Engraving with Estlcam issue

Software / Firmware EstlCAM
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Hi everyone,
i’m new here and want to ask to more knowledgeable people if my issue with Estlcam can be resolved:
I have “pocketed” some letters on metal using Fusion 360 and the results were great, but the process from importing my design in Fusion to getting my Gcode for my cnc is too time consuming so i started to look at Estlcam since it look simpler, cleverly toughed, and the videos of Christian the developer and his transparency made me think that the software could be the right choice for what i’m after.
I tried to reproduce the pocketed letters done before with Fusion with Estlcam using the “Carve” section since i cannot use the “Hole” section to pocket my letters. The v-bit is a 30 degree 0.8mm bit and i used practically the same setting than Fusion (feed, speed, plunge, step over…) and the results were not that great. I discover also a couple of things that i don’t really like :

  • first the machining time; when i saw a machining time of roughly 27mn in the preview i was very happy that i didn’t show more than an 1 hour that Fusion gave me, but in reality when i did the job with the cnc it took 1h35mn to complete (which is way off).

  • second, the linear tool path ; seeing the cnc made a little line then goes to another spot then do another little line and so one was annoying and slow. i really wanted the v-bit to follow the shape of the letters for example the shape of a “S” like Fusion do. It seems like the closest to that in Estlcam is choosing pocketing “parallel” but it is not available with “Carve” and “hole” does not work since it’s the diameter of the bit (which is to big for the letters) that is taken into account and not it’s tip.

  • third because of the linear pocketing, i had some visible lines on the engraved letters which is not great. I could lower the step over but the goal was to have a lower machining time than Fusion and with that same step over (0.5mm) in Fusion i still have great results.

So is it how Estlcam only can “pocket” letters ? Because if that’s the case that’s unfortunate. It is surely great for machining parts but for accurately “pocketing/engraving” letters in a reasonable time it seems after my experience to not be suitable. Here is joined a pic of the “S” done with Fusion vs Estlcam. Clearly one is more defined.

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Fusion vs Estlcam
Fusion vs Estlcam5184×3456 533 KB

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It looks as if the settings are off, the right S is much thicker than the other one. But regarding the clearing you are right: Estlcam goes from left to right, not following the contour of the letter for the clearing toolpath.
Different times are calculated if your Estlcam settings don’t match the settings of your machine. If you set the travel to 8000, but your LR only does 4000, there is going to be a difference in machining time obviously. :slight_smile:

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Thanks for your reply. The settings were practically the same as Fusion (the left “S”). I only use a higher feed rate in Estlcam to get a faster machining time. Maybe it’s the “carve” algorithm that work differently than Fusion because i was expecting a relatively close result.
For the time calculation, what settings in Estlcam do you refer to?

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Mainly the rapids, all the other movements are set by the tool.

Seems so, I have only worked with Estlcam so far, so I can’t compare it, apologies.

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I did my first “carving” with the rapid XY and Z blank (as default) in Estlcam CNC program/“post processor” settings and did other “carvings” after inputting some rapid feed rate values but the machining times were always off after the cnc jobs was completed.
No need to apologies, thanks you very much for trying to help. Yes i think Estlcam and Fusion are much more different than i initially though. I though that i could get similar results between the two but apparently it’s not the case.