Vcarve change of height problem

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Hi All,

I’m using CC’s Vcarve feature to engrave on brass with a 10 degree V bit. It engraves correctly for the first part of the text but then seems to cut in the air for the rest of the engrave. The brass sheet is level
so I’m not sure what is causing the spindle to “cut” at a new height.

Here’s a video:

[https://photos.app.goo.gl/rwCASfTbSwUiAVis8]

Am I doing something wrong?

Many thanks,
Gunter
Debs daughter Olivias text 10 deg.c2d (208 KB)

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Hi Gunter,

My guess: either the brass sheet is not as level (and flat) as you think, or you broke off the tip of the 10°vbit.
Hard to tell from the video, but I would maybe bet on the latter, since 10° vbit have very fragile tips, I have broken my share of them.

If not, does the problem occur again if you re-zero and retry ?

1 Like
3

Hi Julien,

Thanks for your input.

I agree 10° vbits are super fragile. Oddly, when I reset zero and ran the operation again, it cut 25% of the operation and the spindle went straight up and stopped.

I’m now doing another test.

Another question… how does one order the cutting of the text? It seems to start cutting on the 3rd word, engraves some letters, then moves on to the 4th word and so on. Is there a way to set it so that it cuts the first word then second etc in order?

Many thanks,
Gunter

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Which version of Carbide Create are you using? Ordering of cuts (the Traveling Salesman Problem) was improved in a recent version.

For full control, you’d assign a separate toolpath to each word.

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Will I’m using Build 762.

Thank you,
Gunter

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Hi again Julien,

You were spot on, the 10° vbit did have a tiny break off the tip. What would you suggest for the speeds and feeds for this vbit on brass?

Many thanks,
Gunter

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Trick question. Vbits are strange when it comes to figuring out what feeds and speeds work well, and very acute vbits even more so. “Very slow” is my best answer, you may want to check your speeds and compare them to what Winston recommended in this brass-related episode of MaterialMonday:

and then dial them back a bit.

You may also want to consider using an engraving bit or even a diamond-drag bit if you are not cutting very deep ? Honestly, using a 10° vbit in anything other than wood is a recipe for frustration. Or at least use a vbit that has a small rounded/flat tip, resolution will be less but it will not break as easily.

1 Like
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Thanks Julien, yes I think you’re right about the frustration because they are so easy to break. I might try a 20 degree vbit instead. I’ve seen Winston’s video, thank you and my feeds and speeds are definitely more conservative.

Thank you for your advice :slight_smile: Gunter

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Oh sorry, another question. When using the vcarve option in CC, the spindle retracts very, very often and while I’ve set my retract height to just 1mm, for cursive text it takes ages to engrave. Is there any way to reduce the retractions?

Thank you,
Gunter

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I’m afraid not. V-carving intrinsically uses many small moves with retraction in between them. Doing FAST retract moves is a way to mitigate, but unless I am mistaken there is no way to configure retract speed in CC.

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Gotcha, thanks Julien.
Gunter

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