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Thread: Help with split carve

  1. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigtyme View Post
    Absolutely great job, Dick. Your process makes a lot of sense and the proof is in the results. I am still trying to perfect the contour tutorial you put together, not because it isn't easy to follow, between my day job, deer season and shop duties, time is a premium. I will be at my place in the UP over the holidays and fully expect to get the hang of it while watching the snow fall. Your help has been outstanding....
    Thanks. It took me quite a while to perfect the process, so take your time. There are some additional tricks when managing details such as narrow peninsulas or narrow waterways connecting lakes, including judicious use of Bit Optimization (or not using it). (I conveniently picked an example that was devoid of those to simplify the tutorial a bit!) I expect you may encounter some trial and error - I know I put a few carvings in the dumpster in the process. BTW I generally upload these lake maps on Best.

    Here's an example of data I can get on many Minnesota lakes. It can be used almost directly as a heightmap and really saves time and improves accuracy.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Galva Kansas
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    1,005

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    I have wanted to try this, but I have yet to find a good source for the data on Kansas lakes. Not too surprising, not like there is an abundance of lakes here in the Plains.
    Kansas Wood Shop
    Disabled Veteran owned and operated
    Visit www.kansaswood.com
    A machine with rock, CS machine, Designer 3, centerline, conforming vectors

  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by dehrlich View Post
    I have wanted to try this, but I have yet to find a good source for the data on Kansas lakes. Not too surprising, not like there is an abundance of lakes here in the Plains.
    If you're willing to spend a little, look for fishing map companies or GPS data providers. I got GPS data from Garmin many years ago for my Garmin eMap (long since discontinued). The data is downloadable to the device, but can also be viewed on the PC. The screenshot is from Garmin's Mapsource viewer. At the time, Garmin sold US lake data in three regions. Kansas is in the Central region that I bought - I think it was about $100 - and at least some Kansas lakes are in the database. BTW a trick to use with this software is that you can specify the map font, so if you load an empty font the map lettering all disappears, making it easier to apply the tutorial technique.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  4. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Suffern, NY
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    367

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    Quote Originally Posted by dehrlich View Post
    Greetings all. Hope everyone is busy with Christmas orders as I am already. Here's one I need help with. I'm building a blanket chest for a customer. I have approval on the designs, not I just gotta figure out how to carve this lid. See attached MPC... The completed lid will need to be 24 x 34. How do I go about splitting this into two carves that will actually line up and look right?? Is there a tutorial on doing this somewhere? First time I have done one like this, so help is appreciated. Thanks!

    Attachment 65710
    Wow, I actually had a detailed response worked out for you but the damn forum AUTO LOGGED me out so I lost IT ALL!! Sorry, just don't have the time right now to repost it but I am attaching some MPC files of a recent project I just ran and it was split across two project boards.

    I have run well over 125 cabinets projects just like this one so I would say I have a fair amount of experience splitting projects across boards and getting things to line up. Take a look at the files and let me know if there is specific questions you have... Once I cool down a little and feel like I can type out my process again, I will
    Design.mpc
    LEFTDOOR_KNIGHTHAWK.mpc
    RIGHTDOOR_KNIGHTHAWK.mpc

    The image is of the finished project.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IMG_5754.jpg  

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Wylie, Tx
    Posts
    1,680

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    Seems to be a problem with the files because they all keep crashing my Designer program when I try to upload any one of them. Tried several times....

    Quote Originally Posted by Ton80 View Post
    Wow, I actually had a detailed response worked out for you but the damn forum AUTO LOGGED me out so I lost IT ALL!! Sorry, just don't have the time right now to repost it but I am attaching some MPC files of a recent project I just ran and it was split across two project boards.

    I have run well over 125 cabinets projects just like this one so I would say I have a fair amount of experience splitting projects across boards and getting things to line up. Take a look at the files and let me know if there is specific questions you have... Once I cool down a little and feel like I can type out my process again, I will
    Design.mpc
    LEFTDOOR_KNIGHTHAWK.mpc
    RIGHTDOOR_KNIGHTHAWK.mpc

    The image is of the finished project.
    JerryB:.

    CarveWright START U Team Member
    Using 1.187, Conform, PE/Probe, Centerline.

    "Let's start sharing PTNs instead of MPCs so ALL SW versions can view & share"

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Vancouver Island
    Posts
    8,193

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    They seem to take a long time to load. They did finally open for me. I assume it is font related.

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Suffern, NY
    Posts
    367

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    Quote Originally Posted by bergerud View Post
    They seem to take a long time to load. They did finally open for me. I assume it is font related.

    Could be.. The font is Papyrus which is probably not a common font. AND... I just realized that nobody is going to be able to view those projects because it uses custom font glyphs that contain images... sorry.. I'll try to dig up a project where I used a raster carve.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    north ont Canada
    Posts
    2,365

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    Quote Originally Posted by bergerud View Post
    They seem to take a long time to load. They did finally open for me. I assume it is font related.
    It took a while for me also but did open
    Henry

    Every one has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Suffern, NY
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    367

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    I just finished up a new design that is going to run today. No finished project to post but it's very simple and uses only vector lines to duplicate a family monogram. The first few steps were different for the attached files because this was all done with the drawing tools of the program and no centerline objects were brought in.

    My process is fairly simple when creating a project that spans across two project boards.

    • First, I edit and develop the full design in GIMP ( most of my projects are vector carves using Centerline ).
    • Next, I slice the image in half and create two files, left door and right door. I then import and create a font glyph from those images so I can import them into designer.
    • I create a project board that is scaled to 1/2 of what my final cabinet width is. For my project, this size is 12"x16". In the case of the OP, I would create a project board that was scaled to 1/2 the size of the lid ( if the constraints of designer allow.. if you need more than the width allowed you will have to make adjustments to your layout )
    • I bring in my design via centerline. In case of OP, you would bring in your pattern and any centerline text. Then, layout everything the way you want it lined up on the finished product. I save my file as the design.mpc
    • Now, select everything on your scaled down project board and copy it.
    • Paste onto a project board that is a full sized door.. All my cabinets will usually be 24"widex32"tall ( doors ) so I have templates made and saved as files that I just open and "save as" so my template file stays intact. SO this project board would be 12"x32"
    • Now I select everything again and scale up to the size I want.
    • Keeping everything selected, I will move the project so the middle of the design sits on the top edge of my designer board.. This will be saved as my left door. I normally keep the grid and edge snapping on at this stage so it is easy something to snap on the edge.
    • Now, I de-select all items and choose just one, select it and attach it to the left or right edge of the board.. being careful to not move it at all.
    • Once that is attached, I select everything again and slide everything down until the middle snaps to the bottom edge of the project board. This will be saved as my right door. Since I made the attachment to the left or right edge I have no worries about items lining up across my doors.



    Now, I will go back and forth between the two files and just verify that everything looks right. I will then delete all items that are hanging off the edge of the board. With centerline, this is an important step because the machine tries to carve all that stuff if you leave it there and it adds time to the job and also can ruin the project. A raster carve works differently and the machine smartly does not try to carve the half of the pattern that is off the board.

    When I go to the machine, I ALWAYS feed it a board that is at least 1" wider than what the machine is expecting. This eliminates any need for a sled because when the machine measures and asks how to handle the extra width my selection is always "center on board". This means I have 1/2" boarder on both edges that always provide solid contact with the rollers. I also always make sure my board, or my project allow at least 4" on the left/right so I just select NO to the stay under rollers question.
    Attached Files Attached Files

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Suffern, NY
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    I don't know if anyone else mentioned this but the OP's MPC file has text that is mirrored in all corners . You won't be able to use those objects if you are trying to spread your design across two boards. You will need to limit your mirroring to what will ultimately end up on the same physical board. SO, you can take the lower left corner of what would be the front of your lid and mirror that to the right corner. For the back of your lid you will have to place the text object again, in a corner and mirror again to the opposite corner. So you will need to check placement of the corner and use attachments to ensure you keep everything lining up properly.

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