Snapmaker 2.0 and Vectric VCarve Desktop - a good match?

[Jameson]

Hi,
As a new to Snapmaker 2.0 ( received my A350 in last December ) I’ve tested out some CNC works but haven’t been blown away with the performance of Luban. I truly hope the company will put more effort into the software. I guess it’s not easy to design a program which would perform fantastically in all three disciplines. Thanks to this forum I have looked closely on what the Company Vectric could offer and I’ve now been testing out their VCarve Desktop trial software which is designed for hobbyists and small CNC machines. After doing some stupid mistakes with the setup I have finally ( or SM A350 ) produced a nice looking result. I was wondering if someone in this forum have more experience of using VCarve Desktop
and Snapmaker and what your thoughts are ? Are they a good match worth spending over 300 USD?

For this work I used Pawlovia wood ( 18mm thick ) which is nice to CNC. Dimensions: 200mm x 300mm.
I made two files : one rough pass with Flat end mill / double flute 3.175mm and the final pass with V-bit.
All in all it took some 26 hours to finish. With some small adjustments, I’m sure it can be made faster.
I hope my post can help some of you who is in the same situation as I am wondering how to improve the CNC result with Snapmaker. Cheers

[clewis]

Luban has the stated goal of being low barrier to entry. They want new users to be able to use it with minimal training. It’s never going to have the kind of power user features or control that prosumer or professional users will want.

Your flower is beautiful.

[marceldunk]

WAUW, what a great result!
I looks realy nice!

Well Done!

[craig6990]

Hi Jameson!
I have a Snapmaker 2.0 as well, as well as VCarve desktop installed n my computer!! As a Real
beginner i need some advice on how to get the file(*.crv) from the design stage to the Snapmaker CNC.
If I could impose on you for the info I would GREATLY appreciate your advice!
Thank you so much!!!

[Jameson]

Hi,
I’m completely new as well and done a ton of reading through forums etc. in order to manage this topic.
I hope you’ll succeed with the following, rather simple advice. But be cautious, in a few cases Snapmaker didn’t approve the file and gave me an error code.
I assume you have done your design and now want to transfer the VCarve file over to Snapmaker. In the Toolpath menu you need to save the file(s) as Grbl (mm) ( *.gcode). Next, you need to change the file format to *.CNC. Now, when you open Luban, drag the desired file into Workspace ( not to CNC G-code generator ). Your image of the work will appear in the workspace. Next, simply check that your computer is online with Snapmaker and click on the PLAY-icon in workspace. The file will now upload to Snapmaker ( check the control panel ) and starts momentarily. Be sure that you’re near the Snapmaker on-off switch just in case. I hope this will help you and I’m looking forward to see your work here.
Keep safe !

[craig6990]

Thanks so much for your response!! VCarve is working VERY well with my A350!!! Now I just need to get a little more familiar with the software. The tutorials are very helpful in getting what I want as a final project.
I can’t thank you enough!!!

[Jameson]

Hi,
glad that I could assist you. Have fun and keep safe !

[Chra]

Your flower looks stunning! This is a very nice piece, congratulations.

Unfortunately I can’t help with any knowledge.

[eableson]

Try this post processor for the Vectric family of software. It doesn’t require the expensive Aspire version, vCarve Desktop can use it too: snapmaker_cnc_post_process/snapmaker-vcarve-configuration at master · Snapmaker/snapmaker_cnc_post_process · GitHub

I use this to create the .cnc files directly from vCarve to a thumb drive and straight into the Snapmaker!

[Jameson]

Hi,
Thank you for your input. I added the post processor to VCarve Desktop but wasn’t able to add the tool file to the tool database. VCarve Desktop stated an error while attemting to add the tool. Any ideas how to proceed?

[eableson]

I just added the post-processor and manually created the various bits in the tool database instead trying to import the tool file. It’s a useful thing to learn to do since you’ll want to add more bits that aren’t in the included set.

[Jameson]

Hi,
Ok. Thanks for clearing that. I have previously added a Snapmaker tool data base and added various bits to it and the arrangement works great.

Cheers

[eableson]

Here’s some of the stuff I’ve done with the vCarve/Snapmaker combo. I find that the vCarve structure works better with my mental model of how to prepare jobs than the Luban CNC interface. Plus there’s a decent amount of included clip art.

I’m just getting started as well and having lots of fun

[Edwin]

Nice work. Thank you for sharing your works.

[Jameson]

Beautiful peace of work there - congrats and thanks for sharing. The VCarve software is truly a great match to SM CNC. Just love creating stuff with it.

[mjohannes]

Wow! You guys do great work! I’m new, and am having problems with post-processing from VCarve Desktop to my SM A350. I have a simple project in VCarve, but I can’t seem to get good results importing it into Luban. I’ve installed the post-processor from Git that eableson provided (GitHub - Snapmaker/snapmaker_cnc_post_process) and also tried using grbl .gcode, but it doesn’t seem to work. It doesn’t fail, I get something recognizable in Luban, but it doesn’t look like it should. Because I’m new to this forum, I can only post one image, so my apologies if this is small. The images are of my project in VCarve, importing it using the VCarve post-processor, and finally using the grbl .gcode in Luban. Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

[Jameson]

Hi mjohannes,

I have the exact setup as you and used the VCarve Desktop post-processor ( cnc ) only once - successfully.
Not knowing your workflow better, I refer to the one I have done in the past in order to get it right .
I have also used the Grbl ( gcode ) but changed it into *.cnc simply by changing the file name. Before starting I’ve downloaded the file into Luban workspace and started SM directly from this page ( haven’t sent it by WiFi to Snapmaker A350 ). This workflow has worked well for me and the result has been 1:1 according to planned sketch. I hope you figure it out - VCarve Desktop is the best thing for SM A350.

Cheers

[mjohannes]

Thanks for the advice, Jameson, I wish you were right about VCarve and SM, because VCarve is so simple to plan out my project. Unfortunately, I can’t get it to work with Luban or SM. I feel like even simple toolpaths with standard letters or shapes doesn’t post-process correctly. What is frustrating is it doesn’t fail completely, where I can find a problem, but neither does it produce usable results. I’ve given up for now with VCarve and will go back to Fusion 360. It at least works, its just a much more complicated design process. Again, thanks for the response.

[Kazuyuki]

Hi mjohannes, I have started SM2.0 life in last Dec. Today I have just install trial version of the VCarveDesktop & have imported SM2.0 post processer, too.
Your Luban’s screen copy is look like mine; many unknown circles in the window. I reviewed the gcode file and found G2/G3; G-code for arc and Luban did not handle G2/G3 correctly, I guess. There were some discussion for G2/G3 arc G-code support in the farmwear & Luban in the past in this forum as follows.
Does Luban support Gcode G2 and G3?
Fusion360 post processer for SM2.0 dose not output G2/G3, it may convert arc to many small G1, I also guess.
I hope this provide some help for you & me and need much help from experts. Thank you in advance.

[mjohannes]

Thanks, Kazuyuki, that is helpful. I’ve started looking at the g-code, and am learning how to decipher it. I might re-engage with VCarve when I get some time.