Vetric software and iModela

[soapysue]

Does anyone know whether VCarvePro and PhotoVCarve from Vetric will work with the iModela?

[WILL_UK]

Not so sure on VcarvePro, but Vectric Aspire certainly works with the little iModela.

Most of the Vectric software is realistically aimed at larger machines and I am not sure how the tiny motor on the iModela would cope with trying to do vCarving on anything other than the softest of materials, such as modelling wax or foam.

Depending on your intended use, it may be a used Roland Engraver such as the PNC 2300 or EGX 300 might be a better alternative, but I guess that is down to whether you already own the iModela or the Vectric software?

[soapysue]

Thanks for the reply Will, if Aspire works it would be surprising if VCarve Pro didn't, but I guess you never know! I will speak to Vetric tomorrow

I actually have an EGX-300 already and am thinking of getting an iModela. This might seem like a weird decision as the EGX is a lot more capable, but I'm looking to engrave very small pieces of rotary laminate and wood eg 1cm diameter discs and am struggling with accuracy of origin point for repeat engraving on the EGX, and also the fact I engrave other stuff on the EGX that would mean a lot of faffing and cleaning to switch between the various items. There is a self centre vice for the EGX on Mastergrave, but it's almost as expensive as a brand new iModela

What I really want is an MDX-15/20 (or Gravograph M20 ) but funds won't stretch to that at the moment

[WILL_UK]

When I had an EGX 300 and was struggling to get the registration right every time I had a second sacrificial bed in which I had milled out the common shapes I used (pet tags). This bed was located on the underlying bed by four plastic pins. The EGX is capable of both milling these and drilling the locating holes with great accuracy. In the case of pet tegs it allowed me to mill a dozen at a time with great accuracy. Another alternative to consider perhaps?

The imodela is a great little machine for prototyping in soft materials and whilst it will engrave, am not sure how well it would perform in that role for long term use?

[soapysue]

Good idea Will, I was also thinking I could mill out the shapes in a thin bit of wood or even Mylar (?) or something and then stick the 'template' to a sticky mat, then the whole lot onto the bed. Then the shapes would be extra secure as they would be in their slots and on the exposed bit of sticky mat too. I guess the registration point would then just need to be the bottom left corner of the template wood.

I've also concluded that for 'custom' small shapes, rather than buying laminate or wood cut to the shape by someone else, by far an easier route would be to buy small sheets of the material and then cut, drill and engrave the shapes in one go. More work for the EGX but no faffing with precise registration marks and also no having to buy lots of cut shapes up front for new products that may or may not sell

Just need to see whether the free Roland software will do this, or whether I am going to have to bite the Vetric bullet

[Patrick Thorn]

I tested VCarve with iModela.
This post processor needs to be in the Vectric > Posts folder
Unzip it first and use the file "Roland_iModela_mm+i01_PT.pp"

Roland_iModela_mm+i01_PT.pp.zip

(1.07 KiB) Downloaded 383 times

[Dave_Willis]

I tested VCarve with iModela.
This post processor needs to be in the Vectric > Posts folder
Unzip it first and use the file "Roland_iModela_mm+i01_PT.pp"

Roland_iModela_mm+i01_PT.pp.zip

Hi Patrick,

Would this post processor work with Vectric Cut3D?

Thanks,

Dave Willis

[Dave_Willis]

I tried copying this post processor into Vectric Cut3D and starting up the software.
Interestingly, it errored on 2 lines:

RAPID_PLUNGE_TO_STARTZ = NO
and
begin INITIAL_RAPID_MOVE

Perhaps it needs to be updated? I commented these lines out, and Cut3D was able to start up.
Would there be an issue if I left these lines commented out? Are they important?

Cheers,

Dave Willis

[Andrew Dudley]

Those two lines should not cause an issue if removed, but it may need testing as other lines could be entered if you are doing different toolpaths.

If you have a PostP for the MDX-40A then it should also be similar to that.

[Dave_Willis]

Thanks.