Carbide Create 440 Beta (Now 445)

We’ll add the Amana tools to the library soon. We’ll assign a tool number that’s built into CC and CM so the prompting is clear when you run the gcode but the data in CM will include the vendor and model number so it’s clear what the exact tool is.

@fenrus - I’ll check that sequence out and see if we can duplicate it.

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Hi Rob,

1 - When I create my own library, it doesn’t seem to save. I click ‘Ok’ but the library doesn’t persist.

2 - When I right-click to add a new cutter, nothing appears. No ‘add cutter’ option. (Running build 440 on Mac OS 10.14.6)

I think some of the trouble with libraries not showing up is that the filter boxes on top force the new library to be hidden. We’ll do an update in the next day to fix this and then we can see how many of these problems go away.

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Just posted build 441 to:

https://carbide3d.com/carbidecreate/beta/

It’s got a few tweaks to fix adding/removing new libraries.

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just retested with build 441 but the issue I reported is still there…

While the tool library is still a bit awkward to use (I can’t seem to edit tools reliably from inside the app) it is a giant step in the right direction. I now do my editing directly on the CSV file using a plain old text editor. This way I managed to create and edit a few metric tools. Still a lot of blank fields, and the units are awkward (for example, feed is entered in “mm” - mm per second or per minute?). But finally I can transfer my custom tools (all of them metric) from my home Mac to the basement machine that sits near the Shapeoko. Kudos to the development team.

We found the problem and fixed it in 442:

We’ve still got some changes to make (we know it’s not perfect) but I’d be interested to hear what makes it awkward right now.

All rates are “per minute”.

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I’ll test tonight when I get home.

(I’ll second that this is a very nice improvement… and curious what we all here will do with this… I can imagine the S&F spreadsheet here being able to export CSV soon for example :wink:

Well, part of the awkwardness was that it didn’t seem to save any of the modifications I made :slight_smile: I haven’t had a chance to try 442 yet but I assume that’s history now.

Another awkward part is that the Edit Tool mask does not provide a field to enter the flute length which, I guess, is an important parameter, no? Flute length is shown in the Cutter Information but is not editable. But I was happy to find it editable in the CSV file.

Hope this helps.

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We had a debate about this and it was a tough decision. Step downs are rarely larger than the flute length and it doesn’t have an effect on the toolpath calculation. We’re working under the impression that an increasing in the number of fields increases the complexity exponentially. (Tool geometry confuses people a lot)

Yeah, I can see that - but then again, as is often the case with my cutters, if the cutter diameter is less than the shaft diameter (for example, 8mm shaft, 3mm cutter diameter), care must be taken not to exceed the flute length when fixing the cutting depth. Therefore it seems useful to be able to see the flute length of a given tool - in fact, the program could even issue a warning to indicate that cutting depth exceeds flute length, and that the mill can’t “dive” into the material any deeper than the flute length allows.

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442 still wouldn’t let me edit a tool. Found the problem though. This refers to the Mac version. In Germany, the decimal separator is not a period but a comma. So, to indicate a diameter of four and a half millimeters, your average German will write 4,5mm. I had the Region preference set up to use the comma because that’s what my e-banking app needs. I found out in the Advanced Preference settings (OSX) that the decimal separator can be set differently for numbers and currency values. So, I set it back to period for numbers but left the comma in place for currency. Lo and behold, editing tools in CC442 now works like a charm (haven’t done a lot of thorough testing, but at first sight it looks very promising).

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That’s interesting. This new code should respect the locale in the operating system and use a comma or period depending on what’s appropriate. (A German comma was the actual example in the documentation. ). I’ll have to look into that a little more.

Right now, Carbide Create will never pick a cutting depth that’s deeper than what the user entered. Because of that, the flute length would never be used for anything. (And in some ways, the cutting depth value is a proxy for the flute length)

Again, all of that could change, but that’s the thinking that led us to the current implementation. If this new build is well-received when it’s released on the stable channel, and most people seem to deal with the tool entry well, then I can see allowing more of the tool geometry to be defined.

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I’m talking about user error - like me, trying to cut 15mm material all the way through with a cutter that has only 12mm flute length. Not gonna work. That was my scenario.

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fix for my issue is confirmed fixed in 442… thanks for fixing!

Anyone else have this problem? AVG antivirus is saying the 442 .exe file has a rare virus. I tried it on two different computers–Win10 and Win7 systems–and I got the same result. I was going to run it anyway, but thought I’d check here first.

False positive.

Please check the .exe with a 3rd party virus checker such as

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/

so that you’re confident of it being safe.

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Quick questions. Are the different types of materials going to be added, such as hard woods. because every time i go to my main set up. its always on acrylic even after i put it on MDF and save it.

Yes, we will eventually add the most commonly used materials.

For a preview, and some feeds and speeds to use, please see:

That bug was noted in our team communications and confirmed and will hopefully be fixed presently.

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We just posted build 444 to Carbide Create Beta Downloads to fix that bug.

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