Lines: Guidelines and 90° Lines?

[hetzerguitars]

Is there a way to setup guidelines like in graphic packages? I could use lines if I had to but I can't find a way to force them to 90°.

Any ideas?

- Jim

[Router-Jim]

If I understand your question, then yes there is a way to set up guide lines.

Under the layout tab, choose the snap option and set the lines as a grid.

Hope that's what you were looking for.

Jim

[ChrisAlb]

Once you draw a line, type the angle you want in the angle box. For a horizontal it's 0 for a vertical line it's 90.

It's not "quite" as flexible but you can also use attachments. If you attach each end of a line the same distance from the edges of the board or the vertical and horizontal center lines, you'll have straight lines.

Of course, as Jim said, the grid is the easiest way. These suggestions are just alternatives.

[hetzerguitars]

As for the guidelines I don't think you understand what I mean. I need to be able to set custom guildlines. Like one here... one 2.123" away and then one 4" away. A grid won't work because I can't move the lines. You know what I mean.

- Jim

[AskBud]

As for the guidelines I don't think you understand what I mean. I need to be able to set custom guildlines. Like one here... one 2.123" away and then one 4" away. A grid won't work because I can't move the lines. You know what I mean.

- Jim
Are you looking for something like this?
AskBud

[hotpop]

Jim,

The way I do it is in AutoCAD. I make my drawing and note the overall dimensions of my object. I then save it as a BMP file and bring it my graphics program. At this point I erase everything surrounding the object. If I only want lines then I erase every inside my object also. I then save the file as a PNG file and import it into Designer.

Paste the new pattern into Designer and resize it to match the dimensions you had in AutoCAD.

[hetzerguitars]

Yes, that is what I was looking for. But I didn't know if there was a guideline way to do it other than using a line used for drawing.

As for autocad. This brings something else to light. I am drawing in Photoshop. Exporting as a PNG, and then importing, resizing on import, and placing and cutting. But once I import I trace it and use carve region. I also prefer to use a 1/4" cutting bit because there is no sense in using a 1/8" cutting bit when clearing a large area, and when I draw squares with rounded corners, I can't get them as smooth as would like with a PNG at any res. And I get them in the CW software. So I draw them as a square in Photoshop. Import them. And upload them. Let the machine think it's using a 1/16th carving bit, but actually have a 1/4" bit. So I need to oversize my drawings. I found that importing a shape, outlining it, then erasing the original drawing is the best way to get a smooth shape. At any dpi.

BTW, I am cutting guitar bodies. There are alot of smooth curves. Even though I have them drawn in Photoshop and the line are smooth as can be, when I import them as a PNG, they always come up jagged, either at 200DPI or 600DPI. I've also experimented with the import application from Illustrator to MPC.

- Jim

[hetzerguitars]

Another quick thing. Do any of you have design to cut measurement issues?
What I mean is. Draw a 1"x1" square. Cut it. Now take Calipers to it. What did you get? I tried 1" to 3" at .25" intervals. And I get varied responses. the larger I get the more x and y drift. Now, if I have one board and I cut some on the same board I will get the same x and y offset. But if I do them at different times, I will get different results. So in my drawings I have taken 20 samples and averaged them for measurements. I get less variance in a 1/2" shaft bit. But I can't do anything square. Everything has to have round corners. I can't use the 1/16" carving bit because then the edges are tapered. Because the bit is angled.

Here is a sample:
1"x1" = 1.802 x 1.112
2"x2" = 2.121 x 2.070

My problem is not only bit related, it's also distance. Related. Two squares 4"'s apart will vary. So I have to average it too.

That's why I am amazed to hear that Liquid Guitars uses a CW for guitar frets where the measurements have to be *that* exact.

- Jim

PS: Yes, I have calibrated my machine.

[kyeakel]

I thought the DPI needed to be scaled to 128 dpi to make exact measurements come out. I think it would be ok to use 128, 256, 512, etc. If you use 200 or 600, the machine will scale the drawing to 128 for you, creating size errors and jaggies.

Kipp

[jlitz]

I thought the DPI needed to be scaled to 128 dpi to make exact measurements come out. I think it would be ok to use 128, 256, 512, etc. If you use 200 or 600, the machine will scale the drawing to 128 for you, creating size errors and jaggies.

Kipp

There will always be errors when taking a vector design, converting it to a raster, and then converting it back to a vector. See this sample http://www.carvewright.com/forum/showpost.php?p=35199

[deemon328]

Another quick thing. Do any of you have design to cut measurement issues?
What I mean is. Draw a 1"x1" square. Cut it. Now take Calipers to it. What did you get? I tried 1" to 3" at .25" intervals. And I get varied responses. the larger I get the more x and y drift. Now, if I have one board and I cut some on the same board I will get the same x and y offset. But if I do them at different times, I will get different results. So in my drawings I have taken 20 samples and averaged them for measurements. I get less variance in a 1/2" shaft bit. But I can't do anything square. Everything has to have round corners. I can't use the 1/16" carving bit because then the edges are tapered. Because the bit is angled.

Here is a sample:
1"x1" = 1.802 x 1.112
2"x2" = 2.121 x 2.070

My problem is not only bit related, it's also distance. Related. Two squares 4"'s apart will vary. So I have to average it too.

I have vector problems like this as well. I can only tell you that I've minimized the problems as best I can by frequent calibration, using tape on the bottom and top edges of the board, cleaning the big black rollers, blowing dust off the belts and gears of the Y and Z axes, and using the CW to square and joint the board on all sides.

Unfortunately, I don't have a solution to really fix the vector accuracy. I gave up making pentominoes puzzles because of it. The only thing that I can say is that I try not to design something that needs greater than 1/64" accuracy, that has under 1/2" circles, or that needs more than one project to complete. Remeasuring the board, even if it stayed in the machine from the previous project, is usually enough to ruin any desired precision.

[hetzerguitars]

>I thought the DPI needed to be scaled to 128 dpi to make exact measurements >come out. I think it would be ok to use 128, 256, 512, etc. If you use 200 or >600, the machine will scale the drawing to 128 for you, creating size errors and >jaggies.

I was told by Ivan at CW, that you can use any res. but he prefers 200DPI. So I have been using 200.

- Jim

[hetzerguitars]

>There will always be errors when taking a vector design, converting it to a >raster, and then converting it back to a vector. See this sample

I am willing to design in raster. But what raster format does it import?

- Jim