VCarve Pro Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Tips & Tricks
Here are some useful tips and tricks to make using VCarve Pro more enjoyable and productive.
If you have any tips or tricks you would like to share please visit the Vectric Tips and Tricks Forums.
To see a series of mini 'How To' articles on common tasks visit the How To page.
To view and download a more comprehensive selection of tutorials visit the Tutorials page.
Drawing / Editing FAQs |
Shortcuts in Drawing Mode |
| F |
Zoom to Full Screen |
| M |
Move command |
| N |
Toggle Node and Selection Mode |
| R |
Rotate Selected Vectors |
| T |
Scale (Transform)Command |
| Z |
Enter 'zoom box' Mode |
| Ctrl+P |
Pan View |
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Esc Key |
Unselect Selected Vectors |
F1 Key |
Help |
F2 Key |
Switch To 2D View Screen |
F3 Key |
Switch To 3D View Scree |
F5 Key |
Refresh Screen |
F6 Key |
Zoom To Fit Material |
F9 Key |
Center Selected Vectors On Material |
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CTRL-A |
Select All Vectors |
CTRL-C |
Copy Selected Vectors |
CTRL-N |
Start New File |
CTRL-O |
Open A File |
CTRL-V |
Paste Copied Vectors |
CTRL-S |
Save Current File |
CTRL-Y |
Redo Last Edit |
CTRL-Z |
Undo Last Edit |
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Arrow keys |
Nudge Selected Vectors |
Shift + Arrow Keys |
Quick Nudge Selected Vectors |
CTRL + Arrow Keys |
Micro Nudge Selected Vectors |
Wheel Mouse |
Rotating wheel zooms in / out |
Middle Button / Wheel |
Click and drag pans 2D view |
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Shift |
Holding the 'Shift' key down while sizing vectors sizes from center point |
| Shift |
Holding the 'Shift' key down while dragging vectors constrains drag to vertical or horizontal |
| Shift |
Holding the 'Shift' key down while rotating vectors rotates in 15 degree increments |
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Shortcuts in Node Editing Mode |
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A |
Convert a Line or Bezier span to an Arc |
I |
Insert a node |
B |
Convert a Line or Arc span to a Bezier |
P |
Make current node Start Point for machining |
L |
Convert a Bezier or Arc span to a Line |
S |
Toggle 'smooth' setting for current point |
| C |
Open or cut the vector |
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| D |
Delete a node or a span |
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The material size for a job can be changed at any time by selecting,
Edit > Material Size
The Units, Width, Height, Thickness and Z Origin can all be changed on the form.
The origin for the job can be specified to be any of the four corners or the middle of the job, and an offset distance can be entered to move the selected origin by the required X and Y distance.
Checking - Center vectors in material – will automatically reposition the vector design central to the new material size
Important – If the Z Origin is moved, all calculated Toolpaths MUST be recalculated.
We recommend that you recalculate toolpaths whenever the material has been changed.
This will ensure the toolpaths cut correctly on the CNC machine. |
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Generally we would recommend that when V-Carving you set the material surface as the Z Zero origin. This is because for V-Carving to be succesfull it is extremely important that the Z height of the tool is set correctly.
With materials such as wood which often have a natural variation in thickness, you should set the tool zero height at the centre of the most important area you will be carving in to minimise distortion. |
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Yes, Corel Draw files can be opened in VCarve Pro but not directly.
The design needs to be Exported from Corel using the EPS file filter, which is is very easy to do,
Instructions
- Select the required lines / shapes / geometry in Corel
- Remove any Fill Patterns and set the Line Thickness = Hairline
- From the File menu select Export
- Tick the option Selected only
- From the Files of Type select the EPS or AI options
- Click the Export button
- Click the option to Export Text as Curves
The file can now be opened / imported and toolpathed in VCarve Pro
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Toolpath Preview FAQs
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Left Mouse Button Down - Interactively Rotate 3D View
Right Mouse Button Down + Mouse Forward - Zoom-In View
Right Mouse Button Down + Mouse Backward - Zoom-Out View
Right & Left Mouse Buttons Down - Pan View
Mouse Wheel Forward - Zoom-In View
Mouse Wheel Backward - Zoom-Out View
F2 Key - Switch To 2D View Screen
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Although the standard list of job preview materials provides a reasonable selection of woods, stones and metals to choose from, you may have a project that requires a special material type. For example, a customer may require their work to be carved into a special wood that isn’t in the default list of materials.
The Job Preview material list can very easily be edited to include your own material types and selection names, allowing your work to be previewed and saved in the same materials that you are actually planning route or engrave.
Instructions explaining how to add your own materials can be downloaded from,
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VCarve Pro accurately simulates the pointed tip of a VBit in the preview window. If you want to produce a 'smoother' looking preview for say marketing purposes, you can create the simulation with a V Shaped engraving cutter with a small flat to get a better looking simulation. Using an engraving cutter instead of a V-bit can generate better looking simulations, as the small flat area on the bottom of engraving cutters will not leave machining marks if the stepover is less than the flat size. Click on the following pictures for an example of the difference:
Note: By convention the half included angle is specified on engraving cutters, so a 45 degree engraving cutter with zero tip diameter has EXACTLY the same geometry as a 90 degree V-bit tool
Preview Using V-Bit |
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Preview Using Evgraving Cutter |
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VCarve Pro comes with several options for speeding up the 3D preview mode. This can be useful if you have a slower machine or very complex toolpaths.
1. Before previewing the toolpath uncheck the 'Animate Preview' check box in the Preview Toolpaths menu.
2. Lowering the Preview Quality can make a dramatic effect on the amount of time it takes to generate the toolpath and preview it. The 'Preview Quality' can be changed from the Main menu by,
Opening the 3D window
From the Main menu select,
View > Preview Quality > Standard Quality
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The gradient filled colour background looks very good, but sometimes makes the images difficult to use for customer quotes or marketing materials such as web site images etc.
The background can be changed to a solid pale blue colour by,
Opening the 3D window
From the Main menu uncheck,
View > Use Shaded Background
Having a solid colour around the design makes it much easier to crop out and include in other files. |
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Machining FAQs
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When cutting hard materials or very deep carvings the tool may vibrate or chatter causing marks on the job.
A tip for improving the the surface finish is to,
1. Calculate the toolpath using multiple Z Level passes
2. On the machine - Set the Z zero position for the tool slightly high (ie 0.02" or 0.5mm) and run toolpath 1.
(this will leave material on the job)
3. Calculate a second toolpath that cuts the job in a single pass
(Set Cut Depth = greater than the actual Min Z depth displayed for toolpath 1)
4. On the machine - Set the Z zero position correctly and run toolpath 2. This toolpath will remove the remaining 0.02" / 0.5mm cleaning-up the surface finish.
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When VCarve Pro has calculated a toolpath it displays a summary of the toolpath data on the 'background' of the toolpath tab. This is only visible when no other form is open on the toolpath tab, so you may have to close the Preview form to see it.
As you click on different toolpaths in the Toolpath List this information will be updated.
As well as showing the minimum Z value for the selected toolpath, this information also includes feed rates, tool information and estimated machining time.
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Generally we would recommend that when V-Carving you set the material surface as the Z Zero origin. This is because for V-Carving to be succesfull it is extremely important that the Z height of the tool is set correctly.
With materials such as wood which often have a natural variation in thickness, you should set the tool zero height at the centre of the most important area you will be carving in to minimise distortion. |
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Most modern CNC machines will certainly be able to cut 3D V-Carved jobs.
If your machine can move the X, Y & Z axes simultaneously (all at the same time), then it will almost certainly be capable of V-Carving.
You can confirm that the software is compatible with your CNC machine by simply Downloading the Evaluation version and saving the Toolpaths in a format that's suitable for your CNC machine.
If you have any additional questions E-mail them to our Technical Support Team: support@vectric.com |
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Minimum System Requirements
VCarve Pro, Cut3D and PhotoVCarve will run on virtually all home PC's and do not require any special hardware or graphics card.
The minimum PC specification is:
- 1 GHz Pentium 4
- Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista
- 256 Mb RAM
- 60 Mb Free disk space
- 1024 x 768 Graphics display
Note - The Intel 82810 & 82815 integrated graphics cards must be set to run in 16 bit color mode. |
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