I have a post with a 100mm square cross-section but it is roughly hewn. I want to carve some text onto it. The highest point of the surface is where I have set Z to 0. However the lowest point on the surface is 9mm below that.
SO what I would like some help with is the “enable area pocket tool”. What would I set the start S and max D to be?
Or should I do a 9mm pocket first to get everything level and the just use vcarve without the area pocket tool, setting the S to 9 and the D to, say 15?
I should have mentioned I want embossed letters if possible rather than engraved letters, but either will do.
The “Enable Pocket Area” option is for the option of creating a flat bottom at the bottom of the V carve if the design is too wide/the toolpath too shallow for things to have the correct appearance.
The pocket first, then put the V carve at the bottom of the pocket is an expedient option, but will lose much of the character of the rough surface.
My inclination for this sort of thing would be to:
first cut the entire design
review how things have cut, and decide if it should be re-cut deeper
if everything is as good as it can be with a uniform depth, determine if a specific design element would benefit from being cut deeper — separate it out and run the file for that, trying to sneak up on the desired appearance (remember, once the material is taken off, it can’t be put back)
Note that using a more acute tool will help to reduce the appearance of surface variation.
Another option would be to just cut with the machine to rough out the design, then use a chisel and some gouges to cut anything where it doesn’t deeply enough.
If you want the letters embossed, you need to cut around them, leaving the letters with the original rough sawn finish. (I like this). I would create a border around the letters & just pocket to 10mm or more…
So yes maybe I change the v-bit for a flat bit and go with the embossing. The v-bit could be problematic because the font will go fat and thin due to the uneven surface.
File is here
Unfortunately the whole issue is moot because the Shapeoko just disconnects after the first letter. The static issue is a disaster and renders the tool useless. I will take it up with Brandon. gate post private.c2d (112 KB)
Thank you. Because 9mm is so large compared to the V60 bit, I will need to flatten the surface a bit. The dream would be to be able to sample the surface which is what I do with my xtools laser cutter for example.
There is a 3rd party tool, bCNC, which will allow probing the surface and which will then map the V carve to that surface — probably there are others, but you’ll need some sort of probing setup (covering in alu. foil and using a conductive probe is the usual approach).
