First V-bit carving using Carveco

[David Falkner]

Well, it's only been about 6 or 7 months since we bought Carveco and I finally watched enough tutorials to hack something out - yay!! I have been feeling guilty spending so much on software and not using it so I picked something that brings Fusion 360 to its knees - lots of text. I love F360, very powerful software. It does not handle text very well at all but it's the sweet spot for products like the Vectric line and Carveco.

Not wanting to use my pricey hardwoods I picked up a 12"x48" glued up board of Spruce/Pine/Fir (I think this is Pine) at Lowe's and figured I would start with that. This also represents only the second or third time I have had Pine in the shop in the last 5 years - it tears my allergies up like crazy!

So, on to the project; it's 9.5" x 12" x 3/4" thick, cut with a 5/8" diameter 60° bit, 100 ipm, 18k rpm, and cut with two passes. The first pass took most of the material and I did a follow up pass lowering Z by 0.005" to clean up any fuzz although there was far less than I would have thought for Pine. Cut time was about 12 minutes (per pass). I squared it off with the table saw rather than cut it out on the CNC.

The finish is Nitrocellulose sealer, sanded, one coat of gloss lacquer, sanded, Mohawk Van Dyke Brown glazing stain, sanded, final coat of semi-gloss lacquer. The finish took about 30-40 minutes including drying time.

Here's the finished plaque -
001 - Names of Jesus - plaque, Pine.jpg

Plunge router and keyhole bit for the hanging slot -
002 - Names of Jesus - plaque, back side.jpg

I was surprised how cleanly the Pine engraved for this tiny logo, which is about 1.5" across, and cut with a 1/8" 60° bit -
003 - Names of Jesus - plaque, logo.jpg

Using Carveco for the first time was kind of fun and a wholly different approach than using Fusion 360 but there's a lot I want to do with it, including some 3D work. Actually 2.5D, I guess, because the bottom will be flat. This isn't truly the first thing I have cut with Carveco but it's the first thing I can show. Last week I asked our pastor's teenage daughter to send me a photo of her and her new dog but didn't tell her why. So I took the photo and V-carved it and it came out really nice and she loved it. But since she's a minor I don't plan on posting any photos of that project.

Enjoy!
David

[David Buchhauser]

Nice work! Is that the Mohawk Van Dyke Brown glazing stain that darkened up the letters? The program looks interesting, but at a purchase price of almost $8000 is probably out of my price range.
David

https://store.carveco.com/products/c...tenance-online
Carveco Perpetual License.jpg

[David Falkner]

Yes sir, darkened them just enough, I think. And far easier and more forgiving than paint. Plus, only about 10 minutes of drying time before I sprayed the final coat of lacquer.

And yes, the software is pricey but we bought it in the first 30 days after it was released and spent less than $2k, which was still a lot. I need to use it another 50+ times for things I can sell on Etsy so I'll feel better about the purchase cost! LOL!

David

[bobby milam]

Wow $8,000? It better make the file and run the cnc for me while I sleep for that price. WHat does it do more than say, Aspire?
Nice carving by the way.

[David Falkner]

Thanks, Bobby!

Unreal, isn't it!! I understand it was like $9k when it was ArtCAM Pro or Premium or whatever it was called before Autodesk killed it off. And also, from what I have read, Carveco is the full version of the top ArtCAM product and Aspire is some version under that. I don't know really, no clue other than what I have read. And both have capabilities far greater than I will ever attempt to use. My take on it is that Vectric owns the CNC hobby world and my guess is they will likely continue in that direction. $8k is out of the range of many small businesses and definitely out of the range for most hobbyists, even if it does run the CNC while you sleep.

It's a lot like saying my Ferrari has 800 HP but your Lambo only has 750 HP. Both will go far faster than you're legally allowed to go and both will get you from point A to point B so it's just a matter of whether you like Ferrari or Lamborghini.

David

[David Buchhauser]

Carveco (formerly AutoDesk ArtCAM) apparently has no affiliation with Vectric. I use Aspire (occasionally), but I'm not sure exactly what similarities exist between Aspire and Carveco.
David

https://www.vectric.com/
vectric products.jpg

https://carveco.com/about-carveco/
Carveco About Us.jpg

[David Falkner]

Correct, David, there is no connection between Carveco and Vectric. They both sprang from ArtCAM and were developed by folks who left ArtCAM. However, from what I have read it doesn't matter if I watch a Carveco video or an Aspire video for lessons because they're similar enough save for a few cosmetic differences.

David

[David Buchhauser]

"Vectric Ltd. was founded in 2005 by Brian Moran and Tony McKenzie, who previously managed the specialist creative modelling and CNC machining software product range of a large UK CAD/CAM company. In forming Vectric, they applied more than 30 years of combined experience to create an entirely new range of software products that are quick and easy to learn, precise, self-supporting and, importantly, affordably priced."

https://archive.vectric.com/company/about.html

[David Falkner]

From what I have read that "large UK CAD/CAM company" was ArtCAM. Is that accurate info?

David

[David Buchhauser]

https://www.apollo.io/people/Brian/M...Es2gl4_pbegKLQ
Brian Moran Delcam.jpg

[David Falkner]

Thanks, David!

Brian's name is all through the old Autodesk/ArtCAM forums as a support contact person.

Brian Moran - old forum post.jpg

I just wanted to make sure I was remembering accurately what I read some time back.

David

[Richard Gonzalez]

From what I have read that "large UK CAD/CAM company" was ArtCAM. Is that accurate info?

David

The company was called Delcam, the primary product was Artcam. Those who started Vectric were previously Delcam employees. Many of the Delcam employees went to work for AutoDesk when they purchase Delcam (for the efficient HSM toolpathing Delcam pioneered). The people behind Carveco are mostly former Delcam folks, some have 25 years involved in the ArtCAM product. They purchased the codebase (but not rights to the name “ArtCAM”). Carveco can open ArtCAM files back to the 2008 version, but quite a few features have been added since Carveco was introduced last year, so it is an improved version of ArtCAM premium 2018. In December, they introduced two new (cheaper) versions. Carveco maker is basically equivalent to VCarve Pro, and Maker plus is pretty close to Aspire (can create and modify 3D reliefs).

[David Falkner]

Great info, Richard. So what extra does Carveco have that Aspire does not?

David