Software learning curve!!!!!

[gibl5s]

I have been following the 2d V-carve pro tutorial of the arc's no. 11. After drawing the arc's and trying to run a profile toolpath it is giving me a screen that says" Ignoring Unsuitable Open Vectors..." Then under that it says, " 11 open vectors were identified in the selection and are being ignored. There are 1 remaining vectors". Ok now 1. what does this mean and 2. what do I do about it in order to proceed with the toolpath?
Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

[feinddj]

What it means is that you have selected open vectors and closed vectors to cut at the same time. In order to cut you can select on type or the other. Often when I get drawings from clients, what looks like a box is really 4 or more lines. Aspire will cut these lines but not in the same way that it would cut a box. So, use the JOIN command to connect the lines into one vector. I have also found that there are sneaky lines hiding under other lines, send what you like to a new layer, hide that and see whats left. If you still have issues after that then you need to look into NODE EDIT and see where your vector starts and stops.

David

[Brady Watson]

1) This means that the vectors are open, not closed like a rectangle or circle. Only a few toolpath strategies will machine an open vector, such as the profile toolpath with 'ON' strategy selected.

2) While it may appear visually that your design is closed, a series of open vectors (arcs, lines etc) must still be JOINED together using the join tool, and then CLOSED in order to use the profile, pocketing and other toolpath strategies. The question you want to ask is, "Does this design hold water?" - Meaning, would water leak out of it because there is a gap where vectors should join etc.

Grouping is NOT the same as joining. Vectors should be clean - no vector loops etc, and closed completely before you move over to the CAM side of things and create a toolpath - unless you are doing a fluting toolpath or some other operation that is meant to be used with straight lines or other open type vector shapes.

Make sense?

-B

[gibl5s]

Ok I selected Join Vectors and it said: Selected vectors:
closed: 1
open: 9

tolerance .0004
Vectors after joining:
closed 1
open 9

hummmm I must still be doing something wrong!!!!

[Brady Watson]

Make the tolerance larger, say 0.04" and select all the vectors and try it again. See if it closes them. If the gap between vectors is greater than the tolerance then it will not close them.

-B

[gundog]

Also try viewing your vectors in the node edit mode and zoom way in those lines that look connected will show up. I use a combination of all the methods listed by the other members and some times I will add a node or move nodes to allow them to be joined and meet the parameters of joining.

You can move a node by right clicking on it when in the node edit mode and choose properties you may change the location of the node that way you can also click and drag the node to move it. You can click on curves and arcs and drag them around to create new shapes. Have fun you can make some interesting shapes.

Mike

[srwtlc]

Zip up your file and post it here (using some kind of zip file utility) so forum members can take a look at it and see what you're seeing. That is if it has no copyrighted stuff in it or business pertinent stuff.

[gibl5s]

Thanks David, Brady, Michael, and Scott. I received a cd of tutorials for V-carve-pro at the IWF in Atlanta this past August and I just have been going through EVERY tutorial in it for 2-3 hours per lesson. Thats how I came upon this problem with the open vectors. It is no. 11 (create arc's).
I appreciate the in-depth answers that each of you gave. I vow to do the same when I am as good as y'all.
Make me NOT afraid to ask other questions.
thanks again Perry

[gibl5s]

wellll Scott, hummmm I don't know how to zip up the file!!!! I promise I will get this. No, this is not anything that is copywrited or anything like that. It is simply a tutorial from vectric that I am working on.
After re-drawing it, it is still giving me a box that says " 7 open vectors were Identified in the selection and are being ignored. There are 2 remaining vectors". Now after closing this out I went to " Join Vectors" and the "join" tab would not lite up. So, where do I go from here.
Thanks everyone

[tracys]

Try and highlight all the vectors so they turn pink and see if any area is a darker shade. This would mean you have 2 lines on top of each other. One may be only a partial segment.

[adrianm]

wellll Scott, hummmm I don't know how to zip up the file!!!! I promise I will get this. No, this is not anything that is copywrited or anything like that. It is simply a tutorial from vectric that I am working on.
After re-drawing it, it is still giving me a box that says " 7 open vectors were Identified in the selection and are being ignored. There are 2 remaining vectors". Now after closing this out I went to " Join Vectors" and the "join" tab would not lite up. So, where do I go from here.
Thanks everyone

Is it on the Vectric website (http://support.vectric.com)?

The description and numbers you give don't seem to line up with the tutorials so I'm not sure which one it is you mean.

[gibl5s]

Adrian, I received this cd from James booth @ the IWF. In the V-Carve pro 2d design tutorial no. 11.
Ok I was told to zoom in where the points connect andWOW they were not even close to being connected. So I when into the node editing mode and I extended the lines. NOW when I try to run a toolpath it still tells me that there are vectors that are open. So I go to join vectors and the "join" tab is not lit up. So I am puzzled!!!!!
This is simply a tutorial of arcs. It wont even be saved. I am just doing ALL of the tutorials in order to learn.
Thanks for your help

[jTr]

Perry,

As a recent newbie, I'd like to interject that the fastest track to getting a feel and flow to these processes is to attend a shopbot training class online or in person. I did so online and was quickly up and running with a clear understanding of the very issues you're struggling with. I then went back to vectric and found those tutorials much easier to comprehend.

Watch for online training and sign up - it will help immensely for the few hours it takes to participate. In a few months, it will be quite second nature with regular practice.

jeff

[rcnewcomb]

I don't know how to zip up the file
How to Zip a file in Windows 7: ->Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4jAyFENEYY)
How to zip a file in Windows XP: ->Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq3vdsCux-c)

[adrianm]

Adrian, I received this cd from James booth @ the IWF. In the V-Carve pro 2d design tutorial no. 11.
Ok I was told to zoom in where the points connect andWOW they were not even close to being connected. So I when into the node editing mode and I extended the lines. NOW when I try to run a toolpath it still tells me that there are vectors that are open. So I go to join vectors and the "join" tab is not lit up. So I am puzzled!!!!!
This is simply a tutorial of arcs. It wont even be saved. I am just doing ALL of the tutorials in order to learn.
Thanks for your help

I've never known one of James tutorials to be wrong so I'd go back to the original copy of the file and then follow along from the beginning again.

[srwtlc]

Randall should have ya taken care of on the zip files.

I wasn't able to find this video either. All I found was the one on a gothic arch. I don't wonder if you have some duplicate vectors possibly from copying and pasting. If you right click and choose select duplicate vectors, they should show up and you can delete them. Possibly some grouped vectors that have open vectors in them too.

[FSICM]

Look at your PM