Before seeing this forum this morning, I emailed the support team asking for help understanding a few features within the Modeling Tab pertaining to importing and working with STL files (I will post the email with pics below). Although I am a fairly accomplished woodworker, I am considered to be an extreme novice in CNC. I have always realized the value of using them for my projects, but I never had the money or the time to purchase one before. Finally, I purchased my first machine, a Shapeoko XDXL, earlier this year and have enjoyed learning how to use it. By watching the tutorials and by trial and error, I am steadily gaining confidence in designing and making 2D objects. I was asked to make a 3D object, and this is where I have run into trouble; read the email posted below;
Good morning. I am writing to ask if someone can direct me to the right place. For the past couple of weeks, I have been trying to make what should have been a simple design, attached below.
Vector Badge 2.c2d (744 KB)
Before attempting to recreate the coin front into a wood surface, I made sure to watch all the Carbide Create training videos first. However, I found that the guy who does the CC training videos moves a little too fast for someone who has never done this before. The videos assume that you already have a basic understanding of the settings and what they do, so he does not go into detail on what exactly each setting does and how it affects the piece. So, I decided to try watching unsponsored videos on YouTube, but there isn’t much content out there to pull from.
Going with what I thought would be correct, I purchased an STL file of the badge (attached) and began building what looked to be a fairly straightforward project. My plans were to have the badge raised to about 3mm or 1/8in with an outside ring at the same height. I imported the STL file of the badge and created a 1mm outside offset. Then, I set the height to 3mm with a Merge Type of ADD and created a 3mm pocket tool path that ran from the outside edge of the badge to the inside edge of the outside ring. After creating the lettering that was to run in the circular ring around the badge, I created another 3mm pocket toolpath that ran from the outside edge of the ring to the edge of the stock.
In theory, the badge, if rounded, should have had the edge of it beginning 3mm below the surface of the stock and the middle even with the surface. Once the interior and exterior pockets were cut, then both the badge and the ring would be raised, leaving the overall thickness of the rest of the stock 3mm less tan when I began. Since I am using 3/4 inch MDF for test pieces, that means it should have come out to about 15.3mm or .6 inches, which it did. Everything on the design worked fine except for the badge. No matter what I do, I cannot seem to get the badge to appear raised (embossed) inside of the ring. I know it is a simple setting issue because the badge is either cut way too deep or the bit barely touches it, so there is nothing but a few little lines on the badge face.
Either way, I am having issues trying to create this model, and I was hoping someone could point me to 3D tutorials that are made for the extreme novice. As I said before, I attached the STL file, but being a novice, I am not sure how to make it do what I want. I assumed that it would come with the toolpaths necessary for making it raised, but I found it doesn’t work that way. I really need a resource that explains in detail the import and shape parameters and how they relate to each other, as well as the image itself.
Please, if someone can point me towards a resource that slowly explains in detail the various settings and their relevance to the overall image, let me know. Thank you.