Hi guys. Anxiously awaiting my Maslow to ship later this month.
Does anyone use Vcarve Pro to post their nc files? If so can you provide a working post processor? I use VCarve Pro with my HandiBot.
I’ve been playing with different CAM packages (Fusion 360, MakerCAM, etc.) but still LOVE the VCarve software most.
Hello,
Since the x-carve is grbl compatible, try the x-carve post processor. This is the processor I was going to try once I have my Maslow setup.
Mike
I don’t have a copy of it. For whatever reason, the only post processors loaded with this installation are for inch & mm use with the HandiBot. There isn’t an archive/repository for me to pull from aside from those two. I’ve attempted to modify one but have been unsuccessful so far.
Any copy you could load up? I’ve reached out to Vectric also, the company who makes the VCarve software.
OK, my version of Aspire already came preloaded with the x-carve post processor. However, you can go to inventables.com and log into Easel. From there select “import gcode”. A menu will come up with the following. Additionally, it will have the Easel post processor available for download. I would imagine this is the same although I haven’t used it.
This is the menu you will see when you select vectric post processor:
Download the Easel post processor for vectric. <— pp file linked here
Go to “File” -> "Open Application Data Folder…"
Copy the downloaded post-processor into the PostP folder.
Hope this works for you.
Thanks for your help. Gave it a try but it’s not successful. On the bright side, I got an early morning reply from my email to Vectric. Long story short, here’s a snippet of their reply:
"The Shopbot Edition is a special Edition only supplied by Shopbot themselves.
I’m afraid the Post Processors cannot be edited and the software can only create GCode for the Shopbot specific machines."
Guess I boxed myself into that one. Now I’m contemplating buying the full VCarve Pro.
…or we could just start supporting ShopBot code too. Would you be willing to post a .nc file generated from that version of VCarve Pro so I can take a look at what the software is outputting? (it might be a while before I get to implementing this, my ToDo list is LONG 
)
I played with Vcarve pro. I was able to cut the sample “Avalon” name plate with Maslow. I just started picking a .nc inches post processor that loaded into GC. Then it cuts fine. I with I could remember which one I used but it was lower on the list. The generic GRBl did not work. If it loads into GC, it should work!
@bar
That would be awesome! But I get the message “New users cannot upload files” when trying…Can you help with that?
-Travis
Hmmm…I don’t think I can manually override that. Would you be willing to make an issue on GitHub? File uplaoding will work there for sure. The new user restrictions will go away quickly so it might be worth trying again tomorrow also.
@bar
I was just able to create an issue. It’s titled “Need Post Processor to work with Handibot Edition of VCarve Pro.” I’ve uploaded the zip file there also.
Fantastic! Thank you!
Please! If ground control could read shopbot files, then you wouldn’t have to worry about individual support for every single CAD/CAM variant because you’d just piggyback on top anything that supported shopbots
you would still have the questions of how to coerce every program to output
shopbot files.
besides, I have an allergy to supporting vendor proprietary languages. far more
things support g-code than shopbot.
the grbl compatibility should provide the same advantages, we just need to work
through issues as we run into them.
Seems like svg vs ai/cdr. In an ideal world you wouldn’t need ai file support and you would code to a single, open standard. In reality, most graphics programs support all three (and several others) for maximum toolchain integration.
For anyone that’s been in the shopbot world at all, they probably own copies of Vetrix software that are tied to shopbot file formats. MakerCAM isn’t even in the ballpark if you are used to using something like VCarve, and for many Fusion360 is a bridge too far. So they are faced with a decision to spend hundreds on a program they already have, or spending time learning entirely new products. Either way, the Maslow gets more expensive as a result.
From a quick Google, shopbot’s use OpenSBP® (yes, that’s humorous, and it might have a completive machine exclusion clause) but can support g code. There might be a converter. They’re also much more expensive than Maslows, and are not open source. Sound like shopbot did a deal with vectric for a version that intentionally doesn’t work with anything else, hook em and lock em in.
Quick show of hands, how many maslovians have Shopbot’s?
shopbot originally didn’t support gcode, only their own “better” language, but
market pressure eventually forced them to make it able to talk g-code.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find that some people have occasional access to a
shopbot (work, school, techshop(makerspace)), but also want the ability to do
things on their own.
Not sure if I got the question right, so I might be totally off with this answer. If so, be nice.
Could a ‘translator script’ (python or anything handling ‘find and replace’) do the job?
Looking at the files from GitHub, most translations are given in the .pp and .sbp
Like:
“CN, 90” Set program to absolute coordinate mode
"J3,[X],[Y],[Z]" RAPID_MOVE
"M3,[X],[Y],[Z]" FEED_MOVE
"CG, ,[X],[Y],[I],[J],T,1" clockwise arC move
"CG, ,[X],[Y],[I],[J],T,-1" counterclockwise arC move
"C9" Change tool
"C6" Spindle on
"TR, [S]" Set spindle RPM
"C7" Turning router OFF
So J3,8.977790,5.792504,0.200000 would be translated to G0 X 8.977790 Y 5.792504 Z 0.200000
you could write a translator, but what software is out there that supports
shopbot but doesn’t support g-code?
we meed to teach the maslow to understand more g-code and that should handle it
That’s been my experience… Used makerspaces exclusively at first… All 100% shopbot (great machines) and software stack, then I bought a small shopbot for home use. I use vcarve for anything 2D and fusion360 for the rest. Only complaints are when I have to use other tools 
Opensbp isn’t really a help… The locked in vetrix versions only output the proprietary format.
My point is that it’s all about priorities. IMHO this looks like an after the firmware and mechanics are well sorted out project unless there’s a significant number of affected users.
Learning a pattern matching language, perl or (g)awk come to mind, have avoided the one that sounds like a snake, would be a good learning project for a new programmer to write a translator in.
Shopbot went the lock em in proprietary approach, the opposite of open source…