GearHeads Corner

Let me start out by letting you know I an new not much experience. I got a next wave automation piranha work envelop of 12 in x and 13 in y 3 in z pretty small looking back I would have gone bigger the cnc came with v-carve desktop which I have been using for about 6months and I think I am limited on what I can do such as I can only load one stl at a time so I an not able to create my own projects, I am not much of an artist so I have to use art I find online some free some not would like to create 3d from jpeg and other formats. does anyone know what makes the upgrade to pro I think 300 dollars what more an I getting for that 300 I looked on there site and it does not look like much. and aspire is out of my range for now. also this is for Art in one of your posts you say you get 99% of what you do between v-carve pro and gerotic  can you tell me in what ways are you getting 99% I have been watching some of the videos you are making and they are very good for the new user but you have a tendency to get to tect for me to understand, or you say in the middle of something but you know that and I say to my computer no I do not know that I am not an engineer lol but I must say you do a good job at the videos for a beginner I almost understand what you are talking about. Any help would be Great thanks

I forgot to ask what is auggie that loaded with my software what can that do for me in laymen terms I got a laser with my machine have not used it yet and it is pretty small I think 3watts. 

Hi:

  In order to answer this in any context that would make sense, I need to know what you intend
to do. The type of projects you like affect how much software you need, or the complexity of it.
Define a project that your interested in doing, the type of work you imagined when you got the machines..

Art

Thanks for responding Art. Now the hard part is answering your question when I got my machine I wanted to do relief art wood carving with a cnc, but once I got the machine and did research on things to make it opened a lot of other thing that are possible such as your site wood love to make a wood clock but I find there is a lot more to it then just designing gears which I have not figured out yet still looking at your videos not to mention how they go together and ware to get parts ect. I think for me the more things I see that can be done on cnc takes me away from basic learning curve instead of mastering basic skills I wander into other things I see such as your site and get more overwhelmed with information and tech language. I guess my real problem is with software and all the different file types, like I said I got v-carve desktop with my machine so far I like it but I see v-carve pro, aspire,cut3d, photo vcarve all priority based programs to v-carve. with v-carve I have to get cut 3d to be able to load mutable 3d files to make my own designs, also desktop will not import all file formats out there you have to have aspire so I guess that is my problem wood like to have the right combination of software to do like you said 90% if my needs being able to import more then one file to create my own reliefs,bild my own 3ds from non 3d images such as jpg or pics I see in carving books ect. Also I got a 3watt laser with my machine fortunately I have not strayed into that yet but wood like to once again do not know much about that yet but with only having 3watts will also be very limiting compared to other lasers, but have to take that into consideration for the future with my software choices. Well I guess you can see by my long windedness ware my head is at all over the lot lol. I hope you can follow my rambling the only bad question is the one not asked. I am just looking for the best combination of software to meet most of my needs in the simplest format to understand That might just be a pipe dream I do not know. one last thing my machine uses a usb so I load files on a flash card and plug it into machine. Once again thanks Art any ideas you can give me from your years of experience would be great. thanks Don.     

>>when I got my machine I wanted to do relief art wood carving with a cnc,

  Me too, this is pretty typical desire when starting. Its true, once you see all the great things people
build you tend to jump about between projects. Wood relief carving is fun fer a bit, then it gets a bit draggy watching all the long cut times involved. I tend to prefer 2.5D work myself, such as gears
such, its actually easier than many other forms of art.

  If you have vectric, you probably have all you need for now. I originally stuck with cutting functional
objects, like gears and such and just  , and its amazing just how much vectric does that years long users don't know.. ( myself included. ). Each time I watch one of their tutorials I get a bit more..

  My advice is to just keep doing 3d reliefs, just try for  a harder one each time. Try a 3d wooden
head from gearotics 3d webcam module, it can be imported to Vectric, and toolpathed for a detailed
carving. I wouldn't spend anything for specialized software till your sure you need it and why, a lot of people get more then they need or can invest time in learning, ( and they all have a learning curve..).. Take it slow, do things that challenge you to learn something like blender just enough to
change one thing you need..  There is a lot of free software that is very good and can do near anything. Its all about the learning curve..

Art

Thanks Art.