Which bit to use when using VBit? Seems they wont appear in the options. On either Z Y or X
I use my vbit and choose #201. It is an electrical connection so the surface of the BitZero and bit connect and electrical connection is made setting zero.
When using a Vbit you can only probe Z, and you can pick any tool from the menu to do so, it won’t matter.
XYZ probing is not possible due to the geometry of the Vbit.
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How would I go about setting X / Y for the V Bit?
Eyeball it. I’s usually easy to manually jog the tip of the Vbit over the desired X/Y zero coordinates (say 0.1" above the surface then lower it if more precision is needed) and set zero for X/Z there
EDIT: or use another (square) endmill to define zeroes, but it requires one more tool change.
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And if you are using the BitSetter this is made easy for you. Just set zero with a flat endmill and then run your job and switch out to the V when prompted
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Got it; yeah I have the settler, will then use a flat endmill to find X / Y / Z and then change to the VBit. Thanks.!
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after zeroing with the square endmill, don’t forget to use the “change tool” button at the time you load the VBit, it’s mandatory to use that button anytime you change the tool or the bitsetter will lose its Z reference.
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So basically, initialize machine, let it run to home then bit setller. Then change but to a square mill ( which of the ones that came in the started pack is best suited for this ? ), let it probe X Y Z, then press the change tool and change it to a V Bit, and then pres start? I think it will auto run to the bit settler again and then start if i am not mistaken.
Probably more precise than probing with an endmill (depending on the eyeballs, I guess).
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maybe this is where one of those dummy endmills come in that are only round without cutting edges…
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Yes, basically that. Do use the “change tool” every single time you replace the tool in the router (so in your example, also do it when you change from whatever tool was in place when you initialized the machine, to that square endmill). You can use any tool you have which is in the list, actually you can use any tool you have that is the same diameter as a tool in the list (CM just needs to know the diameter of the tool you are using to subtract half of it from the measured value to determine the position of the center of the endmill). Preferably avoid single-flute cutters because they can probe a little differently depending on how the flute is oriented when probing. Your #201 will be good, or as @fenrus said if you have a 1/4" blank that’s even better.
Now you may come to realize that having to swap to/from another tool “just” for probing is getting old quickly if you do a lot of v-carving, so specifically for Vbits eyeballing it works fine in 99% of the time (because chances are that you are using the vbit to carve some text or vector in the middle of a design, and a sub-mm error in zeroing won’t be visible anyway).
One last trick you should know about: some Vbits have a small flat on their tip, they don’t come to a pinpoint. When zeroing with those vbits (either manually or using the probe), you will need to raise Z zero ever so slightly to compensate for that flat tip, because CC generates a toolpath for an “ideal” vbit coming to a perfect point at the tip.
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