Not sure if title is descriptive enough, but I’m trying to do one of those stacked wedding signs like this:
I’m hoping I’m not just being dumb. My thought being that I could use a 1/4" bit to clear most of the island and then a 1/16 bit for the detail around the lettering. My assumption was I created the island tool path with the 1/4" bit and the 1/16" bit would be my finishing tool. But that doesn’t appear to be what it is doing. Instead I get the 1/4" bit overcutting the gaps it’s supposed to. Especially the dots over the i letters in the script.
I don’t really want to use a V-bit for operation because somehow I don’t think it would like right at the 2nd layer. 1/16" bit should be plenty enough detail for all of the lettering. Just seems like a lot of wasted time if I did everything with the 1/16" bit when the 1/4" could clear a majority of it much faster. In reality, after all the time I’ve spent trying to get that method to work, I could have just cut everything with the smaller tool. But the point is to learn so I can be better in the future.
Here are the SVGs I’m trying to make work. There are probably some tweaks I need to make, but it’s the right idea.
And I know the date says tomorrow, but not to worry. I’m not invited to the wedding. It’s just an idea I had, thought it would be fun to try, and give it to them as a gift when they get back from the honeymoon. So it’s not an URGENT matter, but I do need to get on it so any help would be appreciated. I honestly don’t care if they like it or not. Just gives me a reason to challenge myself and see what I can make.
With v11 you could only add a finishing tool to path properties, with v12 you can also add a pocketing tool. With v12 you can set your 1/16" path and then select your 1/4" pocketing tool. It works like carve pocketing (v11 and 12) in that the 1/16" tool will be used to pocket any areas that the 1/4" tool cannot reach.
One approach to this would be to design it as a 3d model and export it as 3D .STL file, like as though it would be printed, and then import that into ESTLcam. When you import a 3D file, ESTLcam switches to a different interface that has a built in capability to do a roughing pass and a finishing pass. Confession: I’ve not done a cut job like that yet, but I did bring in an STL file and export a cut job from it, just to see how that interface worked.
I thought it was the opposite. I thought you make the path with 1/16" and then define the roughing tool to be 1/4". But I may be thinking of kiri:moto.
Do you do the names and frame from a different piece of wood? Or is it all pocketed?
I’m working on a project just like this as an anniversary gift for my sister-in-law. I still have about a year to go, but I’m chipping away at this.
I’m using v12 of EstlCAM and I did a pocket for the middle of the letters (with a finishing tool - 1/16" bit), and an island for the rest. I did the “clearing” with an 1/8" bit, and had it set up with a finishing tool (1/16" bit). Here is a sample (test) cut - I didn’t surface this scrape piece so it was a bit warped.
I saved the image because it looks like it was done in 3D (the slight vertical/cross grain lines). The drawback is that the whole surface would have be cut with a <= 1/16" finishing tool.
That 1/8" path w/ 1/16" Finishing tool only works if the spaces between the letters is >= 1/8". That is the only option when using v11.
With v12 you can set an 1/8" path with a 1/16" Finishing tool and a 1/4" (or bigger) Pocketing tool to reduce your pocketing time.
…Tim’s letter spacing is >= 1/16" (a hair less between the a and t) so the path has to be 1/16". While he could add Finishing and Pocketing tools, he gains a lot more from the later.
