[pairofjacks]

I have finally purchased my first CNC machine. It's a 3 axis machine that has a workable area of 2' x 4' x 5". I've calibrated my Mach3 and everything seems to be working just fine.

What I'm wanting to use the CNC machine for is intricate drawings on paper and canvas. I have a spring loaded holder that should work just fine. I've created numerous images in photoshop with some being really simple and some being pretty detailed.

I am trying to find a program that will convert my images, which are mostly just line drawings (think of paint by number images) so that I can import them into lazycam or use some other cam software along with my Mach3.

I'll be posting the images of my artwork once I get up and running.

Thanks
Dave

[lovebugjunkie]

Might want to try inkscape which is free.
Vectric products all have the ability.
Also CorelDraw does a nice job of it.

[ger21]

Rather than draw in Photoshop, use Inkscape, CorelDraw, or Illustrator, so you won't have to do a raster to vector conversion.

Imo, there are no good converters, if you're trying to convert line art.

[-Chris-]

Hay, try Irfanview its free and will do that and much more and it does batch convert so you can do a whole folder at a time. just google it

[pairofjacks]

I've converted some of my drawings with a couple of different
programs. Mach3 seems to be working just fine with the files.

The way the drawings are being made is sort of like a printer.
The machine is doing it line by line. Isn't there a way to have
the machine basically draw the image just like you our I would
draw it on paper?

I need it (the machine) to basically keep the marker/pen on the
paper/canvas and do the drawing without lifting the pen off the
paper/canvas. I have a springloaded attachment and that's working
fine but the main issue is that the machine is drawing the images
one line at a time, then it moves back and draws the next line.

I'm sure it's something really simple so any advice would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks
Dave

[ger21]

The way the drawings are being made is sort of like a printer.
The machine is doing it line by line. Isn't there a way to have
the machine basically draw the image just like you our I would
draw it on paper?

Whatever you're doing the conversion with is causing that. It sounds like the conversion is creating lots of short lines, and the machine is drawing them in the order the converter created them.

Some converters will probably convert the image into continuous lines, which should do what you want.

But as I said before, the best thing would be to draw in a vector drawing program, and skip the raster to vector conversion.

[pairofjacks]

Whatever you're doing the conversion with is causing that. It sounds like the conversion is creating lots of short lines, and the machine is drawing them in the order the converter created them.

Some converters will probably convert the image into continuous lines, which should do what you want.

But as I said before, the best thing would be to draw in a vector drawing program, and skip the raster to vector conversion.

Gerry:

That makes sense. I hope this doesn't sound like an idiotic question but what if I had a program that converted the .bmp/.jpg image to a vector image? When you say "the best thing would be to draw in a vector drawing program" do you mean to actually draw the images with the pen/pencil/brush tools in Illustrator or another program? Some of my images are from highly detailed scans that I edited down to highly detailed drawings (similar to a coloring book) that are just black and white and trying to actually draw these, even with my Intuos tablet would be next to impossible.

Getting people to answer questions seems to be pretty difficult so I appreciate your input.

Thanks
Dave

[ger21]

When you say "the best thing would be to draw in a vector drawing program" do you mean to actually draw the images with the pen/pencil/brush tools in Illustrator or another program

Yes. But you won't (or don't want) any line widths, just simple vectors, that the tool can follow.

A big problem when converting from raster to vector, is that's it's nearly impossible to get smooth lines. Look at the two versions of the Letter A in this link. Raster and Vector Graphics
If you did a raster to vector conversion on the bitmap letter A, it'll usually have jagged edges, just like the bitmap version. Depending on the resolution of the bitmap, and the quality of the convertor, you can end up with hundreds of short line segments, going in all different directions, to approximate what a single vector can do very smoothly.

Learning to trace bitmaps in a drawing program will yield the best results by far.

But depending on how demanding you are, you may be able to try a different converter that will work good enough for your needs.

You might want to try WinTopo, or Inkscape.

[pairofjacks]

Yes. But you won't (or don't want) any line widths, just simple vectors, that the tool can follow.

A big problem when converting from raster to vector, is that's it's nearly impossible to get smooth lines. Look at the two versions of the Letter A in this link. Raster and Vector Graphics
If you did a raster to vector conversion on the bitmap letter A, it'll usually have jagged edges, just like the bitmap version. Depending on the resolution of the bitmap, and the quality of the convertor, you can end up with hundreds of short line segments, going in all different directions, to approximate what a single vector can do very smoothly.

Learning to trace bitmaps in a drawing program will yield the best results by far.

But depending on how demanding you are, you may be able to try a different converter that will work good enough for your needs.

You might want to try WinTopo, or Inkscape.

Gerry:

My drawings don't have any different line widths for the purpose of using the drawing with the machine but the final drawing will have different line widths because I would be using a fine tip pen, medium tip and wide tip. What I plan on doing is doing the drawings in layers. The first layer would draw all of the fine tip lines and when that is done then I would load the next drawing for the medium tip lines and once that has finished then I'd do the same thing for the wide tip.

I thought this would be a lot easier than it sounds. I just thought it would be like engraving but using a pen instead.

One last stupid question When you mention that I could trace a bitmap in a drawing program do you mean that I would be able to load my image into the program and actually trace it in the program? Which program should I use for that? I'm assuming that Wintopo and Inkscape are programs that convert but do they allow me to trace my images as well?

Thanks
Dave

[rowbare]

Most of the vector drawing tools nowadays have some sort of auto trace capability. Here is a link that describes the free Inkscape's version: Inkscape tutorial: Tracing

bob

[ger21]

you can manually trace in any CAD or vector drawing package. Just load you're bitmap, and draw over it on a new layer. With bezier curves, or splines, you can quickly do a rough trace, and drag the nodes of the curves to get it as precise as you want.

[lovebugjunkie]

I have tried may programs but have never gotten as good results as this guy is getting with coreldraw. Coreldraw seems to have solved this. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-KYI6kWRnA&feature=player_embedded]‪Converting Scroll Saw Patterns for Laser Cutting‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

[-= Keith =-]

HI,

this thread is of great interest to me, as im hoping to engrave jpeg images on my mill.

Im new to CAM, and i have downloaded pretty much every trial going.
It looks like im going to go down the VisualCAM/Mill route as im only a hobbyest, and that appears to be the only thing in my budget.

Mecsoft (the creators of VisualCAM), have VisualART for sale.
visualART is another bolton (like Visualmill, Visualturn) for VisualCAM

have any of you had experiences with VA?

Thanks
KEith

[Ryan Ron]

Hey guys,
If you want something quick and easy for batch image editing and batch image converter then you can download ReaConverter that converts one image file format (like a JPG, BMP, TIF, etc.) into another. If we are unable to use a photo, graphic, or any kind of image file the way we would like because the format isn't supported..With the help of ReaConverter can tag multiple Images , re sizing Images and convert them all at once. You can do it just simple steps and makes image processing and converting simply.

[Tise87]

Can someone help me out, in assigning tools to my drawing in alpha cam, ive got the green lines and have put in the tool direction for where i shall be machining my ironmongery ... what do i do know ! i know its basic but only just started using alphaCAM

Cheers