Pocket Machining Enhancements

A totally new Pocket Machining strategy has been developed for version 4.6 that allows stopovers greater than 50% to be used. When stepovers greater than 50% are used small ‘Tails’ (see images below) are automatically added to corner regions of toolpaths. The ‘Tails’ ensure the cutter removes all unwanted material as quickly as possible and typically reduces cutting times by at least 20% - 30%.

The Tails are automatically added to Pocket and Flat Bottom VCarving / Engraving toolpaths. Pocket machining toolpaths were previously limited to a maximum stepover of 50% of the cutter diameter, to ensure material was not left in corner regions on projects. This resulted in unnecessarily long machining times when machining soft materials. It is important to note that stepover distance is often controlled by the material being machined and the type of cutter being used. Hard / Tough materials usually require smaller stopovers whereas softer materials can often take advantage of the larger stopovers available in VCarve Pro 4.6.

Profile Machining Enhancements

The Profile Machining toolpath strategy has been enhanced to include new options for, Adding Tabs when machining On open and closed shapes Machining to the Left or Right of Open vectors and including Tabs with Ramp moves

This option to automatically compensate for the cutter radius on the Left or Right side of shapes is perfect for projects such as head-boards, where a curved profile maybe needed across the top of a sheet of material without cutting around the complete shape. When Profile machining On selected vectors the Cut Direction now controls whether the cutter starts at the start node or at the opposite end of open shapes. Conventional cutting along an Open shape starts at the start point Climb cutting along an Open shape starts at the End point and cuts back to the start point.