Two-stage carves, or roughing/detail carves, allow you to use two bits on the same project. This allows you to carve as much of the project as possible with a larger (roughing) bit and then swap in a smaller (detail) bit to finish intricate parts of your project.
There are many benefits to using the largest possible bit for carving the majority of your job instead of carving everything with the smallest bit. Using two bits can shorten the overall length of your carves. These types of carves also extend the life of small, delicate bits because these bits are only used to carve sections of the design that require a narrower bit diameter.
If you are using the z-probe and homing switches, running a successful two-stage carve is straight forward. The process will go something like this:
- Connect USB
- Setup project in Easel
- Home Machine (Machine > Home)
- Click Carve
- Probe Material to set z-axis work zero position
- Move to XY work zero position
- Click Carve
- When carve stops, change the bit (assume machine has moved)
- Re-Home Machine (Machine > Home)
- Click Carve
- Probe Material with the second bit to set z-axis work zero position
- USE LAST XY to have the same starting point as the roughing carve
If you are using the z-probe and homing switches, please follow the order of operations at the beginning of the article.
Nothing to Carve Error:
If you get an error during the roughing carve that indicates there is nothing to carve, watch this video to learn how to fix it.