Vcarve Pro or Aspire?

[Joe Tedesco]

Hello all, As I sit and wait for my Stinger II to be ready I have been agonizing over my decision to purchase VCarve Pro, and whether or not I should have gone with Aspire. I have been reading the Vectic site (and forums) but I can't seem to determine if I really need Aspire.

I have not purchased the recoil lathe, but that is something I might want to get into in the future. Does Aspire give you more abilities when working with a recoil?

On a side note, I make pens and I was wondering if there is a way to use the Stinger to do engravings on them. I was thinking maybe I could make a jig that holds the turned pen blank. But then I would need to account for the radius of the pen blank when attempting to do the engraving. Is this at all possible, and if so, could it be done in VCarve or would I need Aspire.

Thanks
-Joe

[Richard Link]

Joe,

You might check out the following post on the shopbot forum:

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6696&highlight=pens

His technique looks like a great way to burn through bits and might be a tad frustrating. Not to mention all the flying carbide.....

Richard

[Chris Simon]

Joe,
I have had the same thought on the vcarve vs. aspire. I finally went with the VCarve pro. On of the reasons why was it boiled down to cost. I had to stop spending at some point and the vcarve allows me to get started and see where I want to go. I would bet that at some point in the future i will upgrade to Aspire just dont know when yet. From my info I gathered most of the difference between the two is Aspire you can design 3d but in vcarve you can only use files already created for 3d such as those from vector 3d. It limits you on the design you can do in house. I have a freind that turns pens and we have had the discussion about what we could carve on the pens. In our thought process I think you will be limited to the clarity or precision that you will acheive unless you had a flat spot somewhere on the pen where the carving depth could remain constant and not wrap around the sides (unless you had the recoil). The center would end up being deeper than the sides and then run the risk of the cutter gouging into the pen side if say you were using a vcarve bit. But if you were adding only one line of text the length of the pen and kept the width to a minimum I think it may work with a jig to hold the pen. Just my thought.

[Dan]

Aspire lets you "project" your toolpath on a 3d surface.

I can model a half moon radius like a pen that is not on
an indexer, and project text or shapes onto it in aspire.
It will not cut more in the middle but only the depth you
program around the radius as far as it can reach.

There is a point where your tool will start to cut in the side
of the half moon. But you can do it up to about 1/3 of
diameter without this happening.

Aspire gives you more options. The ability to manipulate
3D was one of the main reasons I got it. I also own V-carve
and cut 3d. When I bought Aspire...it almost made them obsolete
on my system. I have opened cut 3d like twice in 2 years now and
that was for multi sided machining.

I did a quick and dirty preview to show you what I am no good
at putting into words.

Dan

[Joe Tedesco]

Ahhh...this is just the kind of info I was looking for.

Joey - Is it too late to upgrade to Aspire?

My wife is going to friggin kill me!!

[Joey Jarrard]

Not too late. I will look at it in the am.

We are looking Foward to the get together at our place I'm the am. We will be hashing out some questions about wincnc and the best way to create a file to run. Kelly from wincnc is down as well as some of the CAMheads. We will keep you updated.

[rmiedema10]

I have a similar question - I have a Solidworks and Inventor 3D modeling programs. If I get V Carve Pro and Cut 3D - what will I miss by not getting Aspire? I am not getting the recoil and don't plan to, at least at this point.

[james mcgrew]

the recoil is a minor component in the use of aspire and vcarve has the function, you can always trade up as vectric allows for credit spent on thier products. download the demos they are fully functional and test both vcarve and aspire

[Gripus]

Joe,
You might as well spring for the Aspire up front.

The only way you can do the 3D models in VCP (even those from VectorArt3D) is to generate your tool paths with Cut3D or the free machinist program from VectorArt3D. You must then import them into your VCP project. While you have flexability of where you want to put it, you must go back to your other program to make any changes in size or toolpaths (speed, feed, etc).

With VCP and one of the adjunct programs you must take the model as it is. But, say you want to use the Physician's symbol from VectorArt3D but you want to combine it with another 3D model or use it without the wings on it. You would not be able to do that without Aspire.

I have done a LOT of cutting wood, sterling silver sheet and Corian with a 1/32" bit and rarely break one. I even carve on a curved surface doing inlays on pistol grips and I do that by using the "project onto 3D object" in Aspire. That also allows the "floor" of my hole to conform to the shape of the grip for a consistant depth.

I usually use a feed rate of 80ipm on wood and corian and 30ipm on sterling silver sheet. I use a pass depth of .025-.03 for wood/corian and .01-.0125 for silver.

Hope this helps.

Joe

[Mick Martin]

Aspire = 3D modeling + 4th axis (recoil) ..... I think is worth the money.

Mick