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Glossary

2D View

Shows the workspace defined when you create a new file. This is used to control the XY layout of vectors , bitmaps and the Component Grayscales. Typically you select an item from this view by clicking on it or dragging a box around it with the mouse. To move it you can click a selected item a second time to go into Transform mode. Some items when double clicked will open a form relating to the object and many have functions related to them displayed when you right mouse click over them.

3D View

This shows the Composite Model, visible Components and any visible Toolpaths. Also used to display the currently selected component.

Bitmap

Generic term used to describe any raster (pixel) based image which can imported into VCarve Pro using the Import Bitmap For Tracing icon. File types supported are: .bmp, .jpg, .gif, .tiff, .png and .jpeg. Bitmaps are primarily used for tracing vectors over to create toolpaths or to use with the modeling tools.

Combine Mode

Used to describe how different 3D entities combine with each other where they overlap in the model. The Combine mode is used to control how Components relate to other components in the Component Tree. The order in which components are combined can have a significant impact on the final shape of the composite model and so you will often need to move components relative to one another within the Component Tree in order to achieve the end result you are intending.

The four Combine Modes are:

Add:
Adds together any overlapping areas. Typically used when the shape is completely inside of the shape it is being combined with.
Subtract:
Subtracts any overlapping areas. Typically used when the shape is completely inside of the shape it is being combined with.
High:
Merges the overlapping areas together using the Modelling Plane as a base, what's left are the parts of each shape which stick up the highest from the Plane (The union of the two 3D shapes if you think of a Boolean operation). Used in most cases where only part of each shape overlap.
Low:
Merges the overlapping areas of each part so only the lower parts of the overlapping areas are left, the intersection of the two 3D shapes if you think of a Boolean operation. Typically used when adding a dished or negative shape) to an existing shape.

Component

The building blocks of VCarve Pro, a Component is a 3D shape, or set of shapes, which are combined with other Components to make the finished 3D part (for machining). Controlled mainly from the Component Tree control on the drawing tab, position, size and orientation can be controlled by editing the Grayscale preview in the 2D View or the model itself in the 3D view. Components can be created from bitmap images, vectors or can be imported from other Vectric files such as .CRV3D, .3DClip, .V3M files or files from other CAD modeling programs such as .STL.

Component Tree

General name for the Modeling Tab area of the Design Panel which includes the 3D Modeling tools Component Tree and where the ordering, combining and management of the 3D Components can be controlled. Multiple Components can be selected using by holding a Ctrl key as you select them.

Group

When you want to manipulate a number of objects together you can Group them. This is a temporary operation to ease the selection, movement, scaling, and rotation etc. of several objects at once. It is reversed by Ungrouping.

Ungroup

Separates a set of Grouped Objects so that they can be manipulated independently again.

File

Generic name most often used to describe a complete VCarve Pro project (CRV3D file) which contains all the 2D, 3D and Toolpath information in a single saved file - also sometimes referred to as a Part.

Grayscale

2D View representation of a Component to allow selection and editing of size, position, rotation etc. Many of the Vector Editing tools also work with the Grayscale's.

Composite Model

Generic name for the whole 3D part of an VCarve Pro file comprising all of the currently visible Components and Component Groups, which are combined using their current combine modes.

Modeling Tools

A selection of functions used to create and edit the shapes in the Working Model and ultimately to turn these into a new Component.

Shape

Generic name used in the documentation to refer to a 3D object, often used interchangeably between the Working Model and Components.

Short Cut Keys

Keys on the keyboard which will activate certain commands when pushed. Example F4 to activate the Snapping Options Dialog. You can find a full list of all the Shortcut Keys in the online reference manual in the Frequently Asked Questions section.

Vector

A 2D object represented by lines, arcs or curves.