I picked up a 3D printer this week and was thinking that it would be neat to print inlay pieces to match up an inlay cut in wood with V-carve. Just looking at an alternative to paint or colored epoxy to add colored inlays. Is there a reasonably simple path to go from V-carve to Cura? I'm at zero on the 3d modelling curve which doesn't help. Thanks!
I think this would be tough because you would need to create a negative image of the item you carved unless it is a simple 2.5 D carving such as letters. I could see it working with simple carves like letters. You just create them in the same size and font as your carve in Fusion 360. But now you have to be perfect when it comes to size because if you have to sand the plastic flush, it will look like crap. If you do not need them to be flush, or intentionally want a difference (raised or lowered) then it should work. I have never done epoxy castings, but I have built several canoes and kayaks using epoxy and fiberglass. Epoxy is easy to work with, sands easily, can be tinted, and once coated with varnish, the sanding marks disappear. These are just my thoughts and maybe I misunderstood the question.
I wouldn't think there is a direct route - Vectric V-carve is basically a 2D drawing program. The 2.5D bit comes with the cam section (creating toopaths) so if you draw something in V-carve and export it you will only have a 2D vector. You would have to create the third dimension (thickness) in another programme and then you would probably have scaling problems if you were trying to create an inlay to match the output from V-carve. Also, as @Giarc said, 3D prints do not sand well because the plastic is laid down in layers and, unless you use 100% infill when you print, the inside of an object is not solid. Alex.
That would be simple enough to do in Sketchup. Just draw the model and save it as a sketchup file (to import into V carve) then also save it as an STL file to import into Cura. I would probably do the 3D print first so a "fitting" can be done during the CNC'ing. The printed part would need to follow the inlay principles regarding sharp corners whatever software you use.
