I am a little confused on how to use a v-bit. I have some details that I thought would be perfect for a v-bit (small and intricate). When I set up the tool path it didn’t project a tool path. I think the way the v-bit depth is controlled by the width of the boundary so why wouldn’t at least scratch the surface? I get it may not be deep but at least it would be something.
So I tried a single straight line. I tried it on pocket, contour and VCarve. Used a 60 degree v bit. For pocket there was no carve, as expected. For contour the result was a 0.5 wide inch straight groove like a end mill? I could vary the depth but it was always like an 0.5 end mill. When I used VCarve, no carve. I don’t understand.
Can someone point me in the right direction to understand what the heck I am doing?
Simple vcarving the bit tries to touch both sides of the lines you are carving when you set use stock bottom. So how ever wide the line the vee bit will plunge to a depth where both sides of the line are touched by the vee bit. This can create very deep v shaped lines. You can limit the depth of the vee bit but on a wide line it can create some funny looking stuff.
However the Advanced Vcarve is different. If you have wide lines you select area clearing and an end mill and that area between a wide line is cut flat with a depth limit for the flat the then a second pass is made with a vee bit to cut the v shape on t he outsides of the walls of your lines.
As Will pointed out a simulation of a tool path with a vee bit only shows properly with a vcarve or advanced vcarve tool path and will not render properly with a profile, pocket or another type of tool path.
You could try a vee bit with a pocket or profile tool path saved as gcode in another tool like CamBotics to see if you are going to get what you expect but Carbide Create will not work in those tool paths for a vee bit.
Here is the file. It kind of works. It carves but if I wanted to make it a little “bolder” I could not do it. And I had to manually make the the straight lines at the bottom wider.
I can get the lettering bolder if I use vcarve and use the start height of 0.01 and end height of 0.3. I vary the boldness by varying the start height. I am not sure what that will actually do on the machine IRL.
Just to close this topic I used the start depth to make the letters a little more bold. It did a great job but is really sensitive. I used 0.02 and it was good. Moved to 0.04 and it bled all the letters together.
