My friend is wanting me to make some nametags that are approximately 1.5 to 2 inches long and about3/4 inches tall. It should say Made by Mel. I have a 30 degree .1 mm vbit and a 70 degree and a 60 degree. My attempts have failed. Is there any certain font i should be using or a certain depth i need to carve the words??? Thanks in advance
Start with explaining why they failed. What about it failed?
The letters were so small and blended together but I am sure that is because it is so small. When i put the 30 degree .1mm vbit in and set it to cut .01 in, it said it would take an hour to cut. I am using the xcarve alura font. I just want the words barely carved in the wood just enough to read them
Can you upload a pic of what happened?
When you’re doing detail that small, your Z-zero needs to be perfect and you should really be facing the stock first. Are you taking the flat on the engraving bit into account when you zero?
Don’t understand what you mean by taking the flat on the engraving bit into account when i zero. Sorry for my ignorance. I am just wanting a simple shallow lettering.
“Taking the flat into account” refers to the fact that anything other than a true v-bit doesn’t come to a point at the bottom, but rather a very small flat surface. You need to account for that, when using such a bit, when carving extremely small detail.
so do i need to adjust the depth of cutting to allow for that?
the bit i am trying to use to get the detail letters is 30 degree/.1 mm
Well, it depends on your bit and the design; what we mean is that the bottom flat of your bit is, literally, the finest detail of your carving possible. Think of it as the ‘resolution’ of your output. In other words, if your bit had a “tip” that was 1/32" of an inch wide, then you cannot create any detail smaller than 1/32" wide (technically you could with elaborate milling paths, in some instances, by basically carving away the outside of a feature, but I’m talking about carving out material).
So if your bit as a 0.1mm flat, then you cannot get a feature carved out that’s wider than 0.1mm. Easel doesn’t acknowledge a flat on your v-bit, so you have to program a custom bit for that to have Easel render it properly. Remember, Easel trusts that the bit you used in Easel is the same as your actual bit; it doesn’t do error-checking because it can’t sense that, so you have to be sure the geometry of your tool matches the geometry of your software model.
You’ll need to raise the Z-zero by 0.2mm (technically 0.187mm).
As the v-bits get deeper, they make a wider cut. You want your Z-zero to be where the point of the bit would be if it existed.
oh ok i see. so i need to put in that I have a flat tipped bit with a .1 mm edge instead of a vbit
No, Easel can’t do what @MatthewBohrer is saying. Some programs give a lot of freedom in defining endmill geometry. Easel is not one of them. Do what I suggested. Set your Z-zero 0.2mm above your stock for the engraving. How are you setting your Z-zero?
I have the brass plate that i plug into the xcarve and it does it automatically.
Tell Easel your probe plate is 0.2mm thinner than it actually is.
how do i manually do that
Maybe someone who uses Easel with a probe can chime in.
If not, use your probe to find zero as normal, open the machine inspector, go to Z10 (G0Z10), type G10L20Z9.8
This will effectively set your Z 0.2mm higher.
I am still having problems trying to figure this out
Hi @DannyBowman - Have you ever reached out to our Customer Success team? They’d be happy to give advice or any tips.
Do your standard zero procedure, using your probe.
Then, after it is done, use the jog controls on the right of the screen to raise the Z the distance you need BEFORE setting the home position. then click the blue “confirm home position” button.