I’m a CNC beginner (4XL) and I’m looking at Vectric software. What I like to do is make simple front panels for electronics and flight simulators and also some Nameplates for my boat for example. What would you advise me to buy, the Cut2D desktop or the Vcarve desktop?
I started out with Vectric Cut2D once I felt I had outgrown the then capabilities of Carbide Create. I would say Cut2D would be a perfectly adequate starting point for your described wants.
However, Carbide Create has developed over the last 18months or so, so take a good look there before deciding you need more than it can offer.
Probably the availability of (beginners) support videos to learn new stuff. A front panel is no problem but that’s very basic and easy, I want to learn how to do name signs for the boat (text popup) that was super easy with Easle for example, even with the automatic tool advice for the second stage of the carving. Easle increased their pricing so that’s out of my list. CC is also good but there is so much more starters information available with Easle or Vectric. Easier to learn I guess…
This simple example, I want to carve out the background, leave the text untouched. When I create the toolpaths it also takes away the letters, things like that while I have created a first toolpath of the text with zero height…
I know the solution is probably very simple but most other programs gives me a much clearer simulation results, it visualizes (3D) exactly what is going to happen so it’s easier for me to learn what I’m doing wrong. CC doesn’t have that, the simulations doesn’t help very much…
If you have a BitSetter, you can run jobs that have multiple tools in one file. When the tool number changes, the machine prompts you for the new tool.
If you do not have a BitSetter, you cannot run jobs that have multiple tools in one file.
So, you can run the Advanced VCarve Toolpath if you have a BitSetter.
(note: there are “hacky” ways to split a single file with multiple tools into multiple files each with one tool, but that requires work outside of CC/CM)
Ok, I don’t have a bitsetter but the machine stopped in the middle of the carve. That might have been the moment that I needed to change the bit…
So, if I understand it right, I can’t use the Advanced Vcarve option without a bitsetter… That is unfortunate. Even simple programs like Easel can do that, when it’s time to change the bit, Easle will raise the bit and tell you to change it, after that it tells you to Z-probe again and it continues carving…
Set it up as 2 separate toolpaths, a pocket and a Adv Vcarve without the pocketing.
disable the Vcarve & output Gcode. Now disable the pocket & enable the Vcarve & output Gcode.
2 separate files
or use @fenrus’s tool to split the single gcode file generated by CM’s Advanced v-carve toolpath. You end up with one file for the pocketing part and another file for the vbit part, which you can then just run sequentially, resetting Z zero in between
Thanks for all the advice gents, appreciate it. While I was thinking about what to do, use some different software or the tool Julien suggested, the solution came from a totally unexpected side, my wife. “so why don’t you buy a bitsetter then”?