Newbie- Need software help... Corel Draw to EMC2 g-code

[pencilneck]

I am looking for a short term fix here... the long term is I will end up getting VCarve Pro 5.5 since it does what everything I want and more... but until I get the funds....

I am looking to take work I've done in Corel Draw and turn it into detail g-code for ECM2. The built in image to g-code that comes with ECM2 is no where good enough for what I'm looking for.

I am trying to make a sign for the guy who helped me out in making my CNC mill. This is a logo I made for him a few years ago:

http://i.imgur.com/RTNUn.gif

I made that from the ground up in Corel Draw 11 (yes yes, I know what it looks like... I only had a 2" fuzzy image from a factory repair manual as a starting point). I would like to engrave a sign that is 18" tall X 28" long.

Is there legit free software that will let me do this? I have tried with Ace Converter and can't seem to get it to work. Tried G-Simple, no luck. I've been searching online the last few days and come up empty handed.

Any suggestions to get me by until I get VCarve? I am an utter noob at all this.. .building a CNC mill was easy, using it... eh....

Thank you.

[PaulRowntree]

Not free, but Dragon CNC claims to do what you want. I have never used this product ...

Dragon CNC

Cheers!
pr

[jemmyell]

Hi,

DragonCNC is not available for CorelDRAW 11. The current beta only runs on X3 to X5.

-James Leonard

[Jack000]

can't you export as dxf or svg? you could use the cambam demo or my very own partkam

/shamelessplug

[Torchhead]

Originally Posted by pencilneck I am looking for a short term fix here... the long term is I will end up getting VCarve Pro 5.5 since it does what everything I want and more... but until I get the funds.... I am looking to take work I've done in Corel Draw and turn it into detail g-code for ECM2. The built in image to g-code that comes with ECM2 is no where good enough for what I'm looking for. I am trying to make a sign for the guy who helped me out in making my CNC mill. This is a logo I made for him a few years ago: http://i.imgur.com/RTNUn.gif I made that from the ground up in Corel Draw 11 (yes yes, I know what it looks like... I only had a 2" fuzzy image from a factory repair manual as a starting point). I would like to engrave a sign that is 18" tall X 28" long. Is there legit free software that will let me do this? I have tried with Ace Converter and can't seem to get it to work. Tried G-Simple, no luck. I've been searching online the last few days and come up empty handed. Any suggestions to get me by until I get VCarve? I am an utter noob at all this.. .building a CNC mill was easy, using it... eh.... Thank you.

Your first problem is you have a bitmap image and not a vector (line) image. Since you have CorelDraw you have a couple of choices:

Use CorelTrace to get a vector drawing (results will vary based on the resolution of the bitmap) and spend several hours cleaning it up.

or

Import the Bitmap and on another layer hand trace the bitmap using the Corel Tools.

or

Draw it and use the massive font collection that comes with Corel to match the font style of the logo and use the Fit Text to Path in the TEXT menu to wrap a circle of the right dia with the text to build the layout.

You can use combinations of the above. I have found that tracing fonts is counterproductive. The human eye will spot a minor problem with test because it's the shape of the letters we use to read. If you can find an Font (which is already vector) and use it you will save many hours of cleanup and frustration.

TOM caudle
www.CandCNC.com

[pencilneck]

Originally Posted by Torchhead Your first problem is you have a bitmap image and not a vector (line) image.

That was created with Corel Daw, I just exported it as a simple gif so others can see what I'm trying to make. Here is the .dxf file:

http://www.filedropper.com/finalsticker

CAM BAM will open it, it looks fine, but when I tried to mill it the round parts for the wheels are more square-ish and the circles don't meet. Some other lines, while looking good on my computer here, look different when viewing the g-code in ECM2.

I tried Part Kart as listed above, but didn't have much luck with anything. Will play around with it more, I suspect it is more of an "user error" kind of thing.

Thanks for trying to help me out here gang.

[bostosh]

pencil,

I took a look at the dxf file. It is all NURB Splines which have too many control points, if you scale it up it will look ragged.
The model needs fairing (as in lofting splines)
For example instead of circular splines replace with true circles or arcs then when machined it will look proper,
can you do this on your cad system?
I guess about 3-4 hours could perfect this logo for the machine.

the work is good up to now.

[CarveOne]

I Googled "Raster to Vector converter" and found a free one called AlgoLab R2V Converter, and downloaded/installed it. I found that it doesn't support GIF images, so I loaded your RTNUn.gif file into Microsoft Paint and saved it as RTNUn4.jpg, which the AlgoLab R2V Converter can load.

AlgoLab R2V Converter can do a centerline conversion or outline conversion, It can smooth the centerline or outline, and it can convert the centerline or outline to splines or polylines. The Setup/Edit menu is where you do these before vectorizing and saving the results as a .dxf file. The attached file is a polyline outline that loads into TurboCAD v16 Deluxe ok.

The centerline option traces the center of the raster lines and text. The text could be cut with a vcarve bit but it probably won't be exactly like your original.

You may want to play with the settings to see if you can improve on the attached file. (The 4 in the filename is my 4th attempt at playing with the settings)

CarveOne

[Jack000]

there seems to be something wrong with your dxf file. I had a go in illustrator and fixed it. (see attached)

[CarveOne]

In what respect? I downloaded my file from here and opened it in TurboCad and AutoCAD 7, but it would not open in Inkscape's AutoCAD R13 filter.

CarveOne

Edit: You meant pencilneck's file? (I'm not full of coffee yet)

[Jack000]

yeah. When I opened it the circles weren't round at all and was flat on the bottom. I just made it look like the gif.

[CarveOne]

Differences in the CAD programs I suppose. When I look at your finalsticker2 file and my RTNUn4 file they look the same in TurboCAD.

The raster to vector converter averages out the centerline of the jagged edges in the JPG file (converted from the GIF file) and produces thin line that aren't perfect circles. With a little effort the less than perfect circles can be replaced in a CAD program with real circles, trimmed where needed, and joined as a continuous polyline again.

Btw, the converter I used is a "free" 10 day trial, not free as in no expiration.

CarveOne