Vector Doctor

The tools and features shown in this tutorial are available in all Carveco products
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Vector Doctor

The Vector Doctor allows you to identify and fix problems with vector artwork that may lead to problems when attempting to generate toolpaths.  

What is a Loop (self-intersection)?

A Loop or self-intersection is exactly that – a section of a vector that crosses over itself creating a loop. As you can see with the example below, this can sometimes be small and imperceivable at first glance, but may lead to artefacts appearing in both the machining simulation or material when machining.

An example of a loop identified by the Vector Doctor
An example of a Loop, or self-intersection identified by the Vector Doctor
An example of a loop corrected by the Vector Doctor
An example of a Loop that's been corrected

What are Coincident Nodes?

A vector (shape or path) is composed of multiple spans and nodes that ultimately dictate its shape. ‘Coincident Nodes’ is a term that’s used to describe two or more nodes that come within a permitted allowable distance of each other. This permitted distance is determined by the specified tolerance of your design. 

The illustration below shows a vector node (yellow) coming within the permitted allowable distance to the node directly next to it (black). 

An example of a coincident node
An example of a coincident node on a vector shape