I really should get in the business of selling SVGs. I’m amazed that in the laser Facebook group I slum in from time to time folks will pay good money for a circle. I usually give them away for free.
There was an artist that thought all the facebook games were nonsense, and a waste of money. So he made a game where a cow would show up each day, and you could click on it for points.
If you wanted more points, he released new cows every once in a while that you could buy, so you could get more clicks and more points.
He thought this was an obviously stupid game, and it would be obvious to anyone who played it. The most rediculous cow was just the original cow, mirrored, and it was like $20.
But it backfired. He got a ton of people playing it. He made a ton of money, and people played it all the time. He felt so guilty about it, he shut it down, and donated at least a bunch of the money to charity.
I am not at all saying that buying svgs from etc is as stupid as clicking a cow. I am jist saying, be careful ironically selling circles. You might just end up successful, with more irony than you can handle.
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Some might call that a vicious circle.
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What are you using to create SVG’s? I find that inkscape is cumbersome for anything aside from text or manipulating existing designs. I come from an autocad / Revit background and have since learned Fusion 360 for 3d print design so that may be skewing my view.
I read your post while watching an episode of Duck Dynasty. I almosted blew scotch out of my nose due to the random nature of the circumstances…
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Here is my MPCNC, and the table for the LR2.
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I do most of it in Inkscape, but I also use Onshape and Kiri:Moto to get SVGs.
I did a lot of graphic design stuff for newsletters and yearbooks, so I was used to 2D vector stuff. It’s all the color and gradient stuff that makes a difference there. the extensions are good and so many features make it pretty powerful. I have a laser so the 3D stuff isn’t quite as necessary. And the laser needs colored vectors, both lines and fills for settings.
Inkscape is free. I didn’t encounter free 3D design stuff until Sketchup. I like Onshape but I expect one day to switch to Fusion to access the CAM.
Just a couple more questions.
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What v-groove bit did you use. 60 degree? Is it fair to assume that is the most common/versatile vgrove bit to use if you only had to pick one?
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I assume this picture is a 3D printed “keyhole”. Used instead of routing an actual “keyhole” with a keyhole bit. Forgive my ignorance, how do you afix it to the sign. Yes, you just router out a circle for it but do you also glue it in, epoxy it in, or is it friction fit?
All of my carving has been done with a 90 degree v bit. This was due to the fact that they are readily available at the big box stores and I had one on the shelf in the garage.
I didn’t have a bit to do a keyhole pocket but I do have a 3d printer and the ability to design it. At first I designed it for a forstner bit but had this keen idea that it would be more precise to use my cnc to machine it to the correct depth. The insert is glued into the pocket.
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FWIW, the steeper the bit, the less error there will be with a change in Z. A 90 degree bit will be 2mm wider if the Z is 1mm deeper. A 45 degree bit will be 1mm wider for an error of 1mm in Z.
The consequence of a sharp bit is that it needs to cut so much deeper to cut wider, so if you are making very wide letters, you need to cut deeper (which could mean more passes, or more load) or have to pocket out the middle (which can leave a bad finish, or take forever to pocket with a tiny bit).
I really like the 45 degree bit Ryan sells, but I pay attention to only do small things with it. Larger text, I would do with a flat bit. I am not selling anything though, so I am ok with the imperfections.
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This is great info!
If you look at my growth chart you will see that the points of the increment marks taper to a point. While in person it looks super cool and custom, it is actually because the poplar was cupped making the depth of carve at the point more shallow. I think I set my z probe to spliting the difference.
Machining to flat with a v bit is painful but I have not stepped up to flat pockets with an endmill with a tool change to carve… YET…
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Ah, I do see it now. I did not notice it before. Being so close to the work, we are often too hard on ourselves. Most people are going to be looking at the size, shape, and reading the workpiece. They will be impressed immediately. Very few are going to notice the imperfections in depth. I always have to stop myself from pointing out the mistakes I make when building things. Other people wouldn’t notice them, and would be happier not knowing about them.
And FWIW, It is a really nice project, and very well executed.
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I immediately pointed it out to my wife who said “I assumed you designed it that way”!
I also left the index marks in the piece as a reminder of how it came about on a MPCNC. They are visible in the picture on the right hand side.
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For anyone still following along… Here is my LowRider2. The usable cutting area is 2000mm x 1130mm. It is full dual endstop on all axis, with z probing. The touch screen is a tft28 with teaching tech’s firmware but I opted for a standard ramps 1.4 controller. My main control is via octoprint with the custom command editor plug-in.
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Looking real fancy!!!
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Nice !
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Depending on what you’re creating it may be a good idea. I sometimes buy SVG’s from etc to T-Shirt Iron Ons my wife wants cut for herself or our son. Or sometime vinyl cutouts for friends. I’m sure I can make them all myself but, TBH, it generally takes less time to search google, find the design and pay for the SVG than it generally does for me to scroll through some of the artwork I have on hand or even to line up some heart shapes to make a 4 leaf clover. And the cost of the file is $1.50. I know for a fact it would take me more than 15 minutes just to make a clover, without the phrase that is needed, which at that point is $6/hour.
A couple of months ago I spent about 40 minutes just looking for a bow SVG for some Disney themed T’s for my niece, her husband and their 2 kids. After a bit of searching I found the exact designs they wanted in a complete package for $3.50. I figured spending $3.50 and being done with it in 30 minutes with complete shirts was totally worth it. It was either that or spend even more time finding more graphics and then putting all the graphics together before finally getting to cutting.
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Not sure what I can do about the first post. For whatever reason the pics are not available for thumbnail selection so I am going to add this here.
Sweet!
Whatever works for you guys is cool with me. I can always share the photos or make new posts later.
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