copying tool paths.

[Jody Ake]

ok so i am using vcarve pro and i have designed a part that takes up about an eighth of the desktop cutting area. i made all the toolpaths then i made a linear array of 7 more parts. so 8 total in a nice grid. is there a way to copy all the tooling paths to the other 7 parts? i really dont want to have to do them all again.25490

[Kyle Stapleton]

Delete all of them minus the one with the toolpaths.
Put all of your toolpaths in its own layer.
Array them again, it will keep the layers
Edit all of the toolpaths, but this time when you toolpath select the layer not the vectors.

[curtiss]

Name the tool path linework layer such that it reflects the tool you will be using. say 4 different layers.

Pull up each of the 4 layers one by one, and then right clic and "select all lines on current layer"

That selection will be the toolpath for a given bit and depth.

For a final check, turn off ALL the linework layers and then turn on each tool path one by one to see what is going to happen.

I use names like 1/4 EM final cut 505 /for the name of a end mill bit that is going to cut .505 inches deep / be careful of using a lot of dots in a tool path name

[Chuck Keysor]

Jody, there is a very good Aspire 8 training video on this exact subject. They don't seem to identify these lessons with a concise number when looking at the tutorial browser. But if you look at the 2D Toolpath tutorials, it is called "Vectric Widget". If you try to download this for off-line viewing, the name that shows up for this lesson is "Widget_2DTP.exe". Check it out, Chuck

[adrianm]

Put each set of vectors for the one part that corresponds to a toolpath onto a layer of it's own so you end up with as many layers as you do toolpaths. Then edit each toolpath and use the Vector Selection at the bottom of the toolpath to associate those vectors with the toolpaths. Make the Associate with toolpath box is checked.

You can then make as many copies of the original part as you like and just click the "Recalculate all toolpaths" button to add them into the toolpaths.

http://support.vectric.com/tutorials/V8/Widget/Widget_2DTP.html
http://support.vectric.com/tutorials/V8/NestedCabs/NestedCabs_GEN.html
http://support.vectric.com/tutorials/V8/TPTemplates/TPTemplates_PRO.html

[Jody Ake]

ok so i watched all the support files at vectric.com, there is some great stuff there but for some reason it doesn't work when i follow their directions. so i went ahead and put everything on its own layer and the copied them into an array and edited the toolpaths on each layer. it wa a little tedious but it seemed to work.
everything looked good in the preview but once i actually cut the parts something went wrong. the two parts on the upper right and one on the bottom are off. its like half the cuts are just moved over an half an inch and one of them has an extra cut that's not even there. very frustrating. now i don't want to sound like i am complaining but there seems like there should be an easier way to do this.25542

[adrianm]

If it doesn't work when you follow the directions then you're doing something wrong. Double check each stage and make sure you are setting things correctly.

You don't need to go through all the layer setting etc if you're only planning on doing the job once. You can just select the vectors and toolpath in the normal way instead. If you're planning on doing the same toolpaths more than once it is much easier to set up the toolpath template in the long run.

As for what's going wrong with the toolpaths it's hard to say as the picture is too small to see any detail (it's better to attach the actual file if at all possible) but I'd hazard a guess that you've got some open vectors which are causing the profile toolpaths to switch sides and/or you've got some duplicates.

[curtiss]

Do you have two lines on top of each other ? something being selected that you do not intend to select ?

Running the toolpath preview "one path at a time" should show what is going to happen.

You may have to start over with one set of lines that you know are clean, create an array and assign them again.

[Jody Ake]

when i run the toolpaths in preview everything looks great but what is cut is not what's on the preview. i tried to post the .sbp file buts it too big for the forum. so at least i have a working singular parts file and for now i can just move the starting point round the material and cut the part 8 different times.
kind of a pain but I am so behind I right now I dont have the time to work on the file till i get caught up.
thanks to everyone that has chimed in with advice. the group is awesome

[srwtlc]

Another good way to handle this, if it's an on going job and not just a one of, is to set it up with a master file that does the positioning and then calls up your single file in 2D offset. The nice thing about it is that if you ever need to do some editing of the cut, you only have to edit one part. Use the layout you have to find each XY location for positioning in the master file. Information on this can be found in the programming handbook.