Hi everyone,
I’ve been carving a fair amount of stuff with Easel and my Carvey, but I’m trying to get beyond the 2.5 D aspect of Easel. I found kiri (Kiri:Moto), and I can import STL files and make it slice and generate a gcode. A few questions arise at that point, though:
- Should I use kiri to send the gcode, or download it and send it thru Easel?
- Either way, how do I know where I am relative to the stock that’s loaded?
- If I have a relatively small object, how do I make sure that it doesn’t try to mill out the entire area, other than my piece? Especially the clamp!
Thanks for the help!
jg
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That is a very interesting tool…
I will be following this to see if there are any good suggestions.
I’m having issues myself about getting past the Easel 2.5D mark. And many of the other tools out there like Fusion 360 just seems too complicated to use and most requires CNC coding knowledge. I hope Kiri will be a good 3D carving alternative - It seems quite easy to generate the toolpaths and to specify the tools and speeds.
Hi @StewartAllen I just noticed you are the go-to guy regarding KIRI:MOTO.
And I noticed that there is already an option to choose the Inventables Carvey in the devices list, so we are almost there, so that is great. A few questions remain before the 3D carving can begin 
Defining the thickness of stock
How do I define the stock thickness when using with the Carvey (Smart-Clamp and homing etc.)?
Max spindle rpm
In the settings for the Carvey the spindle speed is set to 0 - Is this how it is supposed to be?
The standard setting “Origin center” generates an error
In the same tab the origin center is enabled as standard causing the generated G-Code to fail when it is getting imported to Easel. I get an error saying:
Invalid G-Code:
Part of your design is under the Smart Clamp and cannot be carved. Move your design away from the Smart Clamp and try again. You must use one of our official post-processors in order to import external gcode.
Removing the checkmark in Origin Center before exporting, resolves that issue. Considering the Carvey has the “Smart-Clamp” for homing purposes and measuring the bit length i guess the lower left corner ought to be the origin as standard for the Carvey and somewhere the stock thickness needs to be defined in order for the Smart-clamp to be functional.
Tool lengths:
The length of the tools are not defined - Should they be defined properly before use or will this info come from the Smart-Clamp? (Considering the stock thickness isn’t defined anywhere I’m guessing the info from the clamp is not complete)
I guess these are the only questions I have before I can start carving in 3D
Kind Regards
Thomas
Hi, Thomas. Thanks for the thoughtful writeup.
I’ll fix the carvey definitions to uncheck “origin center”. I do not have direct experience with carvey, so can’t really speak to smart clamping. I would love recommendations on how to better handle them.
As for stock thickness, it’s assumed to be the same as part thickness for the purposes of code generation. If you want to recess the part into the stock, then set the “z top offset” to that amount.
A max spindle speed of “0” means there is no max spindle speed defined. Do you know what it is for carvey?
Tool definitions are not stored with device definitions, so you just need to add your own tools. The defaults are just there as starters.
Regards,
Stewart
Great… Thank you for your prompt reply @StewartAllen
Unfortunately I’m not that much into the details of the smartclamp either, but I think that a combination of the definition of the stock thickness and the smart clamp probe defines the length of the tool.
I do not know if this is useful to you, but the G-code for a small 5x5mm rectangle for Carvey looks like this:
G90
G21
G28
G21 G38.2 Z-71 F80
G10 L20 P1 X17 Y-12.25 Z12.7
G54
G0 Z20
G0 X20 Y20
M3 S12000
G0 X28.812 Y28.812
G1 Z-0.200 F228.6
G1 X28.812 Y28.812 F1219.2
G1 X26.987 Y28.812 F1219.2
G1 X26.987 Y26.987 F1219.2
G1 X28.812 Y26.987 F1219.2
G1 X28.812 Y28.812 F1219.2
G90
G21
G53 G0 Z-1
G54
G30
M5
G4 P0.1
I assume that the first operations are the ones that needs to be applied to get the correct process.
Spindle Speed
The max spindle speed is 12000 RPM on the Carvey.
Material thickness
I guess as a start I just have to import an extra 3D part that has the correct stock thickness - Then the rest of the toolpaths should be calculated accordingly.
Tools
I think I’ll make a set of all my tools then.
Regards,
Thomas
I won’t be able to add smart clamp support immediately. But it’s on my list now. I’ve updated the Carvey device definition with max spindle speed and lower left origin. I appreciate any feedback on how this works with your setup.
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