Create A 50 Star Union for a US Flag in Vectric VCarve and Aspire

[@DustyFixes]

As always, I love your tutorials. However, Something in the star alignment didn't look right so I did some investigating. You have the upper cross bar on all the stars aligned in each row. As they should be. However, on the US flag, the stars should also align on the diagonal. Upper Left to lower Right, and upper Right to lower Left. I don't know if Omni Calculator has it wrong or exactly where the error is.

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

Good eye! You are absolutely right. You are the second person to bring up the diagonal alignment up, so I went back and looked at the design. The error isn't in the calculator - it was 100% me failing to check the diagonal alignment. The 4 rows of 5 were shifted to the left by a little over 1/16th of an inch. I'll show that in today's Live Q&A, and show how I fixed it. Thanks for keeping me straight!

[@TheJmllr112]

0:16

[@eherby]

My first shot at using Vcarve desktop. It took some time but I am now the owner of a 50 star layout. Thanks.

[@ljgault]

Thanks for this lesson, You don't even want to know how I made my 50 star union but I just checked it and I'm very close. Lets just say there were a lot of dotted lines involved. You made it so easy.. Now I know how to use array in other situations.

[@TheGarageEngineer]

Great video mark. I already did this in the past but by watching your video I still learned how to better use features in aspire. Thanks for the great tutorial.

[@minasianjohn]

I had to watch it a couple of times to remember the steps to follow .you made it so clear "how to" also I like it where you made it a template for future use. Thank you kindly.

[@shawnbailey275]

This was absolutely excellent!! I enjoy your videos as you are a natural teacher. You don't talk down to someone just because they don't have the necessary experience in order to know something. Thank you VERY MUCH!!!

[@billstauffer4304]

I've watched other explanations of this process that left me thinking it wasn't worth the effort. But your concise explanation makes it very doable! Thanks Mark.

[@alanpfahler1707]

Thank you Mark. I will be trying this.

[@karlriley1314]

Very Helpful. I try to watch all your YT videos. I have just started doing CNC with my Genmitzu 4030 and it gets very frustrating some times trying to design something. Your videos are very helpful and clear up a lot.

[@RobSandstromDesigns]

Good refresher I am in process of making a flag

[@robertpastor6493]

Hi Mark. Great lesson, as always. I do have one slight correction for you. If you use 1.201" as the diameter when you create the star, it will be the correct size. When you measured the width of the star, you were not measuring the diameter, rather the distance between the two horizontal points. The diameter, by definition, must pass through the center. To double-check, draw a circle of the correct diameter centered on the star.

[@hvyrsq1]

Thanks for the step by step. Have tried this field so many times and never comes out correct. Am confident now and the field looks great...

[@jbnremt]

Hey Mark, I had a successful run with my 50 star union. I used a 90 degree V-bit 1/2" diameter. I used your video to build the template.

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

SWEET! I'm glad it helped you out!

[@richardpoulin2947]

thanks Mark, very good info on stars dimensioning , alignment and array copy. As always very well explained !!!

[@stevegronsky8904]

Excellent Mark. Great video while having my first cup of coffee on Sunday morning.

[@onlyychevys]

You are up very early this morning! Thanks for a very informative video!

[@squib6573]

Outstanding! Thank you very much for this tutorial.

[@jimshirley2549]

2nd time through this one. Better than the first time! Thanks!!

[@ralphhall5001]

Very Good Tutorial, I like to follow along and create the same in my VCarve program as you go through the process.

[@driftergw]

Excellent video, Mark. I am glad that I only have one maple leaf to worry about. :-)

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

...until you get an order from the states... :) Thanks for checking it out, Grant!

[@wallystoolshed7050]

Thanks again Mark for another very informative presentation. I can't wait to try this out.

[@johnolz1886]

Hey Mark, love your vids, thank you for taking the time. 2 questions I haven’t found answers for: 1) I want to make a star and clear out or flatten the center, not drilled down. Any thoughts? 2) within a few of my stars I want to put letters inside ie a N centered in the same star I mentioned above. Thanks in advance.

[@corvettejack88]

Hi Mark, used your instructions to carve the 50 stars of many unions so far in Vcarve. I need to carve them on a vertical union, so I want to rotate stars. They look distorted on the screen and I don't want to destroy this project, will they carve correctly? Or should I redesign the starts from scratch? Thank you, Jack

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

If they look distorted in the preview, they'll probably carve the same way. I would fix that distortion before carving it - even if that means starting over for a vertical union.

[@Bigwingrider1800]

Well done my friend..

[@rwhingst]

Excellent tutorial Mark, thank you.

[@carlmay4872]

Awesome video! Can this be done with V-carve desktop?

[@gracielahernandez8865]

Hey Mark, great tutorial, thank you. Quick question. I'm working on a Union with 13 stars (Betsy Ross) and I want to pay homage to the police & fire we lost on 9/11 so, in some of those stars I want to include either a letter or a number and thought I could find a video to teach me how. Unfortunately, the closest I've come is selecting the text box, holding down shift and clicking the outline of the star, then selecting the pocket toolpath, 1/4 EM bit, raster and calculate. When I run the preview the number or letter disappears, and I can't figure out why or how to fix it. Any thoughts?

[@davematthews7686]

I always pick up something new. I hadn't seen that trick to do the vertical alignment of the second row of stars. I did my flag model in Fusion 360 so I built the calculator right into the model.

[@bandd1952]

Great Video Mark. I have a question though. At 18:09 of the video after the array alignment you said to hit the f9 key to make the star adjustment. Mine did not move. I tried shift f9 also.

[@MrStacaz99]

Once you have all the stars on there, and you want to select all of them and change their size all at the same time, how do you do that? I have run into this issue on other projects countless times, and can't figure it out. I want to select multiple circles, or whatever, all the same size, and I want to change their size when they are all selected, without having to either start ALL OVER again. I have gone through and selected each one individually, and changed the size of each one, but that takes FOREVER, especially if you have HUNDREDs of the same shape to change. I know planning ahead helps, but that doesn't always cut it. How to change multiple selections at once?? Thanks!!!

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

It depends on which version of the software you're using. If you're using Version 11.0 or newer, select all of the objects you want to resize, then under Transform Objects, go into Set Selected Objects Size. Check Scale Items Individually, then enter the size as you would normally. If you have an older version of the software, I made a video on how to do this. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGmoqpWQfbusbqc

[@MrStacaz99]

@@MarkLindsayCNC Ah, thank you!! I am new to this and the learning curve is steep. Thanks!!

[@jayfisk3374]

Great Video

[@chekoswoodshop6421]

Thanks! Really nice videos you make!

[@jbnremt]

Hey Mark, I have built my star toolpath using your video. I have a Shark HD510. The machine starts and attempts to carve, but the router just jogs over the work piece. Any ideas on this?

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

Make sure you have your Z zero set to the top of the work piece in VCarve and out on your machine. Also make sure you have no Z offset in your controller software.

[@jeffreydeering4211]

Great tutorial, how did you fix the diagonal alignement of the stars?

[@te3397]

Hey Mark, thanks for the video! I think I followed everything exactly but I am guessing I made an error somewhere. When I run the tool path, everything looks identical to yours but when I actually move to the machine, it cuts too shallow (and as a result, making the stars too small). Any ideas?

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

There are a lot of variables that could account for that. Make sure to set your Z zero after every tool change, and make sure you calculated the toolpath for the correct bit. (I've done that - calculate a toolpath for a 60° v-bit, then forget and carve with a 90° v-bit.) Also check that your material is indeed flat, and that you're setting your Z zero to the surface of the material - both in the design and outside on the machine.

[@donavanshomes]

Thanks good tutorial

[@crystalsimpson9104]

Good lesson thanks

[@butchmiller2451]

Know you have nothing else to do, yeah right. Have you considered doing a wave flag design video, perhaps with a logo such as USMC? Thanks

[@steveperkins1776]

Sorry, a newbie question here. How did you divide the Outer radius by 2 on your key board?? My key board don't have a divide symbol.

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

It's the "Forward Slash" symbol. / I hope you have it - it's used in every web address you'll type...

[@steveperkins1776]

@@MarkLindsayCNC Thank you, it worked.

[@Kennyindia]

Hey Mark. Great video, as always. FYI. Ever since I starting using a 1/2 inch end mill (60 ipm, 40% step over) for cutting profiles, I no longer need a separate last pass. The results are flawless. I'm now revisiting step over percentages, deflection, etc. Maybe 40% isn't best for all?

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

I don't think there really is a, "best for all." There are a few rules to follow, but most everything is adjustable to your machine, tools, and materials. I try to give folks the best advice that I know to give, and that tends to be on the conservative side, to save folks from breaking tools and possibly damaging their machines or materials. Once folks get used to working with their machines and tools, they quickly learn that's it's okay to experiment with speeds, feeds, stepover, pass depths, etc... But with so many different machines and setups out there, I have to be careful with what I say. I don't want to accidentally imply something that could damage a machine or tool that isn't up to the task.

[@Kennyindia]

@@MarkLindsayCNC Understood, and you do a great job at what you do. Not easy teaching different skill levels, machines, etc. Thanks for your response.

[@wildhorseshop]

Great video, Looking at the flag calculator that use are using I see at the lower left comer of the flag is 2 letters E , 1 is the row gap from the bottom of row 4 to the top of the point on row 5. what is the second one for? The same thing is on the F at the top right.

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

If you scroll down slightly on that calculator page, it tells you what those are. The first letter is the gap between the edge of the Union and a specific point on the closest star to it. The second one is the gap between the stars, as measured from one point to the next. Both of those measurements are equal to one another. That's to help you align them in the correct position.

[@wildhorseshop]

@@MarkLindsayCNC I agree it tells you that E is Distance between union stars - vertical, Bottom of the point on row 4 to top point of star on row 5. the second E on the calculator doesn't match up to any measurement on the chart. Not sure what that one is for. Also when you drew the line on the union to line up the stars you went from upper left to lower right, did you check from upper right to lower left? I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I followed your video 4 time and can't get the stars to line up in both direction.

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

I did misalign the stars, then showed how I fixed it in Live Q&A #73. Check out Live Q&A #73, and jump to the 2:27 mark. Here's a link:kzbin.info/www/bejne/apmlpKenhcysiLM

[@wildhorseshop]

@@MarkLindsayCNC I watched that video I still can't get the stars to line up in both direction. I can place them one at a time and get them right but not using the array tool. Not a problem, thanks for the chat.

[@IceCreams62]

Very interesting and useful video with a lot of tips. But the stars seem not to be diagonally aligned in the right way....probably my impression. Thanks a lot Mark

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

Oh yeah - it's aligned diagonally. :D Thanks for checking it out!

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

I did some further investigating, and you were 100% correct. The 4 rows of 5 stars were shifted to the left by about 1.5 mm, because I failed to check the diagonal alignment. Thank you for keeping me honest!

[@IceCreams62]

​@@MarkLindsayCNC Mark you are a Great man !!!

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

Well, thank you, but if you really want to know how great I am, ask my wife when I forget to take out the trash on Thursday... :D

[@IceCreams62]

@@MarkLindsayCNC LoL !!!!

[@TGal03]

Thank you! What is the feed rate for the 2 tool paths?

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

That would be impossible for me to tell you, as I don't know what is safe or appropriate for your machine. This pattern is a simple v-carving, so if you've never v-carved with your machine before, I would start with some simple text, and learn what is the right feed rate for your machine and tools. If in doubt, go to your machine manufacturer's website and look for a Support Forum, Community, or Group and ask there - they know your machine best, as they use them. If you have done v-carving before, this pattern is no different from any other v-carving you've done. Whatever feed rate you've used on previous v-carvings should work just fine for you.

[@TGal03]

@@MarkLindsayCNC Thanks! I wasn’t sure if there was a specific rate that should be used.

[@yngvalor]

What if there is a set depth but you’d like the same look as you’ve created without the flat spot.

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

If you use a set depth (Flat Depth,) there will always be a flat spot at the bottom. Cutting to a flat depth keeps the bit from going any deeper than the depth you set. It does not force the bit to go to that depth. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHiqYayKhc6batk

[@yngvalor]

@@MarkLindsayCNC right yes I was wondering if there was a way to avoid that flat spot but still hit that shallow depth. I guess just a different angle bit? I just feel like it can be done if the star was protruding above the material maybe prism carving tool path?

[@minasianjohn]

Thanks!

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

Thank you very much!

[@parkerlaufenberg470]

wouldn't it be easier to use the bitmap feature?

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

You could certainly do it that way. I was asked to demonstrate designing a Union from scratch. There are many ways of getting to the same result.

[@petraolsson8663]

Verry good canal But i profore metrik System 👍👍👍👍 Für die meisten wäre das metrische System besser zu verstehen

[@jamesdegraff]

Why not just convert a picture?

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

Because folks asked me how to do it from scratch.

[@theodoreavery8927]

Very happy 😍💋 💝💖♥️❤️

[@pierdolio]

The method that you show to resize the star does not work correctly. I believe that it is a flaw in the programming. To prove the point simply move a circle, of the correct diameter, over the star so that the circumference of the circle touches each of the points on the star. Your presentations are really great otherwise.