Hello, I’ve been having issues where on v carves (created in easel pro, not imported) … on the last pass of the detail, the tool path tries to clean up the corners and in the process rounds the edges. This is killing my inlays as its leaving a gap that i later have to fill in with sawdust, etc.
I’ve checked my machine, there is no play in any axis…My machine is completely square. It was also suggested that maybe my vbit has a flat tip and that i’m setting the Z,0 too far down.
In my last experiment, done last night, i even set the bit to .01" above the 0 to see if that was the problem and the result was the same.
I’ve scoured the forums, and after eliminating all the other possibilities (machine out of line, play in axis, z,0 set too deep) the only other reason can be that there’s an issue with the algorithm in the tool path. I’m hoping its something else.
As for the GCode, its a simple letter “L” and vcarved using a 20 degree vbit.
Photos attached
Please share the exact Easel file or the resultant exported gcode for that ‘L’.
https://easel.inventables.com/projects/pK1PfcVOhuoFpZzZZ6lhTA
One more thing i tried was tricking Easel into thinking i was using a 18 degree vbit instead of 20 to see if that would change anything. nope…
Im open to suggestions at this point before i try doing the same experiment on Carbide Create to see if i get a different result. I love easel, but i’m stumped.
Are you getting the same result for other Easel files as well or just the one you shared?
You mentioned it already but most of the time this problem comes from how the z-axis gets zeroed if it’s a little too deep then you’ll get the rounding in the edges.
Is this a two stage cut and if so are you re-zeroing the z-axis between cuts?
This is happening in all my vcarve projects.
I tried your advice of not setting the z too deep and on the last experiment I intentionally left it .01” higher than 0. I got the same results.
And it’s a single bit carve. No bit change.
Sorry to hear about this, try reaching out directly to support (help@inventables.com) so we can help figure out what’s going on!
Hi Caleb,
What type of machine are you carving with?
This type of artifact in the corners when v-carving is caused by bit deflection. When doing the roughing pass, the material (looks like a hard wood) is pushing back on the bit and moving it slightly away from where it is supposed to be (where the g-code is sending it). When the bit returns to clean up the corners on the v-carving finishing pass, there is less material to push back on the bit, and thus the bit is closer to where it is supposed to be.
You might not be able to feel any play in the Z-axis of your machine, but every machine has a little bit, some more than others.
You might be able to get better results if you use a 2-stage carve and clear the pocket out with an end mill first before v-carving. You could also try a slower feed rate, and making sure that the bit is seated as far up in the collet as it can be.
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