This is for MT!

[billybehr]

Michael,

Have a quick question for you. I was reading your article in the Jul 2009 T&T. You mentioned that you had a thunderstorm come through during that long carve, so you shut down the machine and then restarted it after you power came back on. Your direct quote was this:

"A side note - during the second mpc run, we had a severe thunderstorm come into our area about an hour before the mpc was finished. I stopped the machine and unplugged it. Sure enough, about 15 minutes later, we lost power and it stayed off for about two hours. When the power was restored, I re-did the mpc with a “zero” carve region placed over the previously carved area and reloaded the project."

Could you go into a little more detail as to the "zero carve region". I think I know where you are going with this, but I just want to make sure I understand what you are doing completely. I have had my machine quit on my for various reasons and had to restart it, but I normally would just run it again and let it "ghost carve". I am guessing your method saves considerable time and aggravation. Thank you in advance for you time and mentorship.

Bill

[DocWheeler]

Bill,

While waiting for Michael, enter "zero carve region" with the quotes in the search box.
I think you will find the answer you are looking for.

[gwhiz]

It's really simple, just draw a a rectangle over the part of the design that has already been carved, click the carve region button, and set the carve depth to zero. The CW will ignore that part of the design and pick up where it left off, skipping what's already been carved.

There may be a line where the new and old carve overlaps but a little sanding will fix it up. I've got a couple downstairs that I need to finish in this way.

Good luck!

[fwharris]

Here is a visual example. Just as stated. Make sure the region is over sized.

[mtylerfl]

Hi Bill - sorry for the delay, I just saw your post. Looks like a few folks already answered the question for you, so I think you're good to go!

One thing I've observed is the CW will often pause for awhile when over the zero carve region before proceeding. I guess it's "thinking" before moving on.

[billybehr]

Thanks guys. I thought I was going in the right direction, but it is always reassuring knowing that what you are doing is the correct method.

Bill