How do you make Vector patterns?

[Rbacak]

Is it just me or are there missing post on this thread? I could have swore there were more last night and some had links that I wanted to check out today....

[fwharris]

Is it just me or are there missing post on this thread? I could have swore there were more last night and some had links that I wanted to check out today....

I reviewed the postings and none have been removed. You might have been looking at some posts in different areas on the subject, maybe???

[Rbacak]

Probably so..... It was way past my bedtime and I was fighting the sandman..... I'm going to search the forum for more information on this. Thanks!


Roger

[bergerud]

I was trying to do what I thought was turning a vector drawing into a pattern and could not figure it out. I created a curved shape in another software and exported it to dxf. I used DXF importer to bring it into carvewright designer where I created a carve region based on the imported curves. I'd like to save as a pattern so I can re-use it without doing the import DXF step every time I want to use it. Clicking on the extract patterns button only creates a category with nothing in it. The create pattern button is greyed out. If I import an image file then I can create a pattern.

Frederick

I think the Extract Patterns only works for patterns already created and on the board. You need to create a pattern. With the carving list displayed, group the carve region. Now you can make a pattern of the group.

[mtylerfl]

I was trying to do what I thought was turning a vector drawing into a pattern and could not figure it out. I created a curved shape in another software and exported it to dxf. I used DXF importer to bring it into carvewright designer where I created a carve region based on the imported curves. I'd like to save as a pattern so I can re-use it without doing the import DXF step every time I want to use it. Clicking on the extract patterns button only creates a category with nothing in it. The create pattern button is greyed out. If I import an image file then I can create a pattern.

Frederick

You may be doing it wrong - you don't use a function called Extract Pattern for what you are attempting to do...you need to GROUP the elements you want to Make Pattern from (even if it is only ONE item). Right-click on the GROUP>select MAKE PATTERN, and it will work. For more step-by-step instructions, read pages 6 and 7 of the Tips & Tricks ISSUE 12 September 2008 – Designer 1.131 New Feature Highlights

Keep in mind your technique of creating Carve Regions will not yield a true v-carve appearance nor operation. It will result in a Raster Carve (using your Carving Bit instead of a v-bit) and each Carve Region will be a "fixed/flat" depth. This is unlike a true v-carve where the v-bit goes deeper in the wide areas and tapers up and out when approaching the narrow (pointed) areas.

I hinted at things to come in my post above.

[FWMiller]

I think the Extract Patterns only works for patterns already created and on the board. You need to create a pattern. With the carving list displayed, group the carve region. Now you can make a pattern of the group.

Thanks. I had created the carve pattern but had not tried creating a group. Once I created the group and selected the group then the "make pattern" button became available. However it does have one problem. My original carve region had a 1/8" feather and when I create the pattern the feather is inverted. If I try inverting the feather on the original (opposite of what I want) it still comes out the same way (opposite of what I want). Looks like the make pattern function is ignoring the invert on the feather.

Frederick

[liquidguitars]

One way of doing this is to use " Make Depth profile" as to your photo, its not 100% but you can get a idea. It will cut quickly.

[bergerud]

Thanks. I had created the carve pattern but had not tried creating a group. Once I created the group and selected the group then the "make pattern" button became available. However it does have one problem. My original carve region had a 1/8" feather and when I create the pattern the feather is inverted. If I try inverting the feather on the original (opposite of what I want) it still comes out the same way (opposite of what I want). Looks like the make pattern function is ignoring the invert on the feather.

Frederick

Feather has to do with how the pattern is carved, it is not part of the pattern.

[Rob Mulgrew]

You are mentioning two different things...first: How to create the vectors...second: how to v-carve those vectors

1) I do the majority of vector designs like that in CorelDraw, but any vector drawing program will do the job (Adobe Illustrator or the FREE InkScape - NOT Gimp)

2) Currently, you would then need to make those vectors a FONT, as already mentioned, for the CarveWright to be able to do a TRUE v-carving. However, you may see sometime in the not-so-distant future, converting to a font may no longer be a necessary step. However, the way you would get the vectors into Designer, would be via the DXF Importer which is an optional software I have used for many years - I could not do without it!

Thanks! Great info. Exactly what I was looking for. Guess I will have to sell a few more signs and get the DXF importer. But until then is there any way to work around having the DXF importer to accomplish this? Or is the DXF importer the only way? For instance, before there was a keyhole function, I learned a technique for keyholes on this forum that I use now almost for every sign I make that requires no additional software/functions.

[bergerud]

You do not need the DXF importer to do what you want to do. You need to make true type fonts outside of Designer. That requires another graphics program where you can draw (or import graphics) to make fonts. Then your vector patterns can be brought into Designer as a new font and used as you would use text.