[teilhardo]

What are some good raster to vector conversion programs?
thanks,
tei

[vacpress]

teil - checkout luberths site. he has several mentions of raster to vector

i have had decent results with macromedia flash! it is free for 30 days, and totally a great program, just hard to learn.

adobe streamline produces a decent program - but it feels sort of old and limited? i used it untill i found out how much better the flash one is.. but i use them for artwork, not cnc.

there are several cnc controller programs that load raster. mach1\2, deskcnc, etc. i think.

there is something called "bmp2gcode" that got mentioned in one of the gantry painter threads, as well as some other sofware.

www.majosoft.com might also have one. there are many many of these.

what is your specific use? i use the flash convertor to change handdone sketches into vector art without tracing, i also use it to make simple 3d images much smaller for websites. there is a bunch of it on my personal website: www.vacuumstudios.com/rg.html

[ToyMaker]

Corel Draw has a passable tool for raster to vector conversion. The amount of cleanup required depends on the quality of the source and the complexity of the drawing.
It is a really affordable tool if you get an older version (V9 or 10) off ebay.

robotic regards,

Tom
= = = = =
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
- - unk.

[sharbold]

I have tried quite a few software packages (Scan2cad, Streamline, Wintopo Pro, RasterFratz, and others that I can't remember) But have found this program VEXTRACTOR to work the best.

[dcook]

Paint Shop Pro is an excellent program. Very powerful, easy to use. Free for 30 days at www.jasc.com

[vacpress]

http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/69911.html < traceart 2.91 shareware

http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/18913.html <-freeware vectorizer

[teilhardo]

Thanks for the links everyone

[imserv]

RasterFratz, 2D outline tracing. Outputs direct to G-code (or DXF). It uses the same configurable post processors as DeskCNC.

http://www.imsrv.com/rasterfratz

DeskCNC has the same tracing engine as RasterFratz, plus 3D height fields and integrated image editing. Toolpath and cut simulation.

http://www.imsrv.com/deskcnc

Fred Smith - IMService

[John S.]

Vacpress,
Many thanks for the Traceart link, I downloaded the demo and had a look.
I must say I'm very impressed with this program.
It's well in front of the other contenders to R2V software.
As soon as the holiday is over I will get this registered.
Like Sharbold I have looked at many but I have found that many are based on the same R2V engine and so act so much alike that there is no difference in quality, or rather lack of it.

John S.

[CNCdude]

John S,
BobCAD-CAM offers something called "BobART." You can take a photo or bitmap type image and turn it into toolpath easily. Givem them a call at 877-262-2231 for more info.
Sincerely,
CNC Dude