Importing drawings into Vcarve

[ftacarpentry1]

Morning,

My colleague and I have recently bought a CNC machine, solely for carcase fabrication…

It turns out Vcarve is horrible for drawing in, especially if you are used to SU.

I need to be able to save single lines as components, so I can use a fluting toolpath for things like biscuit slots etc etc, but currently individual lines don’s appear in once imported into Vcarve, despite what options are selected.

Has anyone got any pearls of wisdom?

I’ve got everything saved into neat layers etc, but that doesn’t seem to make any difference.

Attached is the file. The lines that are currently on the untagged layer are just to aid positioning and aren’t required to be imported. Ideally the biscuit slot, and the 9.5mm groove could be imported as just a line, with the current boxes only visible in SU… again for positioning.

vectric test 1.skp (55.5 KB)

Thanks!

[tweenulzeven]

Fabber: The SketchUp>CNC/Laser cutting solution

Hey everyone! I’d like to share with you this extension I made for SketchUp: www.getfabber.com This allows you to take your SketchUp models and go right to CNC toolpathing if you’re using Vectric’s CAM software (VCarve/Aspire) Our extension scans your SketchUp model, automatically flattens it and sends to VCarve/Aspire where we automatically build all of your toolpaths. Here’s the splashy intro video: Fabber to Vectric - YouTube If you really want to dig into the workflow you can check here…

Maybe this can help you…

[ftacarpentry1]

Thanks.

Your extension looks great, but (no offence intended!) it’s a bit pricey given my only problem is that single lines don’t export from SU to Vcarve?!!

There must be a means to make it work!?!

[DaveR]

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that you have loose geometry mixed with objects inside of the parent component. For example, in your “shelf holes” component you have groups for the holes mixed and an edge that is ungrouped. Do you get correct results if you group the edge in those cases, too?

FWIW you have raw geometry that is not untagged. That’s not the best way to set up your models.

[ftacarpentry1]

Thanks for taking a look Dave.

I know it’s a bit messy… it’s not how I normally work (honest!), it’s early days only drawing in 2d which feels very odd and strangely laborious.

I’ve tried every iteration of grouping/un grouping/making components and it just doesn’t seem to work. It just doesn’t like single lines for some reason.

Thanks again,

[DaveR]

Have you contacted the V-carve people?

[Early_Hominid]

Hi,
I’ve just downloaded and altered your sketchup model and reimported it into Vecrtic’s Cut2D Pro (It uses exactly the same SKP import procedure as VCarve - same company etc). I’ve re-attached the model for you to download.
vectric test 1.skp (65.0 KB)

All of your various sub-objects are now visible when imported with Vectric software. Here’s how…

1. In your S.U. model, create a parent component which houses all the path vectors (lines), rebates and the cut profile of the part.
2. Name the parent component. The name must begin with a double underscore!!! For Example; ‘__NewPart’.
   …As per the checkbox in component/group handling in the import dialogue of Vcarve/Cut2DPro.

Here is the screenshot from Cut2Dpro after import (lines showing)…

I have a more detailed explanation in this post:

SketchUp to CNC - VCarve / Mozaik / CabinetSense / Dynamic Components / Parametric?

Hi, I use Sketchup to model projects for a small, high-end, custom woodworking company. We do mainly cabinets that are all variations on a common type of box, but we also get some really random projects. We just got our first CNC and are trying to figure out the best method to go from Sketchup model to CNC cut parts. We got VCarve Pro because that allows you to import a Sketchup model, and it gives you a 2D layout of the parts. However this doesn’t tell you what the depth of rabbets / dados /…

Hit me up if you need more help.

[ftacarpentry1]

Thanks to both you and DaveR for your help.

I gave your way a go this morning… admittedly in a bit of a hurry before having to leave the office for the day, but whilst it works, it seems to change some of the layer details for the various items?

It’s so odd that it’s this complicated to achieve what is required!

Thanks again… I’m going to read your other linked thread now!

Pete