Simple vector paths in AutoCAD :How TO

I thought I would share with you how I am using AuoCAD with the Designer software. So here is what is required...AutoCAD(or any cad package capeable of creating a .DWG format), Adobe Illustrator, ai2mpc(allcw.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=860), and of course Designer.

First come up with a 2d scale drawing in AutoCAD.(see pic #1)

Next open the pic in Adobe Illustrator, and save as an Illustrator 8 file.(see pic #2) It is helpful to save the .ai file you just created in the same directory that you have the ai2mpc program saved.

Now comes the tricky part for people not DOS savvy. You need to get into the command line (Start, run, CMD). Navigate to the ai2mpc directory and type in the following command ai2mpc (yourfilename).ai (yourfilename).mpc. (see pic #3)

If you have done all of this correctly, you should be able to open the file in designer to the correct scale. (see pic #4) (as you can see in this example, I did not set my scale correctly, I intended to make two 9" boards and glue them together, so it will not fit as an 18" board in designer.)

Now all you have to do is assign a tool and depth to the paths, I can't seem to use the cut path feature when I create vectors this way, so you have to take into consideration the tool diameter when creating the original drawing. (see pic#4) The center of the tip of the tool will follow the paths exactly rather than offset like the cut path option does.

Hope this helps, it works for me.

Jason

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sirsumm

Now all you have to do is assign a tool and depth to the paths, I can't seem to use the cut path feature when I create vectors this way, so you have to take into consideration the tool diameter when creating the original drawing. (see pic#4) The center of the tip of the tool will follow the paths exactly rather than offset like the cut path option does.

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Adobe Illustrator doesn't appear to create closed paths when importing DXF/DWG files. Thus, ai2mpc will not create closed paths preventing the use of cut path in Designer. I might be able to add an option to ai2mpc to detect this case and close the paths.

Just a note, when you select a bit for the path you can choose to add an offset (ie inset) from -.125 to .125 depending on what side of the path you want it on.

Amonaug,
I can't put a value in the inset box....What am I doing wrong?

jlitz,
That would be nice....It may save some processing power as well. Thanks so much for what you have done so far! A real life saver!

Jason

Ok, it seems some paths don't allow you to insert that value. For example take the lion in the basic files and do a pattern outline. The outside path works fine but the path between it's body and tail doesn't allow you to do anything to it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Amonaug

Ok, it seems some paths don't allow you to insert that value. For example take the lion in the basic files and do a pattern outline. The outside path works fine but the path between it's body and tail doesn't allow you to do anything to it.

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Inset only works on closed paths.

Ah HA! That makes perfect sense. So it would sound to me like it would be possible to replicate the cut path feature (being able to select what side of the path you want) with just a tool selection and offset value. This is pretty valuable, I am surprised that I never noticed that particular dialog box before. In the machine shop I work in, we use the same feature on our mills to compensate for tool wear.

Jason

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sirsumm

jlitz,
That would be nice....It may save some processing power as well. Thanks so much for what you have done so far! A real life saver!

Jason

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I released an update to AI2MPC which contains an option to close any open paths when the start and end position are the same.

ai2mpc input.ai output.mpc -closepath

Please let me know if you encounter any issues.

http://allcw.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=896#896

-Jeff

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jlitz

I released an update to AI2MPC which contains an option to close any open paths when the start and end position are the same.

ai2mpc input.ai output.mpc -closepath

Please let me know if you encounter any issues.

http://allcw.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=896#896

-Jeff

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That is a bad link. the forum is not running any more... this is the page http://allcw.com/


I found this by doing a search for "ai2mpc" using the quote marks. Several pages of discussion. I did not read through all of them.