I am struggling with a V Carve. I have assembled a vine with some grapes that I would like to V carve. I did get the vectors online and have changed them quite a bit.
Everything looks fine with the toolpath but the carve is a mess.
What am I doing wrong?
Sorry. It seems I can’t seem to manage uploading pictures either.
Can you post the file?
Based on the carved picture alone, I’d say you are skipping steps. The Stepper Motors are skipping steps.
Check your machine for loose bolts, a loose belt, or any interference.
I have been able to carve other items and they are fine, so I think my problem is with the software, not the machine.
Hoping this is the file you wanted.
Thanks
Sorry. That is not the same file that I carved.
e I carved.
Please post the Carbide Create file.
2.8 inch vine and grape.c2d (284 KB)
Thanks
I suggest you select the “Enable Area Pocket Tool”
And the Max Depth is pretty shallow, I suggest going with .1
At .05 you are barely taking anything off that’s not even 1/16 of an inch. You’d be surprised how uneven a piece of wood can be.
Based on the simulation vs the photo you posted, I still say you are having a mechanical issue. The file should carve perfect even if you have a shallow max carve depth.
Turn on the machine and try to wiggle the Router. It should not move. Start there and check all bolts, belts, etc. Also ensure the wood is set far enough to the left, you may be banging into the side of the machine, ie trying to go too far to the right and it’s hitting the end of the machines travel. Check the yellow highlighted area for a loose nut.
Your settings say you have a SO 5 pro, there is a chance the screw drive came loose. That happened to me, it’s easy to fix.
Also re-initialize everything and try carving again.
The preview in Carbide Create seems fine:
and matches a wireframe preview:
as does a 3D Preview:
However, a partial preview offers a hint:
so what most likely happened is the machine began making the plunging cuts, then at the far side of movement, lost steps, then the balance of the cut was offset by the lost steps.
Thanks. I’ll give that a try and see if I can make it work.
That seems exactly what has been happening. I do not know how to correct it.
So if the machine is losing steps it seems something is wrong with my machine setup, correct?
I have initialized several times.
Is there a simple test that I can do to see if the machine is losing steps?
Thanks
You can see the rapids and toolpaths by hiding the Simulation:
and it should be straight-forward to set origin relative to the stock and run the job as an air cut and watch it to see where the collision happens and steps are lost.
I watched the tool path carefully and did not notice any collision. I have gone through a maintenance video and tightened all ball screw mounts, motors, rails and the like.
I also tried to carve something that I have previously completed successfully and had a similar outcome.
I am thinking there is something off with the machine, not the software.
I am waiting to hear back from support, which was great the last time I had an issue, but I have been struggling for two days and am looking to get this fixed.
I appreciate all the replys. If there is anything else you would advise, I’d gladly give it a try.
Thanks
If you had the dust boot on the machine during the cut, check clearance with the hold down clamp in the lower left corner of your picture. When the machine is cutting the left side of the vine, it looks like you only have ~ 2.5 inches vertical from the vine to the hold down. My dust boot would not fit there, leading to a collision and possible lost steps for the remainder of the cut. Cheers.
Note: I rotated your image 180 degrees looking at the issue, making my lefts your rights and my lower, your upper.
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