New features in DeskProto Version 8 Your browser does not support the video tag. V-Carving and inlays V-Carving has been high on our wish-list for some time, and we are delighted that this tool now is available. It is an important tool as it offers CNC newbies the option to create good-looking signs without much training. And when you just have bought a CNC machine you of course want to create some nice parts as soon as possible. At that point V-Carving is the ideal tool to use. That being said: V-Carving is a great tool for experienced CNC users as well. The video above shows how it works: each character is created using one single toolpath through the center of the groove. When the depth of the cut changes, for the V-shaped cutter the width of the groove changes as well. The toolpath that DeskProto calculates makes sure that the outside of the groove exactly matches the curves in the CAD data. The Tutorial book explains how this works, in Lesson 4, a video tutorial will follow soon. V-Carving is an ideal tool to create beautiful inlays. V-Carving also makes it easy to create wood inlays. The photos above show the two parts that are needed: in the base the design is V-Carved as cavity, in the second the same design is V-Carved as plug that exactly fits in this cavity. In order to make these two parts fit some extra settigns are needed: the Help file explains this in detail. Here as well a video tutorial will follow. Your browser does not support the video tag. Toolpath animation It is not always easy to see on your screen what will happen on the machine. For complex toolpaths the screen may become one large mass of tangled red lines. Toolpath animation will solve this problem: this new feature shows the cutter while moving along the toolpath. The video shows this for the V-carved 'William' sign. You can set the speed, and as an alternative you can use the slider to quickly reach any position on the toolpath. Drawing the cutter on its true size may obscure what you want to see, so this true size is optional. Unlimited number of geometry support tabs In previous DeskProto versions the geometry support tab option did not always offer sufficient funtionality. Only four tabs were possible (front, back, left and right), always parallel to the main axes, treated like all other geometry. In Version 8 the Support tabs have been improved: you now can set any number of tabs, in any position and (in top view) any orientation. The supports now also are a seperate class, shown in a different color and not belonging to the geometry. So an area set to 'All geometry' will not include them, and when skipping all area around the geometry the supports will not be cut loose from the rest of the block. Laser engraving Many modern CNC machines have a laser option built in or available as optional extra. For instance machines made by Makera, SainSmart, Snapmaker, ...). So users have asked us to add laser support to DeskProto: in version 8 we have done so! Laser engraving is now possible for Vector operations. You can simply select the laser as one of your cutters (your machine definition and postprocessor must have been set to support laser). This means that some exciting options are now available for the laser: you can not only engrave (or cut) a flat sheet of material, you can also laser engrave a part on a rotation axis, and you can project the laser toolpaths on any curved surface that you have machined. Your browser does not support the video tag. Other special cutters For advanced users DeskProto offers a number of special cutters. 'Normal' cutters will have a shape that (vaguely) resembles a vertical cylinder and will rotate round the axis of that cylinder. The special cutters are different: The Circular saw offers a high material removal rate, which makes it an efficient cutter for roughing. At least for geometries without cavities that are too small for the saw-blade. The video shows this on a machine with a horizonal Z-axis: in DeskProto the saw-blade will move up dan down. As you can see a special machine is needed. The Chainsaw is used in the same way as the circular saw. The Rounded disk cutter can be seen as a circular saw with a very thick saw blade that is rounded. In the Help file you can find an image. The Horizonal cutter has the shape of a 'normal' cutter, however it is oriented horizontally and travels over the part following a 2D path. The last two special cutters are of a different type, as they do not remove chips: The Laser cutter has been described in the previous section. The Hot wire cutter is meant for cutting polystyrene (EPS): the hot wire will melt a path through the block. The wire is a straight line, and in DeskProto both ends make the same 2D movement. Intended use is roughing, especially for rotary parts. More new features and fixes: The new version comes with more nice new features: Your mouse now can be used as Measuring tool: click on two points on the screen to measure the distance in-between. For rotary machining you now can define an Eccentric block, so a (rectangular) block where the rotation axis is not in the center of the block. The part parameters now offer a Set size option for the material block (instead of editing the minimum and maximum limits). In addition to the collet collision check DeskProto now also offers a Motor collision check. A fix for a nasty error on some machines: the rotation axis could rotate in the wrong direction (when that path was shorter than the prescribed path), damaging the part. DeskProto V8 can add an extra point to a rotary toolpath for each movement above 180 degrees When rotary machining a vector file the vector drawing is wrapped around a cylinder. In some cases (with 3D vector files) that is not desired: DeskProto V8 offers an option to NOT wrap the vector file. Support for the 3MF format: the new 3D file standard format that has been defined in order to replace the STL standard. Rotating your view with the mouse is quite handy, however not when you use both Rhino (CAD software) and DeskProto: the same mouse movement will have completely different results. This is quite annoying, so Rhino users will be glad to use the new option "Lock Z-axis vertical on screen" in the DeskProto preferences, which will make DeskProto Mouse rotation the same as in Rhino. Background information for programmers: the version of the Qt programming toolkit has been updated, from Qt5 to Qt6. And of course (as always) many small bugs have been fixed and many small layout improvements have been applied. Updates DeskProto V 8.0 is a major update, meaning that for users of previous DeskProto versions this will be a paid update. Any client who has bought his/her V7.1 license after May 1st, 2024 will receive an update to Version 8 free of charge (V7 unlocking codes cannot be used for V8). These free DeskProto V8 licenses will be sent in November, either directly to the end-user or to the DeskProto dealer that sold the original license.In the past we have found that some of these emails have been delivered in a spam box. Bad luck, I suppose that this was caused by the word "free" being used too many times... So in case you are entitled to receive a free V8 update and have not yet received it: please check your spam email box and/or contact your reseller. If that does not help then send us an email. Compatibility DeskProto V8 is available for Microsoft Windows, for Apple MacOS and for Linux. For Windows it needs Win10 or newer, setups for WinXP (SP3) and for Win7 available on request. For MacOS it needs Catalina (10.15) or newer. For Linux it has been developed and tested using Ubuntu 20.04, still it should also work on most other popular Linux distributions. DeskProto V7.1 Can Create Rotary Toolpaths for a Rectangular Block A highly appreciated feature in DeskProto V7 is its ability to create rotation axis toolpaths. Not just by wrapping a flat design around a cylinder, but real rotary toolpaths that follow the 3D geometry. This is a great tool for any user of a CNC machine with a fourth axis. So far, DeskProto has always used a cylinder-shaped block for all rotary projects, and many users have requested support for rectangular blocks for rotary machining. We are very happy to announce that Version 7.1 now supports rectangular blocks. The screenshot above shows the Venus geometry in a rectangular block (the orange lines indicate the block). On the right side, 4th axis toolpaths are present (for three roughing layers). For a cylindrical block, these toolpaths would have been full circles, cutting air when the block was rectangular. This cutting air is no longer needed. Simulation Now Also for Rotary Machining A second feature request that has been made many times was simulation for rotation axis toolpaths. Calculating such simulation is much more difficult than for 3-axis machining, so it has taken us considerable time to add this feature. It involved implementing a completely new simulation algorithm based on voxels. The resolution of the simulation can be set in the Part parameters. As you can see in the screenshots above, the new algorithm works effectively. Powerful New Postprocessor Options Using Placeholders A postprocessor is the part of a CAM program that converts the toolpath data to a format suited for a specific machine or controller. DeskProto features a configurable postprocessor: any user can add and edit postprocessors using a graphical interface. This is unique, as many CAM programs require purchasing each new postprocessor, which can be more expensive than the complete DeskProto license. In DeskProto V7.1, new functionality has been added to this configurable postprocessor: it is now possible to add information about the current project to the NC file using placeholders: code words enclosed in curly brackets {}. In the screenshot above, eight placeholders are present. When writing the NC file, each placeholder is replaced by the actual value it represents. The "Show example" button allows you to preview the result. For instance, {TOOLNAME} is replaced by the cutter's name: "Ball nose, radius 2 = diameter 4 mm." Placeholders are available for several values that can be useful in the NC file. Check the Help file for a complete list. Placeholders can be used in most edit fields in the postprocessor dialog and in the Operation's Start/End commands. The DeskProto Multi-Axis Edition for Rotary Machining and More The Multi-Axis edition includes all DeskProto options for 3-axis, 4-axis, and 5-axis CNC machining. The fourth axis support is particularly strong, allowing for one continuous helix toolpath. DeskProto offers this for all types of CAD data: 3D geometry (STL files), vector curves (DXF, EPS, SVG), and bitmap data (JPG, BMP, etc.). The result is a CAM program that enables the production of even the most complicated models. The software is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. The extra features that DeskProto Multi-Axis offers include: Continuous rotation axis machining: during machining, the part is rotated by the fourth axis. Indexed rotation axis machining: the fourth axis is used to machine the part from several sides. Five-axis machining (indexed): the model can be machined from almost all sides. The Venus STL file is a free download, available on the Download Free CAD Models page. More information on machining a Venus model can be found in the Tutorial Book and in the Rotary Instruction Videos. This DeskProto edition is often sold to hobby users, who need low-cost CAM software, and to schools, which require user-friendly CAM software. For schools and hobbyists, DeskProto is available under a special license (limited use for commercial applications). The DeskProto Multi-Axis Edition Offers 4-Axis and 5-Axis CNC The Multi-Axis edition includes all functions available in the Expert Edition. In addition, you can create toolpaths for 4-axis machines and for some types of 5-axis machines. All strategies shown on the Expert page are available for both three-axis jobs and indexed machining. The illustrations below show the extra strategies for continuous rotation. When 'Parallel, around A' is selected, DeskProto can create one long helix toolpath. Indexed machining can be done on both a 4-axis machine (A-axis) and a five-axis machine (A-axis and B-axis). Extra wizards are available for continuous rotation ('Rotary machining') and for indexed machining ('Two or more sides, automatic rotation'). Additionally, some custom wizards for jewelry applications are present (123WaxRing, JWX-30 wax ring). Application Examples for the DeskProto Multi-Axis Edition The DeskProto Multi-Axis edition is designed for users needing more than three axes, such as model makers creating complex models, jewelers requiring wax models, and artists machining sculptures from all sides. DeskProto can be combined with any 3D CAD program and any CNC milling machine. Here are some examples of the extra options offered by this edition: Rotation axis machining: the model rotates during machining (Continuous rotation). The rotation axis (also called the fourth axis or A-axis) resembles a barbecue spit. A rotation axis can also be used for "indexed machining": machine two or more sides, using plain XYZ machining for each side. The A-axis rotates the part in between sides. This is offered by DeskProto's wizard 'Two or more sides'. For rings (jewelry wax models), a combination of the above methods is often used: Autoflip plus Rotary. This car model of an Austin Healey "Frogeye" has been machined from all sides using five-axis machining. Even the undercut area around the pedals could be machined.
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