Aspire

Video Help Index

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 2
OVERVIEWS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Aspire Interface and Getting Help (5:41)
2D Design Overview (7:46)
3D Design Overview (3:46)

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Create Shape Overview (7:53)

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Two Rail Sweep Overview (16:07)

Machining Overview (4:13)

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Introduction to Modelling (4:03)

Sculpting Overview (10:18)

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Importing 3D Models Overview (10:16)

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3D MODELLING TUTORIALS ................................................................................................................................................. 5

Introduction to Modelling and House Sign (24:57)

Grape Example (19:51)

Heron Sign (16:52)

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Wine Cellar Door Panel (12:36)

Shell Flourish (26:44)

Lioness (26:43)

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C-Scroll Cross (21:56)

Oak Leaves (27:23)

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Eagle Head (26:30)

Fish with Texture (31:39)

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Eagle Inn Sign (22:28)

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Machining Shell Flourish (18:01)

Machining Heron Sign (13:59)

Machining Wine Cellar Door (17:33)

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2 / 2.5D MACHINING ......................................................................................................................................................... 12

Vectric Ltd

Introduction
The Aspire DVD contains over 6 hours of high quality video tutorials. These tutorials can be accessed via the
installer front end or by browsing directly onto the DVD. Each tutorial consists of a video along with any
associated files you may require to work through the tutorial yourself.
The data for each tutorial is in an individual folder on the DVD under the Tutorials folder. The folder for each
tutorial then has sub folder called
Docs contains a PDF document describing the tutorial
Files contains any files used during the tutorial
Video contains the video for the tutorial as both an AVI file and an embedded .EXE

IMPORTANT:
The links in this document are to the AVI video files for the tutorials. The videos were produced using Camtasia
software and need the codec from Camtasia installed to work. The latest codec can be downloaded from the
Camtasia website at http://www.techsmith.com/download/codecs.asp or run directly from the DVD by clicking
on the following link ensharpendecoder_win.exe
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Click on the

icon next to the name of each video to view the tutorial.

The tutorials are divided into 3 distinct sections ...

Overviews
Brief tutorials averaging between 5 and 15 minutes in length, introducing the basic concepts you will need
to understand to make the best use of Aspire.

3D Modelling Tutorials
Longer tutorials averaging 15 to 30 minutes in length, covering complete projects from start to
finish. The folder associated with each project includes all the files you require to work through the
projects on your own at your own pace.
2 / 2.5D Machining
The videos in this section cover the machining capabilities that Aspire shares with VCarve Pro.
Although the videos have been created using VCarve Pro, the processes and work flow are identical
for Aspire.

Overviews
This section contains a series of relatively short videos which describe the interface of Aspire and also some of the
core concepts you need to understand to use Aspire successfully. All the videos in this section are grouped under
the Tutorials\1 Overview\Video folder on the DVD. The videos in this section do not contain any supporting
data files as they are designed to introduce core concepts of the software rather than teach specific techniques and
processes.
Aspire Interface and Getting Help (5:41)

Introduces the interface of Aspire and covers how to access help resources for the program
2D Design Overview (7:46)

Introduces the objects and concepts used when working with the 2D view in Aspire
3D Design Overview (3:46)

Introduces the objects and concepts used when working with the 2D view in Aspire
Introduction to Modelling (4:03)

Introduces the core concepts of Components, the Component Manager and the Working Model in
Aspire. These are essential concepts to grasp if you are to become proficient with Aspire.
Create Shape Overview (7:53)

Introduces the basic concepts associated with using the Create Shape function within Aspire
Two Rail Sweep Overview (16:07)

Introduces the basic concepts associated with using the Two Rail Sweep function within Aspire
Sculpting Overview (10:18)

Introduces the interactive sculpting tool within Aspire, showing some common usage scenarios.
Machining Overview (4:13)

Introduces the many machining options which are available within Aspire.
Importing 3D Models Overview (10:16)

Provides an overview of the process for importing 3D models into Aspire.

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3D Modelling Tutorials
The tutorials in this section are much more in depth that the overview videos from the previous section and many
will cover a number of modelling techniques.
Introduction to Modelling and House Sign (24:57)

This tutorial provides a more comprehensive introduction to the interface of Aspire shows how a 3D
house sign as shown below can be quickly built and machined.

Grape Example (19:51)

This tutorial will show you how to model and import 3D components needed to create a bunch of grapes with
a leaf and stalk as shown below.

Heron Sign (16:52)

This tutorial is designed to show how a complex layout can be assembled using pre-created 3D
Models. In this case the items being used come from the Clipart supplied with Aspire

C-Scroll Cross (21:56)

The focus of this tutorial is to show how to use relatively simple shapes as Components then copy
and repeat them in patterns to create complex and attractive designs.

Oak Leaves (27:23)

This tutorial shows how to model the decorative Oak Leaf design shown in the image below.

Wine Cellar Door Panel (12:36)

This tutorial shows how to build a raised panel for an entry door (or cabinet door) with the addition
of dished 3D clipart. To add further to the design text is created and fitted to a curve to compliment
the design. A key skill covered in this tutorial is using the 2 Rail Sweep tool to create a 4 sided border.

Shell Flourish (26:44)

This tutorial covers the planning and modelling of a shell flourish based on a pencil sketch. It starts
byloading the scanned image and showing how pre-planning the part can be used to determine its
components. There is a quick demonstration of how to draw vectors over the image and then a file with all
the vectors needed for the modelling is used to create the actual 3D shapes. Each Component is
constructed using the Modelling tools (Create Shape, 2 Rail Sweep, Sculpting) and once they are all
complete the Component Manager is used to edit them so they combine correctly. Finally the right hand
side of the part is created by doing a mirror-copy of the relevant left-hand section

Lioness (26:43)

The focus of this tutorial is to show how an organic shape such as a animal can be modelled using
vector outlines the Create Shape tool and the Sculpting.

Eagle Head (26:30)

The starting point for this tutorial is a photograph. This is imported into Aspire and then used to
layout the basic vectors needed to create the Components using the Create Shape tool. Smoothing
and sculpting are used to achieve the final result.

Fish with Texture (31:39)

This tutorial shows the steps required to produce a fish model (shown in the image below) from an
imported image.

Eagle Inn Sign (22:28)

This tutorial shows how easy it is to take an existing design and make changes to it using Aspire. The
example starts with the House Sign created in an earlier tutorial. First the vectors and grayscales are
organized and those which are not needed are deleted. Next the whole part including the vectors is
scaled up to a new size. The original 3D Component in the middle of the sign is deleted and replaced
with the Eagles Head modelled in an earlier tutorial and this is ordered in the Component List to
make the new design combine correctly. A background texture is added by importing an image and
converting this to a Component which is subsequently smoothed, scaled and trimmed using the
Working Models editing tools. The whole part is now scaled and a new boundary vector is created so
the toolpaths can be re-calculated. As the new toolpaths are calculated they are previewed and finally
the estimated machining time is checked.

Machining Shell Flourish (18:01)

This tutorial shows how to prepare a part for machining and create the toolpaths. The project uses
the Shell Flourish part created in an earlier tutorial.

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Machining Heron Sign (13:59)

This tutorial shows steps to create a toolpath including how to project a toolpath onto the 3D surface
of a model. The example uses the Heron Sign created in an earlier tutorial.

Machining Wine Cellar Door (17:33)

This tutorial shows the steps required to create the toolpaths for the door shown in the image below.
In this project the outer panel profile could be cut as it was modelled as a 3D object. In this case
though the example is shown how to set up and cut it with a specially shaped tool using a profile
pass. This includes defining the form tools shape using vector geometry. The border Component
is deleted from the 3D model leaving just the dished area as that is the only 3D area required when
using this method. The boundary vectors are then created for the 3D toolpath and for the profile
toolpath to add decoration to the top of the door. After that the Material can be setup and referenced
against the parts depth. First the profile toolpath with the shaped cutter is setup showing the option
for sharp corners. The 3D part is cut with a 3D Finishing toolpath then the text is V-Carved into
the doors surface and finally a Profile toolpath is generated to etch the additional decoration into the
door.

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2 / 2.5D Machining

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