I am a newbie to this. I did a trial run on a unit plaque about 13 inches across. I think it came out pretty good, but I want to inverse the image. I want the letters and skull to be raised, and the background to be sunken.
There’s a lot of fine details around the skull and letters, so I intend to use the 1/8" bit to cut around those. But I’d like to use a larger bit (1/4 perhaps) to pocket the rest to speed it up and also not risk breaking my smaller 1/8.
What’s the best way to pocket out such a large area with a big bit and then transition to a smaller pocket around the letters and image?
I don’t have CC Pro, so I might have to give contouring a try. I’m guessing I’d probably have to make an additional outline of the letters/skull to keep the pocket from going to close to the actual, right?
Select all the inner objects and the inner circle. Do an advanced vcarve. Look at the simulation. The skull and letters should be raised above the circle.
If you want to keep the pocket away from the vectors a little bit to allow for a finish cut with the contour path(s), Lie to it and tell it you’re using a 0.270" tool. Actually cut it with a 0.250, leaving 0.010 on the walls to clean up with the smaller tool. That way you don’t have to create extra geometry.
This second round I went with the advanced V-Carve and I think it came out much better. The edge that broke off was only because I used the backside of the first test. Thanks for the advice, folks.
