What software can do this ?

[Kammo1]

Hi if this is in the wrong section admins please move. Ok whilst I have nearly built my small CNC machine just waiting on some steppers that seem to take forever ordering I thought I would like to ask a question for those that have tried the product and works. I would like to take a sketch of say for simplistic reason a Star and be able to convert it to a specified size and also to a DXF that the machine can cut. My skills at autocad are not good but I can draw so the easiest option for me is take a picture and make it into a DXF file is this possible? also how do I convert it to the size I want? Your expert help will be greatly appreciated.

[Vic66]

Hi

Try Inkscape

I've only used it a few times to convert images to dxf files, so not that experienced with it but for free you cant go wrong !!

http://www.inkscape.org/

Google for inkscape tutorials, there are quite a few available.

Long term though it would be good to get used to using autocad or similar.

Vic

[Kammo1]

Hi Vic many thanks for that link I'll download it and have a play. Also if I was to draw an image ie with a pencil and paper and scan this and keep it as a j-peg can I convert this to a DXF file? is there a programme out there that can do this ? excuse what may sound like alot of dumb questions as I am on a learning curve and this is proving a real challenge as I don't know where else to go from here.

[ptjw7uk]

There are programs to convert a scanned image to dxf http://www.scan2cad.com/ but none that I know of for free.
You say your skills at Autocad are not good does this imply that you have Autocad?
If you do have it then it can import scanned drawings over which you can draw in cad.
Mind you in some respects I can sympathise with you as getting actual g-code from drawings is not all that easy!

peter

[Vic66]

Hi Vic many thanks for that link I'll download it and have a play. Also if I was to draw an image ie with a pencil and paper and scan this and keep it as a j-peg can I convert this to a DXF file? is there a programme out there that can do this ? excuse what may sound like alot of dumb questions as I am on a learning curve and this is proving a real challenge as I don't know where else to go from here.

If you load your scanned image into Inkscape it will convert it to a dxf file, there are some tutorials here http://inkscapedxf.blogspot.com/ one of which explains about converting to dxf.

[TheRainHarvester on YouTu]

I will second the idea of using inkscape. It's great for creating svg files for GATORCAM FOR CNC.

https://sites.google.com/view/gatorcam/whats-new

[Keithw]

I was just browsing around, and (very belatedly) came across this thread.
I had much the same problem some time ago, and while I agree that Inkscape is a good solution to this kind of problem, its learning curve can be a bit offputting to a beginner.

I needed to convert 2 dimensional line drawings to Gcode. The line drawings were prepared in LIbreOffice Draw (Linux), then I used to get the Gcode by using the code function in Inkscape - but found I was often making mistakes. LibreOffice Draw is by no means a CAD program, but it can be used to produce drawings accurate to 0.01 mm (or inch), and is very easy to use. The ability to use different layers and colours in drawings also helps - different parts or items can be placed on different layers, so they can be viewed or edited in isolation, then incorporated in the final output as required.

Eventually I decided to try and write my own software to do this - I had some experience of Gambas3, and programmes produced using it can be output as .deb files for installation in LInux (in fact, it can compile in multiple formats).

LibreOffice Draw will export drawing files in .SVG format, which are vector-type files, and the accuracy is to 2 decimal places. After a while, I was able to produce an application which will take an SVG drawing (from LibreOffice), and produce the appropriate Gcode. With time, I gradually added some 'extras' such as the ability to set feed rates, depth of cut, Z-Axis motor speed, etc, which are used in the Gcode to control the machine. It can also 'mirror-image' any file - I use this so I can draw PCB layouts as though viewed from the PCB side of the board, which requires the actual underside Gcode to be mirrored. It produces a commented Gcode output, which can be used directly in most machines (I use GRBL mostly).

After I while, I got fed up having to produce separate drilling plots for my PCBs, so I developed a system which allows a particular symbol in LIbreOffice to be used a marker for a drill hole. (its actually a small crossed circle) - so as I draw the layouts, I can mark the position of each hole. The application then identifies these hole positions, and will collect them all together and append them to the end of GCode output. This then allows me to etch the PCB lands on a CNC machine, then replace the cutter with a drill, and drill all the holes. It has limitations - multiple holes sizes are difficult unless the Gcode output is hand -edited to allow tool-change halts, but it does save me a lot of time. It also allows me to accurately register both side of the PCB for double-sided work - I simply designate (say) four holes as registration holes, then add the code for these holes to the code for the other side of the board, modified so it brings the tool down to the board surface, and then I can 'shuffle' the board around to ensure those holes are in the correct place.

The thing is (probably always will be) a work in progress - and some functions are still being worked on, but if anyone is interested to take a look, I can post the text file here (if someone will tell me how to do it!). Its up to you to put it into Gambas and get the executable output. Note it is not a 'finished' application - it was developed with a specific task in mind, it does what I want, and thats all I care about.

I should point out that all this applies to Linux - I know LibreOffice and Gambas3 are freely available and can be installed on Windows, but I long ago stopped using it.

Regards Keith