Using VCarve pro for cue making

[skipthorp]

Dear Cue Makers,

I have just acquired access to a Shark HD5 extend bed with a 4th axis and VCarve pro. I was looking for some tips and advice for using it for turning butts, shafts, and do inlays? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Can you use the program for cutting shafts and butts that uses Mach3? or can you import the gcode from that to Vacarve pro?

Happy Holidays to everyone!!

Sincerely,

Skip

 

[Scratchy]

I have used VCarve Pro for several years in my cuemaking, Skip. I do not use it for lathe work - turning and tapering - so I can’t help with that aspect, and I’m not sure it would do what you’re looking for without some finagling, but I’ll look at that idea and send thoughts later.
My use is exclusively for inlay work, and in particular, I use it to create
‘Sharp-pointed’ inlays. There are instructions on the Vectric site on their method.
After creating your image you will then go to the machining tab and establish your machining settings and create the tool paths, typically one for a V cutter which will cut the profiles, and one for a small endmill to clear out the flats, both for the part and for the pocket, usually 4 files. Then, you create the Gcode by selecting your post processor (Mach3 has at least 4 options, maybe 6.) VCarve will create the gcode file for each toolpath, and either you can save/file it, or I think you can also output directly. Then you run it (them) on your Mach3 system.

Quick general overview, hope it helps. I’ll be happy to answer other questions if you have any.

Best of the season to you and everyone!

Mac


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JoeyInCali]

I have used VCarve Pro for several years in my cuemaking, Skip. I do not use it for lathe work - turning and tapering - so I can’t help with that aspect, and I’m not sure it would do what you’re looking for without some finagling, but I’ll look at that idea and send thoughts later.
My use is exclusively for inlay work, and in particular, I use it to create
‘Sharp-pointed’ inlays. There are instructions on the Vectric site on their method.
After creating your image you will then go to the machining tab and establish your machining settings and create the tool paths, typically one for a V cutter which will cut the profiles, and one for a small endmill to clear out the flats, both for the part and for the pocket, usually 4 files. Then, you create the Gcode by selecting your post processor (Mach3 has at least 4 options, maybe 6.) VCarve will create the gcode file for each toolpath, and either you can save/file it, or I think you can also output directly. Then you run it (them) on your Mach3 system.

Quick general overview, hope it helps. I’ll be happy to answer other questions if you have any.

Best of the season to you and everyone!

Mac


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Can't you just write the codes manually ?
It's easy for the butt since you're more or less milling around .200 taper ( half since cutting a turning piece is on lathe mode ) in 30 inches.
For shafts, it gets a little more complicated because you have 3 to 6 angles.
I'd just draw a 1/2 by 30" stock and "mill" from that. The cutter's zero would be the bottom of the turning piece. Not the top.
I figure you'd be some -.249 at the tip for a 13 mm tip.
And for an .840 joint, you'd be -.080 ( .500 - .420 ).

Good luck in tapering with stepper motors though.
I found them to be buggy and went back to manual.

 

[skipthorp]

Cheers! Thank both of you for the response. I will mess around with it and let you know what I destroyed and what worked.

I am watching all of the tutorials right now.

Thanks again!

Sincerely,

Skip

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Facundus Cues]

Get the cue cut program from Kelly Peterson mvpcues.com. It is well worth the money and his support is second to none. A lot of people do it manually but for such a small investment his software does a whole lot more than just spitting out code for shafts. Plus you will supporting one of the good guys in the pool world. Dz cues has some excellent videos on YouTube highlighting some of the features and use of the software

 

[Ron Padilla]

some time past another member had posted that he was having some good luck using one with a 4th axis attachment, the only thing he changed was the motor for the 4th axis chuck, he had mention that he had started to use a sewing machine motor for higher rpm's and that made a huge difference. I had to post pone my quest for setting up a lathe and tooling a while back when my wife had bilateral knee replacement, and then about 90 days ago I just barely avoided a heart attack, so I am rethinking how I might still proceed making cues using a CNC router set up to be able to d the entire process.

 

[JC]

Can't you just write the codes manually ?
It's easy for the butt since you're more or less milling around .200 taper ( half since cutting a turning piece is on lathe mode ) in 30 inches.
For shafts, it gets a little more complicated because you have 3 to 6 angles.
I'd just draw a 1/2 by 30" stock and "mill" from that. The cutter's zero would be the bottom of the turning piece. Not the top.
I figure you'd be some -.249 at the tip for a 13 mm tip.
And for an .840 joint, you'd be -.080 ( .500 - .420 ).

Good luck in tapering with stepper motors though.
I found them to be buggy and went back to manual.

I prefer to calibrate my tapering machine steps @ half and write my G code using real world numbers.

This of course won't work if you're trying to use one machine to do a lot of things.

Which is another reason I don't do that.

As far as the stepper motors I think it has more to do with the controller than the motors. Gecko 540 controls stepper motors flawlessly.

 

[Starhook48]

Is there a video showing this process...

 

[slim123]

Dear Cue Makers,

I have just acquired access to a Shark HD5 extend bed with a 4th axis and VCarve pro. I was looking for some tips and advice for using it for turning butts, shafts, and do inlays? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Can you use the program for cutting shafts and butts that uses Mach3? or can you import the gcode from that to Vacarve pro?

Happy Holidays to everyone!!

Sincerely,

Skip

You can buy tools, machines, and software, however, if you have no support system in place, You sometimes have a really rough learning curve. Hopefully, someone here can get you going I'm on the controller end of this spectrum, you need software support

 

[Sheldon]

As far as the stepper motors I think it has more to do with the controller than the motors.

Agreed.
Steppers have been flawless for me doing all kinds of tapers.

 

[GBCues]

Is there a video showing this process...

Mach3 is one of the oldest hobbiest control systems out there. There are tons of videos on YouTube about getting started in Mach3. You need to learn some basics first, about simple movement commands first. For exampe "G 01 X 5 F5" will move the X-axis to the 5 inch (or mm) position at a speed of 5 inches per minute or 5 mm per minute, depending on how your machine is set up. It's from simple one step moves like this that all CNC programs are created. Yes there are several other basics that need to be learned, but trying to start with tapering a butt or a shaft as your first step is likely to end up destroying your wood blank, if not the machine itself.
So like I said, YouTube is your friend.
HTH
Gary