Hey y'all.
Welcome to Part 9 of my series on the Vectric software titles for the absolute beginner.
Before we get started, let me state that I am neither sponsored nor endorsed...
...by Vectric Ltd., nor any other company I may talk about in this video...
...to include bit manufacturers or retailers.
I'm doing this series to help the person who has never done anything like this before...
...get into their software, start, and finish a project within that software.
For those of you who are Vectric users, I'm using VCarve Pro, version 9.510...
...but everything I'm going to show you works identically in Cut2D desktop and Pro...
VCarve desktop and pro, and Aspire.
I've had quite a few questions on...
...how to add a new tool or a new end mill to the tool database within the Vectric software.
So, I'm going to demonstrate some of the ways of doing that today.
Before we can do anything, we need to start a project.
If we look up here at our menu bar, we only have FILE, GADGETS, and HELP available to us...
...unless we have a project open down here.
Those of you using the desktop versions don't even have gadgets, because gadgets are not supported.
So let's go ahead and create a new file...
...and whatever is in here...
...I'm going to go ahead and just accept because we won't actually be using this.
We just have to have a file open in order to have full access to our menu bar up here.
So whatever is in here, I'll just go ahead and click OK.
So we have a project open...
...now we have access to our menu bar up above here.
The way to get into the tool database without going over to the toolpaths tab...
...is to go up here to the Toolpath menu and click on Tool Database...
...and that opens our Tool Database here.
I work with Imperial measurements on everything, so my database opens up to Imperial tools.
If you're using metric, that's located down here...
...but the directions for adding a new tool are identical...
...you'll just be using metric measurements.
You can see I have a lot of end mills added, and I have a few ball nose bits added, and a few V bits added in here.
The absolute easiest way to add a new bit...
...is to find a bit that is similar to the one you want to add that's already in the database.
For instance, for this example...
Let's say I went out and got a new end mill that has a 3/8 inch cutting diameter...
...instead of 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch.
So I would want to add it somewhere between these two bits here.
The easiest way to do this would be just to copy...
...a bit that's already existing in the database, and change the measurements.
So we'll do that first.
I'll go ahead and select my 1/4 inch bit...
...and it opens up the Tool Info over here to the side.
Then I'm going to come down here and click this button that says Copy, right here.
When I click that button watch what happens up here...
I'll click on Copy...
...and it added a second copy of this 1/4 inch end mill.
You can see that all the information is identical.
So what I need to do now is select this one here...
...between 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch, I'll select this one here...
...and this is the one I'm going to edit. I'm going to change this one.
For my new bit...
...again, as I said, it's a 3/8 inch cutting diameter bit...
...so I'll need to go up here and change the name of it.
I happen to remember that the decimal equivalent of 3/8 inch is 0.375...
So I've changed the title right off the bat.
It is an end of mill...
...and down here I have this blank for notes...
...where I can put in the bit manufacturer, the bit part number...
...maybe a link to a website where I ordered it from...
I can put any information in here, these are just notes for me.
Now we'll get into the geometry of the bit.
The important information we need here is...
...if we look at the diagram, D...
...is for the diameter. We need the cutting diameter.
Not the shank diameter. That doesn't matter
We need the cutting diameter.
In this case, again, it's .375...
When I entered .375 here...
...it changed the measurement down here in the stepover field.
We'll get into that in just a minute.
So I have my cutting diameter entered here.
Now we'll move down into the Cutting Parameters.
The first one is the Pass Depth.
That is the depth of cut: how deep this bit is going to plunge into the material and cut per pass.
Here's where I find a little bit of controversy.
Some people like to push their bits harder than I push mine.
The way I was taught, was to enter, as a pass depth, 1/2 of the tool's cutting diameter.
Now, you may have a differing opinion, you may have a different experience, your mileage may vary.
You may want to go ahead and use the cutting diameter as your pass depth.
Personally, I tend to run more conservatively.
I run 1/2 the cutting diameter as my pass depth.
And remember; this is maximum.
We can always go back and edit it later on.
So I'm going to enter 1/2 of my bit's cutting diameter...
...and I don't remember off the top of my head what that is...
...so, again, I'll use the calculators that are built in to Vectric's software.
So I'll highlight everything in there...
...tap Backspace to clear it...
...and I'll type the cutting diameter in this case .375...
...divided by - this is the front slash...
2
Then when I tap the Equals button on my keyboard...
...it does the calculation for me...
...and there is one half of my bit's cutting diameter, entered in the proper field.
For my step over, it is recommended that you use less than 50%.
With a 3/8 inch cutting diameter, that's a pretty large bit; I can go a little more than 40%.
In fact I'm going to bump it up to 45%...
That made our stepover 0.1688
Again, that's the maximum stepover.
That's for clearing out a pocket...
...or if we use it for a flat area clearance tool in a v-carve toolpath.
It will step over a maximum of 0.1688 inches.
If it doesn't need to step over that much to finish up a pocket...
...it'll just step over however much it needs to step over.
Now we get down in here into the real controversial section...
...that is feeds and speeds.
For the spindle speed...
On my CNC, I'm using a Porter Cable model 890 series router motor.
It's variable speed that is controlled on the router.
My software does not control the speed of my router...
...so I leave this blank alone.
It's irrelevant to me...
...because I could enter 100,000 rpm, and it wouldn't change anything.
The speed is controlled on the router itself.
If you have an air-cooled or water cooled spindle...
...you would want to consult with the bit manufacturer.
Usually, they have recommendations as to how fast you should run the bit...
...and the feed rate based on the chip load of the bit.
Personally, I run conservative and I've had good luck doing that...
...but I don't do anything with the router rpm simply because my router is not controlled by software.
For the feed rate...
Again, this is gonna spark some controversy.
I run conservative.
My controller software out on my machine is Mach3...
...and Mach3 allows me to adjust my feed rate on the fly, as the bit is cutting the material.
So if I start with a conservative number like 40 inches per minute...
...I can bump that up up to 300%.
So I could bump this up to 120 inches per minute...
...as it's cutting, and I see HOW it's cutting.
So I'll bump it up a little bit if I can...
...until I start to get a little bit of chatter, then I'll back it back down...
...until that chatter goes away.
That's the way I was taught to figure out how fast to run a bit.
Now again - your mileage may vary.
Do be aware that any feed and speed recommendations made by manufacturers...
...are based on industrial machines; not home hobby CNC machines.
Your machine may or may not be rigid enough to handle the feeds and speeds...
...that the manufacturer recommends based on the chip load of the bit.
That's when it's time to do some experimentation.
I find that by starting conservative...
...with a feed rate of 40 inches per minute...
I can adjust on the fly, as the tool is cutting the material.
That's worked fine for me.
I have never broken a bit cutting the material.
I've broken them in other ways, but not cutting the material.
For the plunge rate...
The plunge I enter is 1/2 of the feed rate.
So in this case I have a feed rate of 40 inches per minute and a plunge rate of 20 inches per minute.
The tool number...
...in this case it's irrelevant.
You will change this as you calculate toolpaths...
...so I don't bother with anything right here, right now.
We have the information we need to go ahead and enter this tool into our database.
If you look over here, we still have a 1/4 inch end mill...
...and a 1/4 inch end mill, then a 1/2 inch end mill.
The minute I come over here and I click APPLY...
...that changes.
It's taken all of the settings that I've entered here...
...and applied it to that end mill.
So I now have the 1/2 inch, the 3/8, and the 1/4 inch.
That is the easiest way to add a new tool.
Copy one that you already have entered in the database...
...and change the dimensions to match the tool that you've purchased.
The same thing holds true whether it's a ball nose or a v-bit.
They're all done in exactly the same way.
If, for instance, you bought a 30-degree v-bit...
...that has a 1/4 inch cutting diameter...
...you would copy it...
...then change the name...
...enter any notes you wish to enter...
...then change the settings over here.
I tend to leave the step-over percentages as they are.
They work fine for me
So the main thing I would change on this bit if I bought a 1/4 inch cutting diameter, 30 degree bit...
I would change the diameter, leave the angle alone...
...and then change the pass depth feed and speed.
The next way to add a bit...
...is to see if the bit manufacturer has created any files...
...that will help you enter a bit profile.
We want to add a new bit to the tool database...
We want to add a special one.
We're not going to add an end mill, a ball nose, a v-bit, or anything else that's already entered in here.
What I want to add is a tapered ball nose end mill for 3D carving.
One of the manufacturers that is leading the way on this is a Amana Tools.
Now I know Amana Tools are a little bit pricey...
...but they've done a few things to help folks with Vectric software...
...to enter the information on their bits into the software.
And to be honest, whether you buy an Amana tool or not...
...this information can be modified to suit your bit.
Let me show you what I'm talking about here.
I'm looking for a tapered ball nose for 3D carving...
...that has a 1/16 inch tip diameter.
So I've gone to the Tools Today website, and I'll put a link in the description box below...
...and I'm going to select a 1/16 inch bit.
That's narrowed my choices down here.
I want to remember that I'm cutting wood...
...so I want a two flute bit.
And that narrowed my choices down to two bits.
If we look at these very closely...
...the only difference between these two bits is the overall length.
This one is 2 1/4 inches long.
This one is 2 23/64 inches long.
So not quite 2 3/8 inches long.
I'll go ahead and I'll check this one here.
This is part number 46252.
The important things to look at on this bit...
...are in this picture right here.
The shank diameter...
...the overall length...
...the cutting depth - the cutting edge length...
...the tip diameter...
...the tip radius...
...and the angle of the bit.
All that is spelled out right here.
One of the reasons that I chose this bit...
...is because Amana is leading the way in doing something to help folks get...
...their bit information entered into the Vectric software.
If we look down here below...
...we see the overview tab right here.
We see another tab for PDF files, video, reviews, Q&A, Proposition 65 warning for those of you in California.
Some of their bits have another tab over here...
...that says Vectric.
Some of them don't have that, like this one here.
If you click that Vectric tab, or if you click this tab here for PDF files...
...you come down here and you see there's the chip load, feed and speed chart for this bit.
Here's the specification sheet for this bit.
Here's an AutoCAD DXF tool file for this bit.
And here's a PDF file for this bit.
But if you scroll down a little bit more...
...here's a Vectric tool file.
Again, we look up here, the part number is 46252...
They don't have the tool file specifically for this bit.
But they have one that is similar enough that we can use it.
So we'll go ahead and we'll click...
I've already checked it out 46282 is very similar.
We'll click this link, it opens up the save window....
and we have a tool file for this particular bit.
I'll navigate to the folder I want to save this in. I'll go ahead and put it in this folder...
..click Save.
I want to keep this website open, because I'll still need some of the information here.
Now I can go back to VCarve Pro.
I want to import this bit's information into the database.
So I'll click Import...
...navigate to the folder I downloaded that file to...
...there it is right there.
Select it...
...click OPEN.
Now it's asking me if I want to MERGE databases...
...or IMPORT this under the selected tool.
I want to Import it.
This is not a whole database it's just the information on one tool...
...so you don't want to merge it. You just want to import it.
Click NO to import.
Now we see that when it imported, it created a new group, up here...
...titled New Group.
We click on the plus sign...
..and there is the tool data...
...for the bit that is similar...
...to the one we bought.
Now remember, we purchased...
...this tool which has a 5.5 degree angle...
...where the other tool has a 5.4 degree angle.
So that's one of the things we'll need to change
We'll get into that in just a second.
The first thing we'll talk about...
...it's added the name of this bit...
...the part number...
...tapered ball nose...
...and then the angle of the bit...
...the cutting diameter...
...and the tip diameter.
So what I want to do, just to make this easier for me to keep track of...
...is I want to highlight that part number...
...hold down the CTRL button, and tap the letter X.
That cuts it out of that title.
I'll then come down here to the notes section...
...and type Amana Tool...
...then I will add the part number...
...of the tool we purchased...
46252.
And enter it here.
That tells me which bit this is without cluttering up the title.
Now I'll need to change this title to reflect the actual dimensions of the bit.
It doesn't have a 5.4 degree angle...
...it has a 5.5 degree angle.
The tip is 1/16 of an inch diameter, 0.0625...
...and it has a 1/4 inch cutting diameter.
So, keeping in mind we have a 1/4 inch cutting diameter...
...we have a 5.5 degree angle...
...we have a tip radius of 1/32 of an inch...
Vectric or Amana have rounded that up to .313
I will change that to .03125
It may round up from here on its own it may not.
It entered the total cutting length of the bit here in Pass Depth.
Now you can choose to keep that there if you wish.
Personally, I don't like to use that as a pass depth.
Again, I want to use one half of the cutting diameter...
...in this case 1/4 inch.
I'm going to use 1/8 inch, or .125
The rest of these can remain the same.
For the step-over, it's using...
...the percentage of the tip diameter...
...not the cutting diameter.
The stepover...
...in this case, it's 4%
That would be a finishing pass stepover.
4% is a little small.
That makes for a long machining time.
I generally bounce back and forth between 8% and 9%, depending upon the material.
So for right now, I'll enter 8.0 percent...
...and that automatically changed my stepover to .005
That's something to keep in mind.
It's only stepping over .005 of an inch.
If you have a large file that's gonna make for a long cutting time.
The clearance pass stepover...
...they recommend 47.9%
As long as it's under 50% I'm happy.
I'm going to change this to 45% however...
...and that's just for me.
Now again, this is for the clearance pass.
This would be a 3D roughing pass...
...if you decide to use this bit for 3D roughing.
Again, controversial here...
Amana recommends spindle speed of 18,000 rpm...
...again, my spindle isn't controlled by the software so that's fine.
They recommend a feed rate of 30 inches per minute and a plunge rate of 15.
I'm gonna go ahead and accept that and we'll see how it works when I start cutting.
I may bump this up...
I may have to bump it back down.
It just depends on the material and the project that it's cutting.
From here, I can click APPLY...
...and we see that tapered ball nose bit has changed to a 5.5 degree angle...
...a tip diameter of 1/16 of an inch...
...and a cutting diameter of 1/4 inch.
We can choose to keep this tool here in New Group.
We can move it down with our other ball noses.
Or we can change the name of this group to Tapered Ball Nose...
...hit enter.
Then from now on, any tapered ball noses I get, I can enter them in here in this group...
...and Vectric will keep track of it for me.
I hope that didn't cause a lot of confusion.
But that's the way you can enter a similar tool...
...from the Amana website using their Vectric tool database files...
...to import bit information into the tool database.
And, to be honest...
...it doesn't necessarily have to be an Amana tool.
If you use that tool database file from Amana...
...as long as you have the angle, the tip diameter, the tip radius, and the cutting diameter...
As long as you have those measurements...
...you can enter any bit, from any manufacturer, using that tool database file.
The final method I'm going to show you is simply by adding a new tool.
For this, we'll go to Toolpaths, Tool Database...
...and down here we have NEW.
I click on that button, and the Tool Info doesn't know what we want to do.
So we'll have to choose a tool type - be that ball nose, end mill, v-bit, tapered ball nose - whichever.
Most of the more oddball tools that we would want to enter into the database...
...fall under the category of Form Tools.
Let me give you an example - a cutting point roundover bit.
That's a roundover bit that can be plunged straight down into the material.
It does not have a guide bearing on it.
So what I would do is I would select Form Tool...
...and we see here I get an error already.
It says a single open vector representing the right side of the tool profile...
...must be selected to define the tool geometry.
The vector must only represent the right-hand edge of the tool.
Do not include the top face of the tool profile.
So we'll click OK...
...and CANCEL...
...yes, I want to close.
What it's telling us is...
...we need to draw a vector out here that represents the right-hand side of that tool's profile.
There are a couple of ways we can do that.
We can draw the tool profile here ourselves, freehand.
We can download a picture of the bit that we're trying to enter, then do a bitmap trace.
Or we can use another little cheat.
And that is use Legacy CNC's DXF file.
Legacy CNC has teamed up with Magnate Router Bits...
...and i'll put a link to this page in the description box below...
They have created a DXF file that has the bit profiles...
...of some of their more popular bits for use with a CNC.
And the file that we're looking for is this one right here...
router_bit_profiles.dxf
I have already downloaded this to my computer...
...but the way you would do it is click on the link...
...navigate to the folder you want to save it into...
...and then click Save.
As I say, I've already done that, so that's why it's already here.
So I will cancel this, you would save it to your computer.
With that file downloaded...
...what I would do here in VCarve is go to FILE...
...Import Vectors...
Navigate to the folder I downloaded that DXF file to.
There it is right there... I'll select it, click OPEN, then let it load.
Once it's loaded...
I can zoom out, and there...
...is a vector representation of the router bits...
...that Magnate has provided to Legacy CNC.
I mentioned a plunge-point roundover bit.
That bit has this profile right here, allowing it to plunge straight down into a piece of material...
...and round over a profile, create beads, or something to that effect.
I already have this plunge-point roundover, here.
But I would like to add this 3/16 bit.
I already have the 1/8 inch, I'd like to add the one with the 3/16 radius.
That's part number 7504.
Again, it's Magnate Router Bits, so if I go to magnate.net...
...and enter that part number 7504 in the search box here...
...it brings up this bit.
This is a two-flute, carbide-tipped, plunge-point, roundover bit.
And that's what I want to enter in my tool database.
So, remembering that it's got a 3/16 inch radius here...
...that's going to give us a cutting diameter of 3/8 of an inch, so we need to keep that in mind.
So, I'll go back into VCarve...
...and I'll select that profile.
Now you see it's giving us both sides of the profile.
We only want the right side.
So we're going to have to do a little bit of modification.
Before we do that, let's get it moved over into the center of our material...
...so we can modify it and then enter this bit into the database.
So with it selected, on my keyboard, I'll hold down CTRL...
...type the letter C to Copy...
...then immediately hold down CTRL, type the letter V to paste.
So it pasted that copy right over the top of...
...the vector that was already there.
From here, I'll go over to Align Selected Objects...
...and I'll align that vector to the material. I want it in the center of our project material.
Click on that and the vector disappears.
Now I can close this...
...then go up here to Zoom Active View to the Selected Objects...
...and that zooms us into our material where that profile sits.
Now I need to get rid of the left side of this vector.
I only want the right side.
So I'm going to go into Node Editing Mode...
...and split this vector in half.
I'll do that by typing the letter N on my keyboard...
...and that brings us into Node Editing Mode.
You see how my cursor arrow has changed to just the point of an arrow.
Here we have this bright green node (node or point.)
That indicates the vector starting point .
Down here is another point, and up here is the vector's end point.
So what I'll do is I'll come down here...
...put my cursor over this point here in the center...
...right-click...
...then click on Cut Vector.
What I've just done is I've split this, so now I have this vector here...
...and this vector here.
They are now separate vectors.
Still in Node Editing, and with this selected...
...I can hit the Delete key...
...and that side is gone.
Type the letter N again to come out of Node Editing Mode...
...and I now have the vector that represents the right side of my new bit.
So I'll select that vector...
...go back up here to Toolpaths...
...Tool Database...
...again come down to NEW...
...for the tool type, I'll go into Form Tools...
...and we now see the profile of the bit that we want to enter into our database.
We'll start at the top and enter the information and our cutting parameters.
The first thing is the name of the tool.
I want to make sure I remember this is a point-cutting roundover bit...
...with a 3/16 radius.
Up here it says .375
That's 3/8 diameter that is the total cutting diameter.
I need to know that this is a 3/16 roundover bit.
So I will change that.
I'll get rid of the form tool name...
I will enter...
3/16 inch is .1875...
...radius...
.375 diameter...
...plunge-point roundover...
That's a long title, I understand that.
But we know we have the 3/16 radius, 3/8 inch cutting diameter, plunge-point roundover bit.
From here we'll come down to the geometry.
The cutting diameter from here to here is 3/8 of an inch.
Our pass depth: we want our past depth to be...
...3/16 of an inch. We don't want it to go any deeper than that.
So we'll enter here .1875
Our stepover: I have yet to use a stepover with a roundover bit.
I'll leave this be.
I won't use it.
The feed rate and plunge rate, I'm going to leave the same as an end mill of comparable size.
I'll leave it at 40 inches per minute with a 20 inch per minute plunge rate.
Click APPLY...
...and up here now we see it's added our tool under Imperial Tools
I want to move this down into the Form Tools...
...where I already have a 1/8 inch radius bit.
So I'll go ahead and close up these other folders just so I can get to it.
Here is the bit that we just added; I want to just drag it down into the Form Tools folder...
...and drop it.
And now you can see I have a 1/8 inch radius and a 3/16 inch radius plunge-point roundover bit.
Click OK...
...and that bit is entered into my tool database.
You'll notice some very cool combinations here, some neat profiles and what-have-you.
But be very careful.
I'll do a simple one up here and show you.
The dovetail bit, for example.
These dovetail bits have a 14 degree angle to the outside.
This is not like a v-bit.
This tapers to the outside.
That creates an undercut.
Meaning, this corner of the bit is going to cut in to the material...
...further than the top corner of the bit.
That's an undercut.
Vectric software will not recognize any bit that creates an undercut.
The way you would use a dovetail bit would be to use the Dovetail Gadget
...or kind of cheat the system and trick it into thinking it's just a standard end mill.
More on that in another video.
But do know that if you select the right side of a dovetail bit and try to enter it as a Form Tool, or any other tool...
...it will not accept it.
You will get an error message that says a suitable vector has not been selected.
It will not let you add any tool that creates an undercut.
The same holds true for a keyhole bit.
A keyhole bit creates an undercut...
...and it will not allow you to enter it into the Tool Database.
Certain bits like crown molding tools, they can be added just fine.
Beading tools, cove and bead tools they can be added as well.
Just remember you need the vector representing the right side of the profile.
For instance, on this particular bit...
...you would need to copy and paste move this over onto the material...
...cut this vector in half...
...then join these together into one vector...
...before you can import your new tool.
Between this DXF file and the Amana tool database...
...that allows you to add tool profiles...
...it would be very easy to go in and just start downloading tool profiles left and right.
I'd like to caution you against doing that.
Enter those tools as you buy the tools.
I mean let's think about it: why would you have a tool in your database that you don't physically own?
You're just gonna confuse matters by doing that.
Just know that if you should buy a tool you can find the various ways to...
...get that tool entered into the database, whether you copy an existing tool...
...you use a tool database file from Amana Tool or any other manufacturer...
...or you draw the profile in yourself...
...and then enter the cutting parameters, feeds, speeds etc...
Well I hope that didn't confuse matters...
...and I hope you got something out of this video.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them down in the comment section.
If you'd rather not leave a public comment, as usual, head over here to my website...
marklindsaycnc.com
...and click that Contact Us link.
Then you can send me any message you'd like.
I do read every message I get through the Contact Us link...
at marklindsaycnc.com
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So that's going to wrap up this episode.
Once again don't be afraid to ask any questions that you may have.
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