Maybe I am not understanding the engraving technique in Estlcam. When text is created in inkscape it is always a double line ( inside and outside of text) of course this gets imputed and then engraved as such. Is there not a way to just engrave "middle of the two lines? I watch many videos of items being engraved and they dont engrave double lines. I am sure I am not understanding things correctly or I am expecting the software to maybe do things it cannot. Thanks for any help
Wait wait wait. Carve is for using a v bit only. It is beautiful but may not be what you are asking about. YouTube V carving and you can see how it works. Otherwise you may want pocketing. That would use a flat tip bit. Estlcam can do both. So you need to figure out which type you want first. Then the next important thing to know is how to make pockets and islands. That is how you will carve out the area of the letter “O” but leave the center as an island. There is a YouTube video on that as well but I am on my phone and don’t have it bookmarked.
To try a pocket, pick “hole” and then select the pocket option. To do islands, use “part” first on the inside part, then do hole on the outside and choose island.
I appreciated the help. I will try to explain again with some more examples. I added some lame gifs to try to explain the tool path I am trying to achieve. By nature of creating the SVG a double line is created and yet I just want a single line for my tool path. Am I misunderstand, and is this even possible with the software we are using. I use vcarve and the other methods and I understand those, but this one has always frustrated me. I should note, I would just like to engrave like any engraving shop would do; nice fine detailed letters. My sainsmart tool bits have just arrived so I thought I would start using them
I may be wrong, but it sounds like the problem is starting with using the carve function, when what you want is a hole, but at a much more shallow depth than a full cut. That would, I believe, give you a tracing on the “inside” of the letter. As Jeff pointed out, if you want the material in the entire letter removed, you would then select pocket / part depending on the layout of the letter.
Here’s three samples:
Hole (Cuts an outline on the inside of the letter path):
You use these fonts in Inkscape and the text you create will only have a single line to follow in Estlcam. Then you can use the engrave function if you want.
This is asking for the CAM software to think too much. This computation isn’t hard, but you are asking it to reason about the font as pen strokes. It can only make toolpaths based on the geometry you give it.
If you make a single line path in inkscape for it to follow, the engrave will follow that. That’s your best way to do what you’re asking.
If you use a V bit and choose carve, then it will cut everything in between the bounds of those letters and the path will mostly be one line. The Z axis will move up and down when cutting to adjust the width of the cut. If you want to see that, make a new bit with a 45 degree tip in the tools. Choose carve, click a letter and then inside for the direction of the arrows. Ignore the circles in the main screen. Look at the path in the preview. Pay attention to the height too. This is how I would carve this font. But you need a vbit. If you get a very sharp vbit then errors in Z have less effect on XY. If you get a wider one (90) then small errors in Z will be bigger errors in xy. The vbit in Ryan’s shop is 45 and would work great for this.
I thought you were on to something and your idea was headed in the right direction, but even a single line font shows a double line … This is the idea though
I think you should try the preview of the vbit. It is as close to what you’re asking as I know of. Otherwise, you need a single line font, or you need to manually make a path in inkscape.
It seems that a single line font is the closest to the idea I will get. The top font is 5mm in height and the bottom is 30mm in height. The bits I am using a .2mm at the tip I am not sure vcarve is the way to go, but I will test that today
Sorry.
I was hasty with the links.
Single line fonts are called Hershey fonts.
There’s an inkscape extension for that idea but there isn’t a lot of font choice. I was looking for this solution earlier but in the end found using a v-bit and carve as @jeffeb3 suggests is a much better solution. You can then use any font and the results are great.
I use inkscape to do monograms on coasters. You can use, inset function to cutout the inside of the letters. You copy the letter, then inset the copy by tool diameter and repeat if necessary. Attached a picture of example done for a friend.
