[jdunn]

Hello all . I have been using MeshCam and was thinking about getting VCP but i want to know if the tabs are anything like MCams. More specifically does VCP have the lead outs and ins like MCam. You would have to have tried MCam to know what I am talking about. Im not sure if I should even bother trying to explain it for anyone who has not used them.
I do have the trial but there are no tabs in the sample files. ..Ok Ill explain it better and provide pic. In MCam you can place tabs from keeping the piece you are cutting from coming off the table. I set mine to be at the bottom of the work piece. So when it performs the cuts. it will make how ever many passes it needs to get to the top of the tab, then it starts to make the tab by offsetting your orginal cut and basicaly drilling half a hole from the top of the material then cuts into the work and moves to the end of the tab where it offsets and cuts onto the full thickness of the material. The picture might help. But like I say if you have used MCam you will know what i mean. It puts alot of stress on the cutters and breaks them. Its not an issue with most bigger diam cutters but i f you ever have to cut something out with a small diam cutter it wont work with MCam.

[ger21]

Download the V Carve Prod demo and play with it. I've never used the tabs in MeshCAM, but I know the tabs in vcarve pro work differently. As it's cutting the profile, it just lifts up over the tabs, as the tabs are part of the profile toolpath.

MeshCAM and V Carve Pro are two very different types of CAM program.

[jdunn]

Hey Ger21, thanks for your reply. I did generate some cut paths and can see where the tabs go but not how it cuts them. MeshCam only does the weird cut thing on the second to last pass. Then on the final pass profiles all the way around and picks up z as needed to cut the tab to the right height. You cant output any gcode in Vcarvepro in trial mode am I right. Other wise ill just cut something to see for myself

[jdunn]

I did not clarify, I am speaking of Meshcam standard not art

[victorofga]

there are some sample files attached those you can output.. your own files you can save, but no simple gcode output..

[MaNo]

Hi jdunn,
If I knew that tabs in VCarve were the same as in Aspire, I would send you a generic gcode file of, say a small square or with one side arched so you could see how the tab routine behaves. Maybe someone reading this thread could do that??
Aspire has 2 types of tabs, one with straight up and down Z movement (you specify height and length) and another with a ramp up to specified height then ramped down again. The approach to the tabs is in line with the toolpath i.e. no entry from the side of the vector