Can VCarve Pro create or edit 3D models, or only machine them?

The answer

VCarve Pro can arrange, adjust and machine 3D models, but it cannot build shapes from vectors or sculpt them.

What VCarve Pro CAN do with 3D models:

• Import V3M clipart plus one third-party 3D model (STL, OBJ, SKP and others) per job
• Scale, rotate, position, and mirror it, and set its height and base position in the material
• Arrange components on Levels with combine modes, and edit them with Component Properties: Shape Height, Base Height, Fade and Tilt, plus Level Clipping and Mirror Mode
• Smooth Components, Scale Model Height, Slice Model (thick models into layers for laminating), and Distort Object
• Create Zero Plane, Create Vector Boundary from Selected Components, and Create Cross Section Vector
• Bake components (VCarve Pro 12.5 added Quick Component Baking)
• Machine it with 3D Roughing and 3D Finishing toolpaths, plus V-carving and profiling around it, flat or rotary

What it CANNOT do (Aspire only):

• Build 3D shapes from vectors (Create Shape, Two Rail Sweep, Turn and Spin, Extrude and Weave)
• Sculpt or edit the surface of an imported model (smoothing brushes, adding and removing material, blending)
• Emboss Component, Offset Model, Add Draft, Create Texture Area, and 3D Segmenting
• Create components from a bitmap, or make lithophanes from photos

Practical implication

If a purchased STL needs a fix, such as flattening a back, removing a defect, or merging two models with blended seams, VCarve Pro cannot sculpt it. Options: get the file fixed in the source software (or any mesh editor like Blender), buy clipart designed for assembly, or upgrade to Aspire.