I had a problem today when tracing some line work with a vbit.

A little background, I imported some .dwf line work I created in AutoCad. Brought into VCarve and created a single toolpath for all my linework(I was creating animal shapes on a wood board). The depth would change randomly from line to line, some lines are at the proper depth and others were at about half the depth.

This also happened randomly when I did some lettering in a different toolptah. I created a word in VCarve, created a single toolpath and the word would start shallow and progressively get deeper. Really strange.

I'm using Mach3 and a Romaxx CNC.

I'm thinking about reinstalling Mach3 tomorrow, unless someone has some thoughts. I have a ton of work this weekend and need to solve this.
thanks!

Hi Dminnery,

Not sure if this is any help because I am just stating the obvious which I am sure you are aware of already…

Perhaps you could first check your GCode file to see if it is calling for any changes in depth of cut (Z).

If the GCode is always calling for the same depth then you need to check your machine (loose coupling, tool moving in collet, electrical noise issues, etc.etc.).

If the GCode is calling for different depth’s then you need to read up on the Vectric manual / tutorial video’s etc. relating to different toolpath generation methods (engraving / profiling / v-carving etc.).

Tweakie.

Which toothpathing style are you using in VCarve?

Are you using the actual VCarve toolpath or are you selecting the "profile" toolpath option?

Pics would be a huge help in this case.

Dave

Hi Dave,
I've been using the profile toolpath, and I set it to a depth of .02"
I've been doing it this way for about 8 months with great results.

This is a recent problem, I should say with recently created toolpaths for engraving.
I have created profile toolpaths for profiling and there are just fine, which is curious.
I've attached pictures of a bird and some lettering created in VCarve.
Bird-see the difference between the top and bottom beak.
Lucas-maybe be hard to see, but it gets progressively deeper.

I think I may run some older toolpaths to see if the problem shows up again.
I may even run this bird path again to see if it does it again.

pics are here temporarily.
https://www.manzanitakids.com/contactus.sc

I think I may run some older toolpaths to see if the problem shows up again.
I may even run this bird path again to see if it does it again.

Yes, I can definitely see that, thanks for the pics.

I would absolutely run a toolpath/job that was successful in the past, as that will at least narrow down the issue.

Dave

Might be talking a load of rubbish here as I have never used VCarve but have you re calibrated your steps for the Z axis to see if they are correct. I ask this because if you own designs are good and you use absolute programing the inaccuracies in steps will not be noticed. However if VCarve use a mixture of Absolute and Incremental programming as it constructs your program you might see a difference in the depth. As I said I might be talking a load of rubbish but worth a thought. Jim

Thanks, not rubbish at all!
I did find what I think is a solution.
Within Mach3 I adjusted the acceleration for the z axis to 2.
Still needs further testing, but so far the results are good.
I'll post more results later.
thanks for all the help!