How to cut path when using sled?

[gyroplane]

I am using a thin material on a sled to get the the required 0.5" thickness. I am importing and tracing the image I would like to cut out. If I use the 'cut path' option I see no way to define a depth, and it will cut all the way thru the sled. If I select a bit and set a depth, it then follows the center of my path, so I remove more material on the outside of my path than I would like (cut path places the bit at the edge of the path instead of the center).

Is there an easy method I am missing to get a cut path (or route path) that will cut to the inside of my path at a specified depth? (Carve region isn't working well for me either, because it takes much longer, and I tend to lose some of the small corners and details that I can keep if I use a single vector path).

Thanks.
-Sky

[Jeff_Birt]

There is no easy way to do what you want as you cannot select the side of the line to cut on with the 'Select Bit' tool. One option is to make you artwork slightly bigger to account for 1/2 bit the cutting bit diameter. The other option is to use a 14.5" wide sled. When the stock (or sled/stock) is full width the machine can't go through it's normal routine to discover the depth of the stock (touching down on the rear guide plate) and it will prompt you to enter the stock depth on the keypad.

[RickC]

There is no easy way to do what you want as you cannot select the side of the line to cut on with the 'Select Bit' tool. One option is to make you artwork slightly bigger to account for 1/2 bit the cutting bit diameter. The other option is to use a 14.5" wide sled. When the stock (or sled/stock) is full width the machine can't go through it's normal routine to discover the depth of the stock (touching down on the rear guide plate) and it will prompt you to enter the stock depth on the keypad.

When you say can't discover depth of stock, do you mean it will not go through the finding surface routine where the bit touches the surface of the wood? I would like to know which thickness you enter on the keypad.. the thickness of the sled or the thickness of the work? Is finding the depth from the rear plate the same as finding surface? Using a 14.5 wide sled seems like the answer to cut thin wood that sits on top of the sled. Just not sure which figure to enter in keypad, work or sled thickness.

Thanks

[Jeff_Birt]

When you first install a bit it goes over and touches the bit plate and then comes back and finds the surface of the wood. So the machine knows where the top surface of the wood is but it still has no idea how thick it is. When you do a cut out, in addition to the routine above, the bit also touches down on the rear guide plate, calculates the difference between the surface of the wood and the rear guide and no knows the stock thickness. With a wide sled (or stock) the bit can't reach the rear guide so it prompts you to enter the stock thickness so it knows how deep to cut. Enter the actual thickness of the stock whether or not your using a sled.

[RickC]

When you first install a bit it goes over and touches the bit plate and then comes back and finds the surface of the wood. So the machine knows where the top surface of the wood is but it still has no idea how thick it is. When you do a cut out, in addition to the routine above, the bit also touches down on the rear guide plate, calculates the difference between the surface of the wood and the rear guide and no knows the stock thickness. With a wide sled (or stock) the bit can't reach the rear guide so it prompts you to enter the stock thickness so it knows how deep to cut. Enter the actual thickness of the stock whether or not your using a sled.

Thank you, very informative. One more question, I assume the answer will be no but we all know about assuming.. With a wide sled when I enter a thickness less than .5 on the keypad, will I get a message.. "Does not fit within the parameters of the machine" or something to that effect that I have seen in the software come up if I exceed the machine limits. And, will the keypad request override the software set up? For that matter what would I enter in the software for thickness and width or is that not relevant with a wide sled..

Well seems one question turned into a few more. lol

[Jeff_Birt]

No, the machine will happily cut what ever depths you enter (it actually goes just a bit deeper). I have used a wide sled to cut 1/4" material. It will only prompt you for the depth, you can enter it in fractional units, "1/4" or deciaml "0.25".