Flat-tipped engraving v-bit offsets?

I’d like to experiment with using flat-tipped engraving bits of various angles as chamfering cutters in select applications. I’m just having difficulty finding answers on the world pipe…
I have a 30 degree v-groove bit with a .015" flat tip and VCarve allows for entering the tip value in the Engraving tool category.
With 0-tip v-bits I can easily calculate the doc need to get the cut width at the surface, but with flat tip v-bits I don’t know if I can rely on this…
Is the “virtual” tip included when VCarve records tool height during the touch probe routine?
Basically, if I wanted the flat tip bit to act like a regular v-bit depth relative to width of cut do I need to manually adjust the tool height?
Thanks

Vcarve doesn’t record the tool height, the control software (Mach4 or CNC12 in our case) does. That will be the actual tip (whether its flat or pointy or whatever) that makes contact (electrical or physical) with the touchplate or tool setter.

Vcarve toolpaths will make use of the whole cutting profile of the tool as appropriate (sometimes itonly cares about the side or the tip, depending on what type of toolpath or operation you are using.

If you use a Vbit on the chamfering toolpath, it will default to cutting the chamfer starting right at the tip, which usually sucks because the small diameter of the tip and shallow flute there means poor cut quality. Thats why they added that feature to drop the bit by some amount to the chamfer cut can be performed a ways up the tool edge away from the tip.

If you use an engraving bit with a flat tip, as long as the tool is set up properly in the tool database in Vcarve, it will take that flat into acount. If it were me, I would use the same feature to rid up the edge a little bit (like 20-30 thousandths) to get up away from the very bottom because its probably got a tiny radius or something right there.

But to answer your question directly, it should take care of that tool difference and you should not have to compensate for the “missing tip” on a flat bottomed bit.

BTW, Vectric’s simulations are very good. You should be able to play with different bits in simulation and see what they are doing.

Thanks for that 'neeb!