freehand sketch or drawing to g code

[geoff]

sorry i am not using cad cam to prog. i am old school and do it by hand done a couple car logos for kit cars by picking up the points on my manual mill recording
x y position on the dro then writing g code long winded and time consuming.
i now have a line drawing to engrave is there a way i can scan the drawing into software to make the g code thats easy to work with bearing in mind i struggle to send an e mail. want to add a picture of logo as an example have to wait for the boys to get in to help me

18614

many thanks Geoff

[magicniner]

You just described a CAM package with an image import facility, depending on the quality of your scan it might need cleaning up in an image manipulation package unless you just use the image to draw over.

[geoff]

my boy says he can clean up the image how do i get this to g code
i now i need some sort of cam prog. all the ones i have tried i dont get whats going on i may be a bit binkered having never used anything apart from a 1980 s package (pathtrace) any advice would be welcome

thanks geoff

[magicniner]

I'm sure someone will chime in with a useful suggestion, an idea of your budget would help, or if it's a one-off someone might take the time to help out and save you the trouble,

- Nick

[geoff]

thanks nick
no budget as long as i can get it work i am not very good with computors dxf files etc are all a mystery to me could you point me to somewear i can learn .as i said i prog my machines by hand trig and a
calculator i programed machines back in the 1980s only got back into it 11/2 years ago as hobby cad cam was not around in my day i need help

thanks geoff

[magicniner]

All packages are different so CAD/CAM learning resources aren't all transferable, some the guys on here have great experience with free and cheap systems, unless you have around £1K spare I'm afraid I'm not the guy to ask for recommendations,
Regards,
Nick

[cropwell]

Geoff - have you tried Inkscape, it is free !

Rob

[njhussey]

What I do is scan the image in and save it as a jpg file. I then insert it as a reference image in Draftsight (free CAD program) and then trace over it, scale the resulting drawing, save it as a dxf and then import that into my CAM package. That's how I redraw my model planes.

[Sven]

You can do it using inkscape to convert the scan to a dxf (takes a few steps) and then use f-engrave to turn it in to gcode.
These programs are open source and free to use.

As mentioned above, Inkscape by itself might also work, but a plugin woukld be needed, one that I have not been able to get working.

But all of this would be hard to explain to someone who is not that in to computers....

[magicniner]

but a plugin woukld be needed, one that I have not been able to get working.

Go on, throw him a bone, at least tell him what plugin would be of use if it worked!
;-)

[magicniner]

sorry i am not using cad cam to prog. i am old school and do it by hand done a couple car logos for kit cars by picking up the points on my manual mill recording
x y position on the dro then writing g code long winded and time consuming.
i now have a line drawing to engrave is there a way i can scan the drawing into software to make the g code thats easy to work with bearing in mind i struggle to send an e mail. want to add a picture of logo as an example have to wait for the boys to get in to help me

18614

many thanks Geoff

Geoff,
PM me a good quality, high resolution image with smooth edges of what you need and let me know what tool you intend to use, what speeds your spindle will run and what your machine controller is (Mach3 ?)
I can't guarantee timescale but I suspect I'll deliver you the G-Code quicker than you finding and learning to use the requisite packages,
Regards,
Nick