Hi all ive been playing with cambam and i like it but im trying to get it to draw a picture from a bmp,jpg etc say this

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2040/1587794196_8480053019.jpg

all i can get it to do is ingrave from left to right not a straight drawing.

if i trace the picture after i have placed it in the window then it will work is there a way to have this without me having to trace all the lines first?.

cheers in advance

Try inkscape

Here you go, I converted your line drawing to a dxf, with Inkscape.

Here you go, I converted your line drawing to a dxf, with Inkscape.

hi thank you very much i did manage to get inkscape last night but thank you for that very kind of you.

cheers

p.s just got to learn the process of this hehe cad,cam mach3 can be very confusing with all these different programs needed just to cut a few lines hehe.

hi switcher ive been playing in inkscape very good program for free but how did u manage to get such a clean crisp picture ive tryed and its the same picture but i cant seem to get it as good as you.

could u run me past the settings and exactly what u did please :)

cheers

I use Inkscape & this plugin (http://mydxf.blogspot.com/2008/11/inkscape-r12-dxf.html), to get a dxf from Inkscape.

Here are a couple of videos (http://inkscapedxf.blogspot.com/) might help, get you started.

Inkscape is like anything else, the more you work with it, the faster/better you get.

Basics of how I worked this specific file:
1) Zoom in on image with browser, did a screenshot, cropped in MS-Paint, SAVE AS... a .PNG image (better than a jpeg).
2) Trace the image inside Inkscape, at 0.900%
3) Broke the traced image apart, tweaked the Nodes
4) Join all parts as a single object, then center in Inkscape Page view
5) Export as a DXF file, with the R12 plugin

Also you can have a long read thru the Share Your Files (http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19346) thread, I would start at the end & look thru the pages in reverse order, it's the largest thread here at over 4.5K comments, anyway you'll find a lot of talk about Inkscape, etc..., & a bunch of free dxf files. :)

hi again im realy a noob at this stuff.

how do i get my machine,mach3,cambam to start my cut where i have set my tool at as when i start it it allways moves to machine coords not where i set me zeros to.

i have looked in cambam and when i export my design to mach3 it allways has a rapid move first to get to the designated table coords.

i want to work of the dro so i set up the pen,spindle where i want the hit start then it will go down on the z axis the correct amount and start to cut,draw from there not move to the machine coords.

You need to set the zero point in Cambam.

well I choose gcode something not on main pc now I'm on pda and set a point all that does is say to mach where to start the cut from once it has rapid fed to the preselected location.

cheers

In each machining operation, there are two properties: GCodeOrigin and GCodeOriginOffset, which can be used to define machining origins.

If you are using the latest CamBam plus, I find the easiest method is to click on the GCodeOriginOffset parameter, then press the [...] button to the right of it. You can then interactively select a point anywhere on the drawing to call the 0,0 point.
You will need to set the same gcode origin for each machining operation.

CamBam is not using the machine coordinates as such, it is using the coordinates specified in the source CAD file. Many CAD programs will often have 0,0 off to the bottom left somewhere.

An alternative to setting the gcode origin, is to move the drawing objects to a position so that the drawing origin (the centre of the axis), is where you would like your machining origin to be.
There are a number of ways to move objects about in CamBam.
. hold shift down then click and drag objects
. Edit - Transform - Translate (then select a source and destination point)
. Edit - Transform - Center
. use the drawing objects Transform property editor to type in translation offsets

I hope this helps and good luck!

You need to set the Origin (0,0) in Cambam, so the g-code is in relation to the machine's origin (0,0).

hi all im still having problems i can not get cambam to import the correct size of the r12 dxf file if i set it to X amount in inkscape etc i then import to cambam set me pathes then export to mach 3 its way to big.

i export from inkscape in inches into cambam tho both programs are set to use inches. i then use the measure tool in cambam and its allways in mm i know this because the dimension i get if i devide that by 25.4 it gives me the same size i set in inkscape.

all ok u may think but no as mach3 is set to inches to there for that lets say 4" from inkscape = 101.6mm in cambam tho i have set it to inches if i leave it i then send it of to mach3 so mach3 sees it as 101.6 inches doh.

any ideas please :) why cambam wont see it as inches when i open up the dxf file from inkscape