Using the CNC Shark with V-Carve Pro software

Instruction booklet

CNC Shark Tutorial Creating the Design

Step One: On the desk top select the V-Carve Pro Icon, double click and open the program. It will open to a page like the picture below. Select Create a new file.

Step Two: This will open a page like the picture below. On this page you will input the size of your board. Put the LENGTH of your board in the WIDTH box and the WIDTH of the board in the HEIGHT box. Set the thickness to your board’s thickness (it should be .75). When you finish click on the OK Button.

VCarve Pro V5.lnk

Step Three: Once you have set your boards material size and clicked ok a screen like the picture below will open up. This screen will allow you to create your pattern. If you want to input text click on the Capital T shown below on the left side under CREATE VECTORS.

This will open the screen below, this screen will allow you to input the words you want to cut out. You may also change the text FONT and HEIGHT to your choice. When selecting your Font use a block style they will cut better. Click on APPLY and the text will appear like the next screen.

At this time you can add other objects to your design like the star in the corner by using the symbols shown under the CREATE VECTORS and you can align your design on the paper by selecting the ALIGN OBJECT tabs. When you are finished make a window around the entire design this will turn it to a purple dashed line. This lets you know what the computer is going to choose when cutting. It will look like the next picture. You may skip to step four if you are not using a picture from the internet.

When you are creating your design you can import a picture from the internet to do this start by going to the internet and selecting your design then save it to the desk top as a picture. Save it under your name. Once you have done this you will go to FILE and select import bit map it will look like the following picture:

This will open the following screen select the desktop and click on you design.

Your design will now appear on your design screen like the picture below.

You can now place the picture on the drawing where you want it to be. You will double click on the picture and it will allow you change it size and/or move it around.

After you have placed the object where you want it go select EDIT. Under edit select TRACE BIT MAP like the picture below.

After you do this the following screen will appear, make sure you have clicked on your design first, this will make it appear brighter.

Know select the colors you want to cut, as you select them they appear on you design like the following picture. Click FIT VECTORS when you are finished then click on the CLOSE tab.

After clicking close you will return to the following screen you must window around your design making it a purple dashed line. This lets you know what the computer is going to choose when cutting. It will look like the picture shown below.

Step Four: Go to the upper right corner and select the tab marked Tool paths and the following screen will.

Go to the first row second column and click on the CREATE V-CARVE/Engraving Tool Path button

This will open the screen below. The start depth should be set to 0.0 and the flat depth should be set between .25 and .40. Know click on the CALCULATE button.

This will bring up the screen shown below. Click on PREVIEW TOOL PATH to see what the design will look like when it is machined.

When finished it will look like the picture shown below.

Step Five: Go back to the TOOL PATH tab go to row three column six and click on the picture of the computer disk.

This will bring up the screen below. Make sure the POST PROCESSOR is set to the CNC Shark-USB Arcs (inch) (*.tap).

Now click on the save TOOL PATH BUTTON.

Save it to the Desk Top under your name like this YOUR NAME.tap, now click on the SAVE button. You are now finished with this part of the CNC Shark instructions. You will now proceed to the CNC Shark machine program.