Geee, even I didn’t know that shortcut to find that directory Allen. You’re good.
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Thanks Allen
Thats another step on the learning curve for me
I think the post processors for xcarve is now preloaded in vcarve. I used my new machine for the first time last night. Drew a circle in vcarve and saved the tool path and xcarve inch and xcarve mm were already there. I used inch and cut the air which seemed to be done correctly. But not certain. I need to play more tonight.
I need to configure UGS, I think, but not sure what needs to be done if anything. It seemed to work. I’ll cut more air tonight and see.
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That’s good. I’m glad you’re taking easy, one step at a time. That is the key. We’re always here if you have any hard time. Don’t hesitate asking questions.
I took the plunge and laid down the money for Vcarve Desktop a few days ago, so I’ll be stalking this thread now. So far, I’m loving the software. It’s really easy to use and really intuitive. I imported a design I had done, cleaned up a few things, am working on tweaking one or two more things, but I should be looking to run my first v-carve tomorrow morning. fingers crossed
On a side note, I also took the plunge and ordered the 611, mount, and Elaire collet yesterday. Home Depot was offering $25 off any dewalt purchase over $100, so the 611 came in at $91.
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You’re on good direction. Glad to hear your upgrades.
Don’t forget, there is a old saying. “How do you eat Elephant? answer is one bite at a time”
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Ok now I need a bit of help. I’ll try here before starting a topic.
My Z travel is really wonky using vcarve. Goes way to far. So I did the machine setup through Easel and selected the machine size and all that. Made my first test carve and it was great.
So then I went back to vcarve and drew a rectangle. Set the cut depth as 0.125" and told it to pass over the workpiece at 0.2". Generated the gcode and used UGS to send the code. This is what happened:
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Z went straight down over and inch driving the router straight into the mdf. Hit the stop and canceled.
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Removed the wood to try in air cut. Same thing happened but I let it go cause there was no wood.
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The machine started to cut the rectangle in the air at what appeared to be the proper dimensions, except it was cut to the bottom left of the start position instead of top right.
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Once if cut the rectangle, it didn’t go back to the start position, it went further to the lower left and stopped there.
I also couldn’t get the homing function to work in the easel setup, but that’s a separate issue I’ll tackle later, unless someone had some thoughts on it. It homed in the z direction only. X and Y didn’t move.
Did you run Z zero on your material before sending G code??
You may want to follow this link. Correct 'z' zero method?
Pay real close attention to the datum position in vcarve.( in the material setup screen) Make sure you know where the file is starting from, the top of the material or the surface of the wasteboard? You also set the starting corner or center of the material here.
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I second this. I posted this earlier, but it seems to have gone away. It sounds like maybe the datum position is set to the bottom of the material rather than the top, and is therefore trying to go down from the surface of the wasteboard.
I’ll have another look guys. Something more seems wrong though. Like ending in the opposite corner that it started. And taking such deep passes. I’ll have another look though.
Great reminder for me as well. Thanks for share that adage.
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Allen, I think your reply hit on a step I’m stuck at in my first vcarve attempt. And, like Brendan’s reply, I can’t find that “My_PostP” directory either. Are these post processor files supposed to be on the computer running VCarve dekstop or the computer connected to the CNC (X-carve in my case) running UGS?
Also, how should we be exporting or saving the file as in vcarve for import/use by UGS?
Hello Mike,
The Vcarve post processor performs the same type of function as a printer driver. It makes the gocde produced by Vcarve work on a specific device (in this case the XCarve). So the post processor needs to be on the same machine you are running Vcarve on.
When you Save your toolpath (gcode), you will choose the XCarve Post processor and then the resulting gcode file you save will be ready to send to the XCarve.
To save the toolpath (gcode) file you will click the “Save Toolpath” icon
Then check the toolpath you wish to save. You can only have a single tool in each toolpath. So if your project only uses one tool then you can save all the toolpaths together into a single gcode file.
In this example I have three toolpaths, but they all use the same tool, so I put a check mark next to each one and save them all together as one gcode file.
But if you use a .125 inch end mill to cut one portion and then a .25 inch end mill for another portion you will need to save each of those toolpaths separately
Vcarve is good about warning you if you try to save more than one tool in a toolpath.
After you have your gcode files saved, you will need to get them to the computer you have connected to the Xcarve.
Then you just open the gcode file you want in UGS and send it to the Xcarve (after setting your zeros correctly).
Thank you Allen. That helps. Looks like VCarve desktop already had the X-carve post processor loaded and I didn’t need to use the downloaded .pp files from Inventables. Now to head back to the shop and give it a run.
You are going to love using Vcarve!
Just make sure you check that the X-Y zero is where you expect (lower left or center), Vcarve will default it to the last location you selected.
Also be sure the Rapid Z gap above material is set to a value you want (I keep it at .2 inches) and that the home start Z position is reasonable (that is the height it lifts the Z axis when you click send)
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Yeah, vcarve looks awesome. I can’t wait to get going w/ it. Had a window of opportunity in my shop but then ran into UGS/grbl issues. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a carve in before the day is out but, I’m not holding my breath.
The hardest part of this hobby is finding the time to do all things I want to try.
Could you call me and walk me through this? I am totally lost as to how this works!
I highly recommend checking out these tutorials.
They have in depth videos that will teach you how to use the software
I have learned a tone from watching them 