Hi,
I have attached original DXF, a PDF of how it should look and a screen grab of what easel thinks the file should look like.
The DXF file is R12 and in mm.
Just to check I re-imported the DXF file back into the CAD program(TCad for Mac) and made the attached PDF.
I did make a simple test dxf with a square and 2x circles and Easel imported that OK, however, the attached is not imported properly?? I have had this problem in the past and thought it was just a one-off.
There is a problem with the circles being misplaced.
Maybe there is a cure for this anomaly ?
F4U-1_Corsair_3-side.pdf (50.4 KB)
F4U-1_Corsair_3-side.dxf (1003.6 KB)
It loaded OK for me I think.
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If the image in the PDF matched what you see after importing then it is good.
Maybe it is a Mac/Safari thing? I do not have Windows.
Maybe not as I suspect the convertion in done back on the Easel server?
It is weird as it is only the x-axis that is wrong (offset), the y-axis is correct.
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On further inspection, it turns out that the circles seem to be reading the correct centre as (x, y), but, implementing them as (-x, y). ie the y co-ordinate is correct, but, the x-axis is negated. This quirk is applied to circles only.
The process is complicated by the import routine shifting my drawing which is centred on (0, 0) to be zeroâed at the front left corner?
Why the translation and not importing the DXF as-is, or, asking if the drawing should be translated?
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Sorry for talking about basics but have you checked where home and work positions are? The DXF has to be converted to G code for things to happen.
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Question is OK.
The problems is before work and home positions become relevant.
Iâm using the DXF import option of Easel to do the conversion. Everything imports OK except circles as noted above.
The dxf file I am using is above. The dxf is centred as in the screen grab with the circles in their correct locations. The import process places the image such that lower left corner is (0,0). In the screen grab image, I centred the image after import, you can see the circles are misplaced. The pdf is of how it should look.
Circles, centre, co-ordinates are translated as (x, y) â (-x, y)? Ie the circles move to the opposite side of the y axis.
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This drawing also has errors in it as well. I used nanocad to open it and it was good.
When I imported it with Easel, things are amiss. Trying to make it smaller makes it worse.
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I donât know⌠this is a screen shot of my earlier save and I even copied and scaled it about 50% in Easel. I opened the OPâs DXF in Rhino and then saved is to my computer. Then I imported my copy into Easel. That all looks like the PDF looked, which is correct. Perhaps it is dependent on what opens it in the first place. AutoCad R11 and R12 are pretty basic drawing versions.
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not sure if it makes a difference but I downloaded the dxf file (.97mb) and not the jpg. (57 kb) I used a screen grab and cropped it to size and finally used MS paint to make a cropped jpg file.
The size of the image is 40" x 86" so maybe buffers are full? Or maybe there is some hidden code that isnât obvious to us. I suspect that itâs an issue with the Easel drawing engine.
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not sure if it makes a difference but I downloaded the dxf file (.97mb) and not the jpg. (57 kb) I used a screen grab and cropped it to size and finally used MS paint to make a cropped jpg file.
The size of the image is 40" x 86" as imported so maybe buffers are full? Or maybe there is some hidden code or constraint that isnât obvious to me.
I suspect that itâs an issue with the Easel drawing engine. Windows is also showing different file sizes as well between programs.
F4U-1_Corsair_3-side.pdf (50.4 KB)
F4U-1_Corsair_3-side.dxf (1003.6 KB)
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To clarify things a bit.
The jpg file is a screen grab of a MacBook Pro. The image of the Corsair is about 150mm wide on my screen.
The PDF CAD image has been scaled to fit on an A4 page. The original is about 2.2m nose to tail.
The original, from internet, was a SVG file with 3 views of the Corsair in it. The original SVG indicates that it was created in Inkscape.
I imported the SVG into TurboCad (TC) for Mac. TC has a SVG import option. Split out the 3 views.
Since the original SVG while good as a bit messy as I suspect it was converted from an image file. When I say messy, arcâs, curved lines and circles were at best approximations, that looked good from afar, but, far from good! We a plotting the image out on a 1200mm x 2400mm board.
Using TC I redrew most of the drawing. That is why the PDF and DXF exports are âcleanâ drawings. Since the drawing is now in a CAD program, I can scale it to pretty much any size.
The problem is the DXF import in Easel negating the x value of the circle centres as evident in above interactions.
Hope the above makes sense?
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Thank you for the relevant and explanatory words. As a life time user of Windows and MSpaint, I am very aware that Print Screen works very well but the resolution is somewhere around 72dpi as a raster image. I use Easel to sharpen or to trace it as an image and then use Nanocad to turn the drawing into a vector drawing if I need either a dwg or a dxf. The vast majority of the time Easelâs âtrace imageâ works so very well and meets all of my âgood enoughâ standards. (the line of best fit points) for my machining needs and desires. It is my preference to use the least number of programs that I can as itâs easy for unknown stray bits of code to slip in.
It is truly wonderful that Easel has and is such a great resource.
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You have obviously run into the problems of enlarging poor bit images and the resultant fuzzy lines.
I use an external Gcode sender (UGS), as my machine (Fluidnc controller) is connected via WiFi.
I really like how Easel makes it easy to move from âscreenâ â Gcode â machine.
Inevitable there are personal wishes.
- Get to the bottom of the DXF issue that prompted this post in the first place.
- Assign a bit to a (drill) hole. This would be useful to create a âcentreâ hole for work to be completed off the machine.
- Do a ânewâ machine setup (Fluidnc) without having the controller connected.
- Optimise âcuttingâ sequence - on large jobs an awful lot of time is spent traversing between cuts.
The short video below Gcode came from easel onto a plotter built in a local MenzShed.
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Wow, impressive!
I have lived in Spruce Grove for over 30 years and never heard of this group. I might just have to find out more about them. Looks like your group does some interesting things.
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err, it is Ashburton in New Zealand.
The plotter is in use at Ashburton Aviation Museum, hence the subject matter!
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