Hello!
I just purchased my first CNC and I’m currently stumbling through learning to use it. I’d really like to design projects like the one pictured here. Does anyone know of any good tutorials for V Carve or Fusion 360? I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos, but they mostly seem to focus on carving letters.
@Aimlessmee Welcome to the group, Aimee.
I know nothing about Fusion. In VCarve, this is pretty simple. I couldn’t find any tutorials specifically directed
@Aimlessmee As @gwilki stated, a v-carve project is easy to do in Vectric vCarve. All you need is a vector drawing of what you want to carve. That can be done in vCarve, Fusion, or any other vector or CAD program.
All you need is one closed vector. You can also add one or more closed vector inside another closed vector. For example, one circle inside another two circle. For that pineapple shape, you’d have multiple squares inside an ellipse(ish). The trick is for your vectors to be closed.
Then you just select those shapes and create the vcarve toolpath.
The hardest part is creating your vector diagram. If you’re not artistic, it can be a challenge. The good news is that you can buy vector drawings from many sources.
@Chucky_ott For my example, I did not use the vcarve toolpath. As you say, this requires closed vectors. To duplicate @Aimlessmee job, I would use a series of open vectors. Select a profile toolpath, on the line, using a vbit.
Vectric (VCarve) offers numerous tutorials and how-to’s on their website and Youtube.
Many have projects that you can design & carve along with.
I think the open vs closed vectors is exactly what I was trying to figure out. Do I draw a line and assume the width of the bit, or do I draw the outline I want the bit to carve. I think for the parts where the line tapers, it will have to be closed vectors?
@whitewolf True enough. I was not able to find one to address @Aimlessmee question. If you have been able to find one, please post a link.
@Aimlessmee I’m a bit confused by your question. I will assume that you are using a v-bit, since your graphic was clearly done with a v-bit.
You can use a v-bit to cut open vectors - lines for example - using the profile toolpath. You cut on the line and set a max depth. The deeper you go, the wider the cut will be.
You can also using a v-bit to cut a vcarve toolpath. In this case, the vectors must be closed. That’s why you see a lot of text being cut with a v-bit. For a simple vcarve toolpath, you do not set a max depth. The bit will cut as deep as it needs to in order to touch both sides of the vectors. So, a 30° v-bit will cut deeper than a 90° v-bit, cutting the same “groove”.
There are many other ways to use the vcarve toolpath, setting a max depth and using a clearance tool. There are lots of video tutorials on how to do that so I’ll not go into detail here.
@Aimlessmee if you don’t want to guess the width of your carve, you should use two closed vectors, one inside the other. The v-carve toolpath will then carve in between those two vectors. If the two vectors are too far apart, the toolpath will want to carve very deep. So you may want to specify the max depth.
The choice to use the v-carve vs the profile toolpath will depend on the results you want. But I think it’s easier with the v-carve toolpath since the width of the carve will match your design. But you will need closed vectors to do this.
@Aimlessmee Here are some examples. The bottom right is done with a profile cut using “On” for the cut location, The others are all done with a v-carve. Bottom row has the flat depth defined. so the v-carve may have a flat bottom.
@Aimlessmee And some text. First example using a single line font and a profile toolpath. Second example using a closed vector font with a v-carve toolpath.
