Hi all! This is Sami with Avid CNC
and this is a quick pro-tip video
on how to use the CAM setup sheet in your Vectric program.
Do you sometimes forget where your zero is in your CAM program?
Or which router bit is assigned to which tool number for the next tool change?
Well, luckily for us Vectric has a feature built in just for this.
The CAM setup sheet generates this document which is available as a web link.
You can also print this out if you like to have a hard copy.
This is also a great tool for team dynamics,
so a programmer can communicate with the CNC machine operator
about the material setup, work offset location, and tools used.
One of the most essential steps when running a CNC job is to ensure that the corner you
zero to on your CNC machine matches the corner you selected in the VCarve job setup
You can select the material surface,
or the machine bed for the Z Zero
as well as any of the four corners or the center of the material for the XY zero.
Having this sheet handy while you're setting up your material
workholding and work offset greatly reduces the chances of making a simple mistake.
Great! Let's hop into how to use this tool and how to generate a setup sheet.
We'll open a new VCarve file and enter our job settings as usual.
I'll select a one-sided job
then i'll enter in our material dimensions.
Then we'll select our zero.
We'll Zero to the material surface
For our XY coordinates let's zero to the front left corner of the material.
Once we're happy with the settings we've selected, go ahead and click okay.
Now that you have your job setup complete,
go ahead and create the CAD and CAM for your project.
I'll use this tool tray project as an example.
I've linked a video on how to design, program, and a full walkthrough on how to run this project
on your CNC machine in the description below if you're interested in making it yourself.
Once we're happy with our design and tool paths that we've programmed,
you can export your G-code for the CNC technician.
I'll go ahead and export my G-code for this project.
I'll choose export the visible tool paths, select my preferred post processor,
and save the G-code file.
At the time of exporting your G-code program,
navigate to the setup sheet icon.
This will allow you to create a detailed setup sheet in the form of a browser link
which can be sent to the CNC tech with the G-code file, or print it out as a hard copy.
It's important to re-export the setup sheet
with any changes to your tool paths as that setup sheet will not update with those changes.
I recommend using a detailed file name and convention to ensure that the CNC operator
can properly compare the G-code file and the setup sheet.
Let's take a more detailed look at the information recorded in the setup sheet.
First we can see a visual of our vector design in the job layout window,
the design is color coded by our layer color assignments.
In the materials setup window we're provided with the material dimensions,
home and start position, datum position,
and Z safe clearance height. Below this is the toolpath summary,
listing out the toolpath names,
the tools used and the estimated runtimes.
Lastly we have a breakdown of each of the toolpaths
which include the feed rate,
plunge rate, spindle speed, router bit selection,
path step, step over, and tool number settings
for this particular tool path.
This is a great way to present the summary so you can successfully set up a job,
or catch any mistakes in the program prior to running the job.
The setup sheet creates a great visual for many of the important things you need to know
when setting up your project,
but the G-code also holds much of this information as well.
Let's compare the G-code itself to the setup sheet.
We'll open our G-code in a text editor to view it.
Reading G-code with the updated Avid CNC post processor
is very simple to do.
If you haven't updated your Avid CNC
Vectric post processor recently
I recommend you check for updates
quarterly and I've linked a tutorial on how to do this in the description below.
The top of our G-code reads the file name,
when it was saved, and the post processor I selected.
The name of the program I labeled ending in _01
to illustrate the version number of that G-code export.
I have also saved the setup sheet ending in _01
to demonstrate that these two files were saved together
and match in all the settings selected.
If i update the G-code program with any changes to the toolpaths or job setup
and were to re-export the G-code
I would also save a new job setup sheet with a matching file naming convention.
Let's go through some of the basics in the code to see where they correspond to our setup sheet.
First we have our material dimensions.
The Z origin and XY origin for the project.
The Home/ Start position.
As well as the safe Z Clearance height.
In the toolpath summary there's a list of our tool paths,
which is also listed under tool paths used in this file
The code also indicates the tools and tool numbers used in this file. One feature that
the setup sheet provides that is not included in the g-code is the run time estimates.
We can also see where the first pocketing toolpath begins.
I'll also note here the T1M6 command, this is indicating a change to tool one.
Each toolpath summary lists the selected tool and the tool number.
If a different tool was selected and labeled under tool 2 there would be a T2M6 command.
Utilizing the setup sheet can help a CNC operator
quickly select the correct tool for the tool change.
If you're interested on how to perform a manual
tool change we've linked a tutorial on this in the description below.
I hope that you found this tutorial helpful, make sure to subscribe and
turn on notifications for more CNC pro-tip, project and build videos.
Thanks all for watching we can't wait to see what you make and I'll see you in the shop!
(upbeat music)