I have a new project to learn with and i am carving it in mdf. pocket with raised letters and some cut out areas (don’t know what these would be called) I think my design is ok but it looks like it will take over 13 hours to complete?? Am I doing something wrong or is this just normal?
Dinger round sign.c2d (1.1 MB)
You are using the #102 DEFAULT tool, which has a low feedrate (so as to be safe in any material) — what material are you cutting?
If softwood, then the time gets down to 121 minutes from the 311 minutes for the first toolpath.
I would suggest making the Contour toolpath into an outside contour:
If you have a BitSetter, using an Advanced V carving toolpath w/ the pocket clearing option will speed things up quite a bit:
and yield better details:
Thanks Will your advice is a HUGE help. On the advanced vcarve still going down to .35 is acceptable depth? Then I just set up the 201 for outside contour?
Yes, that should work — check the 3D preview — if you have one, may want to consider a #251 downcut endmill at least for the outside contour.
Yeah I’m not following, when I do the advanced with carve with Pocket it goes to over 788 minutes.
If I use the 60 degree it goes down to 218.
So if i follow, starts with the 201 then to the 60 degree and then back to the 201 for the outside contour?
See the attached file.
Dinger round sign_advVcarving.c2d (1.1 MB)
so I ran your file, got the perimeter contour cut out, moved to install the 251 and it goes to bitsetter and crashes about 1/4" short so i hit stop. reload everything, start to run from the begining, and it’s on a completely different line. stop rezero restart and it’s back on the second line…
I give up.
Did you have the BitSetter configured?
Were steps lost along the Y-axis?
Are the belts properly tensioned?
I looked at your file as Will did and the #102 1/8" bit is very small considering your project is 23" around. If you divide 23’ by 1/8" you get 184 units of 1/8". That is a lot of passes to make. With a 1/4" #251 you will make 92 units of 1/4". Will’s suggestion for the #251 down cut end mill is a good one. If you want straight sides on all your objects then just a pocket operations. If you want a vee shape on all the outside of your objects then an advanced v carve will work as well. With a 23" round object any bit will take some time to pocket out all the area you have.
Good luck.
Yes
No
Yes
It makes no sense because I went back to zero and made sure I was on exact same point as first run.
On first pass measured the tool it did its dash to bitsetter told me to start the spindle and ran with no issue. Moved to the front, told me to change to the 251 I did, it went to the bitsetter came up short and that’s where it all went downhill.
If the BitSetter is configured, and you came up short on the Y-axis, then steps must have been lost on the Y-axis, otherwise the machine would have moved back to the same position — please check the Y-axis belt tension (and do the X-axis as well, usually the X-axis is a bit more forgiving).
I will check it tomorrow thanks
Nope everything was tight.
Another possibility is some mechanical interference, or toolpath feeds, speeds, or depth of cut wasn’t right, resulting in steps being lost.
I have changed the overall size down 1" and removed the original contour cut and added one back in. I will go try that and see if it works through all steps.
Well crap, f’ing did it again! What the heck, it’s simply cutting a circle there’s no EMI or anything else going on here.
I get the “cannot open port for cutter: serial port: unknown error”
Did it again exact same spot! If anyone actually works for shapeoko please do me a favor and dm me. This is completely unacceptable.
“GRBL not found on device”
“Cutter did not respond “
Are you cutting a slot just as narrow as the endmill?
Please contact us at support@carbide3d.com and we’ll do our best to sort this out w/ you.
The first cut for every tool path is just as narrow as the endmill. The contour toolpath in the file you posted does exactly this, too.
(I cut slots in aluminium, brass and wood as large as the endmill (ie: contours) every day on a Shapeoko and Nomad and have never had any issues to warrant this advice/warning. I say do it if it works and stop when it doesn’t)
