whole corner and I just want the outside edge cut out. I keep reading everything and trying things but am having no luck. Can someone tell me where to look or what I need to do?

[mtylerfl]

Can someone tell me where to look or what I need to do?

Show us your mpc so we can see what you are trying to accomplish. (Delete any commercial patterns off before posting the mpc.)

[chkorte]

I will try!

[chkorte]

I think this one shows it better.

[fwharris]

I have been playing with my new CW for abouta week with some success. I have a pattern set to carve but I want to cut the outside perimeter off the pattern. I can manually place the cut path using the connected lines tool or the spline tool but it will take me forever. Is there another way to set the cut path? Basically I have a square with one of the corners out of the basic file designs on each corner. I can click on the corner pattern and use the outline tool to set the cut path but that would cut out the whole corner and I just want the outside edge cut out. I keep reading everything and trying things but am having no luck. Can someone tell me where to look or what I need to do?

See if this is what you are after..

What I did was select each pattern you had and then did the outline pattern tool. To apply the cutout for the outside you select the outside path and then select the cutpath tool. I did not set that for you and I did leave all of the other paths so you could look at it.

I did notice that you have the patterns set right at the board edges and unless you are going to put a larger board into the machine you will not be able to carve this as is...

[chkorte]

See if this is what you are after..

What I did was select each pattern you had and then did the outline pattern tool. To apply the cutout for the outside you select the outside path and then select the cutpath tool. I did not set that for you and I did leave all of the other paths so you could look at it.

I did notice that you have the patterns set right at the board edges and unless you are going to put a larger board into the machine you will not be able to carve this as is...


That is what I am after but I have a question. When I select each pattern and then use the outline pattern tool, how do I apply the cutout tool to JUST the outside path?

[fwharris]

If you are on a PC, hold down the CTRL key and select each pattern. all of them should be highlighted. With all highlighted, then select the outline tool.

Find and select the path for the outside of the patterns.

[chkorte]

If you are on a PC, hold down the CTRL key and select each pattern. all of them should be highlighted. With all highlighted, then select the outline tool.

Find and select the path for the outside of the patterns.

I can get to the point where all 4 corners are highlighted and hit the outline tool but when I click on the outside path it changes over to a top and bottom half cut line. What am I doing wrong?

[chkorte]

I can get to the point where all 4 corners are highlighted and hit the outline tool but when I click on the outside path it changes over to a top and bottom half cut line. What am I doing wrong?

I think I figured out what I was doing wrong. I didn't have the corners all connecting on the sides which is why it was splitting into top and bottom halfs. Thanks for your help.

[AskBud]

I can get to the point where all 4 corners are highlighted and hit the outline tool but when I click on the outside path it changes over to a top and bottom half cut line. What am I doing wrong?

If you are trying your 2nd MPC, it has a problem. Go back to your original. The Outline works on the outer edge.

FW and I are working on another situation that we found due to that first MPC. It will not affect you, but we are scratching our heads a bit!

I'll send you a quick MP.
AskBud

[fwharris]

You probably do not have the patterns aligned so they are touching. You can not have a gap in between them.

[AskBud]

Here is a 55.7 MB AVI lesson on Outlines That cover the outside and inside "outlines" and the caution(s) involved.
AskBud
http://www2.wcoil.com/~nharbison/CW-Outlines.zip

[fwharris]

Here is a 55.7 MB AVI lesson on Outlines That cover the outside and inside "outlines" and the caution(s) involved.
AskBud
http://www2.wcoil.com/~nharbison/CW-Outlines.zip

Bud,

Great job!! Moving and over lapping the patterns in the one thing I did not try.

[chkorte]

Well my first full carving is running as I type. Thank you to mtylerfi, fwharris and AskBud for all of their help and advice. Without their assistance I would still be reading trying to find my answers. I will let you know how it turns out. I am curious about 1 thing. When I start the project the CW says load the 1/8” cutting bit and when I hit ENTER it tells me to load the 1/16” carving bit. Then when I hit ENTER it starts carving the project. Why does it tell me to load one bit and then another bit before it starts carving the project?

[AskBud]

Well my first full carving is running as I type. Thank you to mtylerfi, fwharris and AskBud for all of their help and advice. Without their assistance I would still be reading trying to find my answers. I will let you know how it turns out. I am curious about 1 thing. When I start the project the CW says load the 1/8” cutting bit and when I hit ENTER it tells me to load the 1/16” carving bit. Then when I hit ENTER it starts carving the project. Why does it tell me to load one bit and then another bit before it starts carving the project?

The CW requests the bits in reverse order of usage. That way it make it easy to begin the carve with the the correct bit.
AskBud

[chkorte]

I should assume then that when it finishes carving with the 1/16" carving bit that it is going to tell me to reload the 1/8" cutting bit.

[chkorte]

What would happen if when it tells me to load the last bit and I already have the first bit loaded I just hit ENTER as if I actually did change it?

[atauer]

I should assume then that when it finishes carving with the 1/16" carving bit that it is going to tell me to reload the 1/8" cutting bit.

Exactly. And what Bud has said is true. The machine will prompt you to load every bit needed for the project and will check it. The carving bit is the last bit checked, but the first bit that is used when carving. After carving the raster, the machine will prompt for any vector bits. In this case, the vector bit would be the 1/8th cutting bit, as a cut-path is considered a vector path.

[atauer]

What would happen if when it tells me to load the last bit and I already have the first bit loaded I just hit ENTER as if I actually did change it?

It would check the bit depth and when the two don't match would produce a code stating that the depths don't match. You will then have the option to either refind the depth of the bit, or continue as is. If you continue as is, you may encounter issues and could potentially ruin your project or break a bit.

I should know, as I have tried it and ruined an awesome project and broke a bit.

[cnsranch]

What would happen if when it tells me to load the last bit and I already have the first bit loaded I just hit ENTER as if I actually did change it?

If you already have the correct bit loaded, you can do just that.

But, if you have another bit loaded than the one the machine's asking for, you could have trouble. As an example, if the machine's asking for the cutting bit (with a planned cut-out) and you have, say, an ogee bit installed, you're gonna have problems when the machine goes to cut out the project.

There may come a time when you want to intentionally fool the machine by loading a different bit than is called for, but that tactic isn't recommended by the PTB.

[mtylerfl]

...I am curious about 1 thing. When I start the project the CW says load the 1/8” cutting bit and when I hit ENTER it tells me to load the 1/16” carving bit. Then when I hit ENTER it starts carving the project. Why does it tell me to load one bit and then another bit before it starts carving the project?

Hello,

I don't want you to have to return back here later asking how come your project didn't turn out right, or where to buy new bits! Install and swap the bits in the exact order they are called for.

Trust the machine - it knows what it's doing.;)

If you want to view a 'step-by-step' on a typical project setup procedure when using the standard carving and cutting bits (including the order in which the machine must ask for the bits), download the newest Tips & Tricks newsletter. Illustrated instructions and a free Christmas project included!

Here's the link...
ISSUE 26 November – December 2009 -Noël Holiday Decor Project (http://www.carvewright.com/downloads/tips/NOV_DEC_2009_Tips_and_Tricks_Files_for_Distributio n.zip)
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