Open Source V-Carving

I have a couple of thoughts on the missing dots and the funky f:

1.) The accuracy setting in the general settings defaults to "0.001" if this is increased I can reproduce the missing dot and extra junk in the "f".
CaptainVee: Please verify that the setting is at the default value. If it is at the default value try setting the accuracy to a smaller value (i.e. .0001) to see if that resolves the issue.

2.) The other way to make the problem appear is by inserting extremely small values in for the text height (on the order of .02 mm).

I think the two problems (missing dot and funky f) are also related to the problem reported (by CaptainVee) a few day ago regarding v-carve not working with a text height less than 220 mm

Scorch

Thanks Scorch, with the walnootolie sentence, that did it! I had it set to 0.5 mm.

I also tried to do my halftone with it set to 0.0001 up to 0.01 but that gave calculation times of 300 minutes. After stopping the calculations and writing to axis it did seem to show many more of the smaller points so it does seem that this is the cause of my missing dots.

Is this accuracy number something that need just to be played with? And is it really a dimension or just a number?

The accuracy setting tells F-engrave to treat points closer to each other than the Accuracy setting as a single point. This helps avoid some problems when a font file or DXF file has small gaps or overlaps between line segments. Setting the Accuracy to a value too large will result in some line segments, that are important to the design, to be treated as a single point resulting in missing features and v-carving outside of the lines (because the line was treated as a single point).

As a general rule the Accuracy setting should not be modified unless you are looking to resolve a specific problem with a particular design.

(This is a relatively new setting that has not been documented yet on the web page)

For very large designs it will take a long time (hours) to calculate the v-carve paths. Setting the v-bit diameter to the minimum diameter required to cut design will help speed things up a little.

Scorch

Found something curious.

Made a design in inkscape with a logo surrounded with an arrow.

Saved as dxf (required both spline options to be checked before saving, otherwise did not show in editor)

Then fiddled with the arrow to make it more compact. Then the file would not show in the editor!

Was able to revert to previous with ctrl-z and file showed again!

I have a bug fix in yet to be released version 0.8 of F-Engrave that may fix the issue you are experiencing. I can not be sure unless you send the file that will not open so I can test it. If you want to wait I expect version 0.8 to be posted in a few days.

Scorch

After an afternoon of cycling I tried again and this time could change the arrow just fine.

Look forward to the new version, you are doing a great job!

I have uploaded F-Engrave V0.9 to my web page. F-Engrave

New Features in 0.9:
- Added support for non-English characters (like: é à) This was my most requested feature.
- Added cleanup operations for removing islands in v-carve designs (see picture)
- Added arc fitting to g-code output (can be disabled in general settings)

Web page Updates:
- Detailed instructions for getting F-Engrave running under Linux F-Engrave Setup
- Tutorial for v-carving from an image file V-Carve Tutorial

Scorch

Hey I just noticed that if you wrap text around a circle then you go to image mode then it displays the DXF strangely.

I found also on a nice note how to "fit" text onto a plaque if you have features to engrave around. Essentially you create a rectangle in Inkscape, then size it to your plaque, import FEngrave's SVG, then fit it to where you want it, and manipulate whatever elements have already been cut or such.
It sounds pathetic but I was making stuff like like the following pictures, and it was a pain to do before.
http://imageshack.us/a/img155/1454/img0011eya.jpg

@jm82792
Thanks for the tip on problems switching between modes when text on a circle is being used. I will make sure I fix it in the next version.

Sounds like you found a good use for the SVG export feature in F-Engrave. I added SVG output for no particular reason when I started F-Engrave but I have also found it useful in some cases.

P.S. I like how the islands really "pop" on your plaques.

Thanks for the input,
Scorch

Hello!I need help!
I have cnc milling eucum vmc960 with mitsubishi M64 controller,
My machine down and not using for a long time and all parameter has been corrupted my problem is i do not know how to restore this parameter to my machine and I do not have back-up parameter of this machine.Please advise.Thank you very much!

Thanks Scorch :0
They are 3d profiled pieces that I glue on, and until I put a few things together lining everything up was a total pain. I have one I'm finishing up, then another one for my sister's boss since I owe her a favor.

Very cool scorch, keep up the good work!

Interesting stuff, will have to download and fiddle with it in under windows at some point. I'm interested that there is source, perhaps it's time to start learning a bit of programming on the Mac. Since the mac is so lacking in any good CNC stuff.

@arbo
If you find F-Engrave useful, it may not be a stretch to get it running on a Mac. F-Engrave is written in python and python is available for the Mac.

Potential issues:
- Potrace is used for reading the image files (it is also available for the Mac)
- F-engrave uses TKinter for the graphic interface. I don't know how well Mac supports TKinter
- To use True Type font you also need ttf3cxf_stream. This is only available in C++ source code.


I would like to hear the details of any attempt you make the get F-Engrave running on a Mac.

Good Luck,
Scorch

FEngrave crashes on this DXF, if I mess with it it works but perhaps it would improve your bug fixing efforts. Download globe.dxf from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way

@jm82792
I fixed both of the bugs you reported below.

"FEngrave crashes on this DXF..." and
" if you wrap text around a circle then you go to image mode then it displays the DXF strangely."

I uploaded a new subversion (0.91) to the F-Engrave web site.
Thanks for the bug reports.
Scorch

I have not made a dime specifically with FEngrave yet, but I've made several random gifts with it. This one was a bit warped, it's the stone age out here when it comes to flatness of wood, thickness, and such.
I also have another plaque, I just need to glue the islands on. It has a Ipe frame around it. That's going for a charity auction, I'm very curious to see what it goes for.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...1&d=1351622134

Hi Scorch, I have a request, if you prefer I send it to your email, I'll do that next time.

There are a few things that can be set to a different default by simply changing the text in the python file.

F.i. mm in stead of inch. I'd like a few more that I have trouble finding in the py file:

I'd like my origin to be in the middle of the image as standard, I can't find where to change that.
Also, it it possible to change the default location where files are opened? It used to open in the location of the fonts directory, now it opens in home/user, I cant find where to change that.

But the changes you made are really nice!

Setting origin by specifying stock size then if you want it on the left corner, right corner, etc would be nice.
To make the globe thing work I had to combine the text and globe in inkscape, then remove the text, then add the text back in(VCarved, globe is engraved). If I just made the globe code then I wouldn't have my 0,0,0 at the right place when the text was added.

You can set the origin in the software, I want to change the default so that I do not forget to do it. (Could have phrased that better : )