I use Vcarve Desktop for my CNC work and am doing some Vcarve Inlay projects. Before commiting the actual designs to real wood, I’ve run a couple of depth setting tests. On this simple rectangle test I’m setting the DOC at .2" for the female piece and a Start depth of .18 and a Flat depth of .02 for the male piece.
As simple as this test is, I double checked my calcs and ran the test. Heres a proof shot of the project…
I cut the two pieces apart and tested the fit. They fit perfectly. But, just as I was about to put the pieces down, I noticed that the top and bottom sides of the male rectangle were slightly higher than the two sides.
So, I pulled up the original Vcarve design to see what could cause such an oddity. I saw nothing.
Looking at the photo below you can see the slope from both the top and bottom sides down to the two side pieces.
It’s difficult to tell as its on an angle, but my guess would be that the gap between the rectangles isnt the same at the top and bottom as it is at the sides. It’s the only reason I can see that you’d be getting different heights
Here’s an exadurated drawing of what I think is causing the issue
As soon as I pulled up my layout I saw exactly what I had done. Instead of using the “Offset” command to create the outer rectangle, I copied and pasted the inside rectangle on top of itself and then selected and dragged/resized it outward to about where it should be. VCarve did exactly as I asked. It enlarged the outer rectangle proportionately instead of the same amount all around as I wanted. Therefore, as my sides were a hair narrower than the top and bottom Vcarve gave me a taller top and bottom.
The newly calculated rectangle is now as follows according to my Vcarve previews:
Top and Bottom .0092 depth
Sides .0086 depth
Six ten thousandths difference. That’ll give an even more snug fit. Not Bad.
