Using the Carvey Machine Yourself

Creating an Account.

1. On your computer, go to easel.inventables.com

2. If you don't have an account, click on Sign Up.

Complete the form for creating a new account (no business phone number is needed), click the three check boxes and select Easel Pro:

When asked how you will use it, select Educational Purpose and Student.

To use the online Tutorials, click on New Intro Project

Getting Started with a Project

1. Click on the Project Menu

2. Click on Project -> New

Go to Machine Menu and select Set up New Machine.

Select Carvey.

Select Back to Easel

Return to your most recent "Untitled" project:

You should see the red bracket appear in the bottom-left corner of your design space. Your design cannot overlap that area.

Measure and Set your Material Size

Each piece of wood or plastic is a unique size. Find a piece of material you want to use. They are in the cabinet under the Carvey. Maximum size is 11.6 x 8 x 2.5 inches.

Before creating a design, measure your material length, width, and thickness and enter those numbers in Material Dimensions as x, y, and z.

Measuring the depth of the material is very important. Use calipers to measure the thickness (z) of the material. Calipers are stored in the desk drawer under the carvey machine. Instructions for caliper use. Ask for help if you are not 100% sure how to do this properly.

Be sure to select the correct type of material! See the list of approved materials on their website.

Use Design Tools to Create an Image

The left side of the screen is design area and right side is a preview of what will your cut will look like.

1. Slider lets you make your design area larger. Move this to the right while designing.

2. Design using the shapes, text, icons, and apps on top-left. Check to make sure your preview is what you expect on the right. Are lines missing or in red? They may be too skinny for your bit size.

3. Ask for help if you think you need to use a different bit size. Bit sizes are listed here. Unsure? Ask!

4. Your cut depth is variable.

Cutting 1/8" deep on plastic tiles is deep enough to expose the interior color. No need to go deeper. If you do go deeper it will simply take longer to cut. Use the slider to adjust your cut depth. Your design (on the left) will get darker the deeper the cut. In this example, we are cutting all the way through the material, therefore the snowflake on the left is black. A tile will have a pale gray color for a 1/8" deep cut.

5. If you want to cut all the way through a piece of material be sure to turn on use tabs and ask for help with placing your tabs.

6. Be sure to specify the type of Material you are using. Plastic Tiles = 2 Color HDPE

Ready to Cut? Get Approval!

Have a teacher approve your design for cutting. Be sure they check your file:

carvey is the machine selected
materials dimensions (x, y, z)
cut depth (tabs in correct locations if cutting through)
material type is accurate
bit listed in your document matches what is in the machine (check color of the cuff of the bit)

Carving Your Material

1. Turn on the MacBook next to the Carvey.

2. Open Safari and go to easel.inventables.com.

3. Login with your account and open your file.

4. Click the green Carve button on the top-right. (Is the button NOT green but rather blue?) If so:

a. Turn on Carvey

b. Make sure the USB cable is connected from Carvey to MacBook

c. Reboot the MacBook

d. After reboot, go back to step

5. Follow the step-by-step instructions to:

- Lock down the material on the carvey with the clamps. Take note of which color clamps are used in the online instructions and be sure to use the right ones. Extra clamps are in the desk drawer under the Carvey, in the black box. (Make sure that when you put the clamps on the wood or plastic they are out of the way of where the machine will need to cut your design. The carvey will cut through the clamps if you put them in the way.) Ask for help if you are not confident you are doing it correctly.

- Make sure the bit in the machine matches the bit you specified

- Confirm the type of material you are using matches the type you specified

- Confirm the measurements are correct.

6. Close the lid and watch it go. (You don't have to watch it the entire time, just don't open the lid while it is in action!)

7. Do NOT do anything else on the Carvey MacBook while it is cutting. The Carvey will stop cutting if you try to open any other apps or windows.

Finishing Up

Do NOT turn off the Carvey

After it has stopped cutting, and is quiet, open the lid
Use the orange Wet/Dry Vacuum to clean up all of the saw dust. Push the base of the Carvey to the back of the box to clean below the cutting surface as well.
Unclamp your project. Put extra clamps back in the black box in the drawer.
Close the lid of the Carvey when finished. Leave the area neat and clean.
Logout of the easel software.