(Apologies if this has been asked and answered elsewhere, but I didn’t find what I was looking for when I searched. It’s possible I also didn’t search the right keywords.)
Whenever I use a vcarve toolpath, it takes significantly longer to cut than what is estimated. The bit seems to go up and down several times over the same place not doing anything. For example, it will cut a small hole to start a larger channel, then hover over that hole and go up and down several times cutting air, then finally start the rest of the cut.
I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong or have some settings not right, but I don’t know how to correct this.
I can upload a video of what’s happening or a project file this happens with, if either would help. I’m watching one right now that took over an hour to do what was estimated as a 6-minute vcarve.
When vcarving set your retract height the lowest you can. I usually set mine at .125". When the vee bit is cutting out corners it will tend to up and down over and over. You are likely not doing anything wrong but it is the way the software works.
@WillAdams is suggesting the beta v8 of CC. I downloaded it but have not tried it yet. The good thing about loading a new version is the old version is not removed. that is v7 will not be removed by v8. However 7.1 to 7.2 etc will delete the 7.1 when installing 7.2. So you can keep the stable release of v7 and try the v8.
I set retract height to 0.0625", that saves a lot of time. Also, I’ve been setting plunge rate to 30-45 IPM. That will reduce cut times significantly, especially with complex designs.
Also, if your stock isn’t perfectly flat the machine might think its cutting, but it is not…
I didn’t realize that V8 wouldn’t overwrite but, so I will give it a shot. I read the release notes and it doesn’t seem too bad, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
I’ll also try the retract height and plunge setting changes on a test piece.