Add custom bits to easel

Easel
1

Hi everyone, how can you add a “Tapered ball nose” bit to easel? I just got the 46828-k from Amana

Thanks

1 Like
2

Easel dont support tapered end-mills.
Only straight bits and V-bits.

3

Thank you

4

did you find program that xcarve supports these bits.

5

When I carve designs that utilize ball end mills or other specialized types, or Easel dont offer the design capability I need I use Fusion360.

Gcode generated in Fusion360 can be run using Easel as the gcode sender.

What I mean by “Easel dont support…” is that the generated gcode do not take the special shape of the bit into account. Easel only support straight bits and V-bits. Any bit can be used, but Easel wont know about it.

6

The Vetric suite, The Carveco Suite, and Fusion 360 all account for the tapered shape properly and make the correct toolpaths for tapered ball bits. Each of these 3 companies/programs have post processors for xcarve and the resulting gcode can be sent to the machine either through Easel or through a dedicated gcode Sender like UGS or OpenBuilds gcode sender

7

is there one you recommend before i purchase??

8

Well
Fusion360 is free for hobbyists, (but rapids are removed and its a mechanical engineering desig. Software, so its a lot more difficult to get the hang of) heres how one would do a pocket text sign: FUSION 360 TUTORIAL - HOW TO CARVE SIGN ON A CNC ROUTER - YouTube

Vetric has trials (but you can’t get the gcode from the trial, so you gotta pay to actually carve) and they have tutorials on their website and mark Lindsay does a bunch of vcarve on YouTube.

Carveco maker has a 90 day trial (its time limited since it does allow you to save the gcode and carve with it) they also have a repository of tutorial videos as well as a others on YouTube

Here’s that carveco trial (its not easily found on their website. And the landing page identifies a different brand, but the post processors are all there for your cnc :+1:)

Personally I use carveco the most, when easel won’t get the job done. Vetric has a big initial price and I prefer the monthly smaller payment option, in the long run (like 5 years) since Vetric only comes with 12 months of software updates, and you’d likely pay the annual fee for the new updates, they are nearly identical costs.

Fusion360 is great for mechanical designs, but its very tough to learn. So many options can be overwhelming.

Carve from an stl in f360: https://youtu.be/mpnZcgW2k3E
Vs carve from stl in carveco maker: 3D Carving with STL files in Carveco Maker - YouTube
Vcarve process is nearly identical to carveco but I have the trial so I haven’t done an actual carve v with vcarve :see_no_evil: