Nubie with questions

[roger h]

hi guys,

been browsing the board for some time and finally got our new Shopbot Standard set up.

i am completely new to cnc cutting and have a couple software issues i can't seem to figure out so pardon me for my ignorance. i'm going to learn as i go....

the problems i have at the moment seem to be between partworks and the sb3 console.

i created file to cut recessed hole in the table to screw it together.
in partworks i set the size and thickness of the material and created a profile cut toolpath for and inside cut .375" circle, .375 deep hole using a .250" endmill. when i export it, convert it to .sbp and open the file in the console, the material info is incorrect as it show the material thickness at 1.01" and the cutting depth is 0.000 and it will cut a .625" hole not .375".
the only way i could get it to cut below zero was to open the file in the sb editor and manually change MZ,0.000 to MZ,-0.375.

can someone please explain why this happens and how i'm not able to cut a .375" diameter hole?

thanks in advance for putting up with another nube.

[frever]

Check units in partworks

[andyb]

Roger,
Can you post the file you are trying to cut? This may help us help you.

Andy B.

[roger h]

Roger,
Can you post the file you are trying to cut? This may help us help you.

Andy B.

hi andy,

i can post it tomorrow afternoon.

[beacon14]

For starters, when you run a file in the SB previewer it auto-selects the material size based on the movements in the file. On the left tab you can input the material parameters just like you did in PartWorks.

On the right tab you can select a tool to assign to the toolpath. But before that, back in PartWorks, check to see that the material size is correct and that you have zero to table or zero to material top selected correctly. Then check the depth of cut in each toolpath. You should get the correct results in the PartWorks previewer before you save the sbp file.

[myxpykalix]

check maybe to see if you are cutting inside, on the line, or outside the line. That might have an effect on your resulting hole size?:eek:

[jerry_stanek]

check the size of the bit you are using against the size you choose in partswork.

[roger h]

thanks for all the responses!
the bit size is set to .250
i am using a profile cut with inside selected.
the material size and thickness was set in partworks and zero to the top of the material. when i convert the file and look at in in the preview, the material dimentions adjust to the area the vectors take up and the material thickness goes to 1.0". i'm pretty sure the depth of cut was also correct. i won't be able to check till i get over there this afternoon.

this brings up another question..

when i make changes in preview mode are the changes saved? if i close the preview screen it asks if i want to close SB3 or switch to run mode. then i have to load the file again.
is this correct or am i missing something here as well?

[Acmeaviator]

Morning Roger - I'm a complete newbie as well (got my BT48 a few weeks ago). I had a similar issue with the SB3 software/Partworks usage. My solution was to change how I thought about each piece of software - I ONLY use SB3 to position the Bot and load/run files. I use Partworks for everything else - including preview. I almost drove a vbit through my table trying to "adjust" a file (messing with z axis proportion) that looked wrong in SB3 preview but in reality was correct.
I use a lot of paper plans that I have scanned into bit-maps and then converted into cut files in Partworks. I create the cutting file and preview it in partworks then save the file. Then I open SB3, zero the tool, then load and cut the file. If I need to see something in preview I go back to partworks.

[roger h]

thanks Acmeaviator.

i actually do all my drawing in coreldraw and import the vectors into partworks to make up the toolpaths. i didn't see where you could create the cutting file in partworks. i have been exporting the file as a dxf and then converting it with sb3. maybee this is where my problem is??
here is screen shot in partworks
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b227/beezachoppa/th_Corel.jpg (http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b227/beezachoppa/Corel.jpg)

[dana_swift]

Brian is right on.. SB3 is used almost entirely to run part files. If I am unsure about a file I will use the preview feature to view the resulting cut. But as you have noticed the preview elsewhere is more useful.

The preview feature of SB3 deduces the stock size, presuming it takes the envelope of the cut moves ignoring jogs. It does a pretty good job of it, but the preview in your toolpathing software knows much more about your intentions, and is much better at estimating the appearance of the final result.

When you are having problems with the sbp file not behaving the way you expect post the FILE here so we can examine it. Also we can run it in preview on our SB3 programs and see if we get the same result as you do. If not, your settings are wrong, and we can be of some assistance.

At least it lets you narrow down where the misunderstanding is!

Good luck, and welcome aboard--

D

[danhamm]

From coreldraw export as and "eps" file..

[roger h]

thanks dana,

i will post the file this afternoon when i get to the machine.
i have partworks on this computer and don't see how to create the cutting file from partworks. how do i do this?

[adrianm]

Roger, PartWorks is the same program as VCarve with the restriction that it will only output cutting files for ShopBots.

Work your way through the excellent tutorials on the Vectric (makes of Vcarve and Partworks) website and all will become clear.

http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/support/aspire3_vcp6/aspire3_vcp6_tutorials_tut.html

[dana_swift]

Roger-

There is a toolpaths tab on the right side of the window.. open that.

You will find tutorials on the Vectric site for VCarvePro. Watch them, you will pick up all kinds of ideas.

After you preview the result, in the same pane as the preview icon is the save to disk icon.

When you are finished creating the toolpaths, you have to export the data to a shopbot part file. That is done with the little disk icon, select it. Next select the type of shopbot you have and the "inch arcs" option. It will remember your setting for next time, so you probably only need to do this once.

You can group multiple toolpaths together if they use the same tool, and put them into a single cut file, that saves a lot of time. If you have a tool changer you can just save them all into a single file even if they use different tools.

The tutorials will be very helpful-

D