Empathy List Archives

I

Ian.Wakeling

Sat, Mar 4, 2017 7:17 PM

I want to get some components etched, so I need to produce masks for the top
and bottom of the etch. It occurred to me that I could draw the etched
component with OpenScad, then use projection(cut) to get the top and bottom
surfaces and export them as dxf files, from which I can then convert to a
format the etcher will accept (e.g. postscript). Unfortunately, what I
discovered was that the dxf export gives me a set of paths for the
outlne(s), which doesn't help me at all: I need surfaces to be solid.

I did try loading the dxf into inkscape and telling it to fill the surface,
but it claims that the area isn't bounded. I'm not wildy enthusiastic about
pursuing that path any further, because even if it can be made to work, it's
going to be incredibly tedious.

Searching the forum and the internet, I haven't found anything that looks
like it will do the job, so I may have a go at creating something, (probably
by parsing a sub-set of the scad language and translating direct to
postscript), but before I embark on such a project, I thought it was worth
checking here in case I've missed an existing way of doing this.

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I want to get some components etched, so I need to produce masks for the top and bottom of the etch. It occurred to me that I could draw the etched component with OpenScad, then use projection(cut) to get the top and bottom surfaces and export them as dxf files, from which I can then convert to a format the etcher will accept (e.g. postscript). Unfortunately, what I discovered was that the dxf export gives me a set of paths for the outlne(s), which doesn't help me at all: I need surfaces to be solid. I did try loading the dxf into inkscape and telling it to fill the surface, but it claims that the area isn't bounded. I'm not wildy enthusiastic about pursuing that path any further, because even if it can be made to work, it's going to be incredibly tedious. Searching the forum and the internet, I haven't found anything that looks like it will do the job, so I may have a go at creating something, (probably by parsing a sub-set of the scad language and translating direct to postscript), but before I embark on such a project, I thought it was worth checking here in case I've missed an existing way of doing this. -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/Filled-projection-cut-tp20732.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

TP

Torsten Paul

Sat, Mar 4, 2017 8:09 PM

Maybe have a look at http://pcbmode.com/

ciao,
Torsten.

Maybe have a look at http://pcbmode.com/ ciao, Torsten.

N

Neon22

Sat, Mar 4, 2017 11:14 PM

dxf support is highly variable. its an old format but with so many variations
now. if you want to try this kind of interchange - look for a different
format.
Torsten's pcbmode link by Saar is fantastic but you need to edit some json
format files. IMHO its worth getting into. It will do the job for you.
Github here: - https://github.com/boldport/pcbmode
docs here: http://pcbmode.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

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dxf support is highly variable. its an old format but with so many variations now. if you want to try this kind of interchange - look for a different format. Torsten's pcbmode link by Saar is fantastic but you need to edit some json format files. IMHO its worth getting into. It will do the job for you. Github here: - https://github.com/boldport/pcbmode docs here: http://pcbmode.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/Filled-projection-cut-tp20732p20751.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

I

Ian.Wakeling

Mon, Mar 6, 2017 12:07 AM

OK, thanks, I'll take a look at that.

Ian

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OK, thanks, I'll take a look at that. Ian -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/Filled-projection-cut-tp20732p20777.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

D

droftarts

Mon, Mar 6, 2017 10:00 PM

Ian.Wakeling wrote

I did try loading the dxf into inkscape and telling it to fill the
surface, but it claims that the area isn't bounded.

The dxfs that OpenSCAD export are all just line segments, ie if you export a
square from OpenSCAD it comes out as four unconnected lines, which is why
Inkscape won't fill it - because the lines don't define an area. However,
the endpoints (or nodes) for each line should be at the same position as the
next line, so you can join them easily enough in Inkscape. If you need
instructions to do that, let me know, I've got them somewhere...

Alternatively, you could just export your file as SVG from OpenSCAD, which
is Inkscape's preferred format. All lines export joined up correctly. Just
make sure you're using a recent version of OpenSCAD; older versions created
SVGs with no units, so they open in Inkscape with the units set to 'pixels'
rather than 'mm', and your artwork will be scaled. This was fixed last year,
see: https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/1253

Ian

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Ian.Wakeling wrote > I did try loading the dxf into inkscape and telling it to fill the > surface, but it claims that the area isn't bounded. The dxfs that OpenSCAD export are all just line segments, ie if you export a square from OpenSCAD it comes out as four unconnected lines, which is why Inkscape won't fill it - because the lines don't define an area. However, the endpoints (or nodes) for each line should be at the same position as the next line, so you can join them easily enough in Inkscape. If you need instructions to do that, let me know, I've got them somewhere... Alternatively, you could just export your file as SVG from OpenSCAD, which is Inkscape's preferred format. All lines export joined up correctly. Just make sure you're using a recent version of OpenSCAD; older versions created SVGs with no units, so they open in Inkscape with the units set to 'pixels' rather than 'mm', and your artwork will be scaled. This was fixed last year, see: https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/1253 Ian -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/Filled-projection-cut-tp20732p20784.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

I

Ian.Wakeling

Mon, Mar 13, 2017 11:30 AM

droftarts wrote

Alternatively, you could just export your file as SVG from OpenSCAD, which
is Inkscape's preferred format. All lines export joined up correctly. Just
make sure you're using a recent version of OpenSCAD; older versions
created SVGs with no units, so they open in Inkscape with the units set to
'pixels' rather than 'mm', and your artwork will be scaled. This was fixed
last year, see: https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/1253

Ah, interesting, I had discovered the lack of units with the SVG export,
which was why I went down the DXF route. I'll try upgrading then.

Thanks,

Ian

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droftarts wrote > Alternatively, you could just export your file as SVG from OpenSCAD, which > is Inkscape's preferred format. All lines export joined up correctly. Just > make sure you're using a recent version of OpenSCAD; older versions > created SVGs with no units, so they open in Inkscape with the units set to > 'pixels' rather than 'mm', and your artwork will be scaled. This was fixed > last year, see: https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/1253 Ah, interesting, I had discovered the lack of units with the SVG export, which was why I went down the DXF route. I'll try upgrading then. Thanks, Ian -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/Filled-projection-cut-tp20732p20868.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

D

droftarts

Tue, Mar 14, 2017 11:55 PM

You can edit svg files in a text editor to add the units. Here's a guide I
wrote a little while ago, with some extra information.

With SVGs, you have to make sure that the units are specified correctly, or
you can get your design scaled to some peculiar sizes. The SVG output of
OpenSCAD doesn't include the units, so any program opening it assumes that,
rather than using mm, it's specified in pixels (see
http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG/coords.html#Units ). Both Illustrator and Qcad use
72dpi to do this conversion (a 100mm line incorrectly interpreted as pixels
rather than mm comes out 100 * 25.4 / 72 = 35.278mm), while Inkscape uses
90dpi as per the SVG spec (so a 100mm line comes out 100*25.4/90=28.222mm),
so it can seem like you end up with scaled artwork if you don't set the
units in the SVG file.

However, it's quite easy to change the units from pixels to mm. Open the SVG
output from OpenSCAD in a text editor, and change the document 'width' and
'height' in the first couple of lines from no units to mm. eg, edit:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?> <!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd">

<title>OpenSCAD Model</title> ...

to...

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?> <!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd">

<title>OpenSCAD Model</title> ...

This should then open the SVG the correct size in the various applications.

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You can edit svg files in a text editor to add the units. Here's a guide I wrote a little while ago, with some extra information. With SVGs, you have to make sure that the units are specified correctly, or you can get your design scaled to some peculiar sizes. The SVG output of OpenSCAD doesn't include the units, so any program opening it assumes that, rather than using mm, it's specified in pixels (see http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG/coords.html#Units ). Both Illustrator and Qcad use 72dpi to do this conversion (a 100mm line incorrectly interpreted as pixels rather than mm comes out 100 * 25.4 / 72 = 35.278mm), while Inkscape uses 90dpi as per the SVG spec (so a 100mm line comes out 100*25.4/90=28.222mm), so it can seem like you end up with scaled artwork if you don't set the units in the SVG file. However, it's quite easy to change the units from pixels to mm. Open the SVG output from OpenSCAD in a text editor, and change the document 'width' and 'height' in the first couple of lines from no units to mm. eg, edit: <?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?> <!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd"> <svg width="846" height="1025" viewBox="-451 -870 846 1025" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"> <title>OpenSCAD Model</title> ... to... <?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?> <!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd"> <svg width="846mm" height="1025mm" viewBox="-451 -870 846 1025" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"> <title>OpenSCAD Model</title> ... This should then open the SVG the correct size in the various applications. -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/Filled-projection-cut-tp20732p20895.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

M

MichaelAtOz

Wed, Mar 15, 2017 12:11 AM

Perhaps a 'unit' option should be added at some stage.

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Perhaps a 'unit' option should be added at some stage. ----- Admin - PM me if you need anything, or if I've done something stupid... Unless specifically shown otherwise above, my contribution is in the Public Domain; to the extent possible under law, I have waived all copyright and related or neighbouring rights to this work. Obviously inclusion of works of previous authors is not included in the above. The TPP is no simple “trade agreement.” Fight it! http://www.ourfairdeal.org/ time is running out! -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/Filled-projection-cut-tp20732p20898.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

D

droftarts

Wed, Mar 15, 2017 2:28 PM

Yes, seems like a simple addition. I'm sure the guys who work OpenSCAD in
inches would appreciate it! In Inkscape there's eight absolute units - mm,
cm, m, inch, ft, point, pica and pixel.

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Yes, seems like a simple addition. I'm sure the guys who work OpenSCAD in inches would appreciate it! In Inkscape there's eight absolute units - mm, cm, m, inch, ft, point, pica and pixel. -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/Filled-projection-cut-tp20732p20920.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

I

Ian.Wakeling

Mon, Apr 3, 2017 7:25 PM

Just wanted to confirm that I built an up to date version and exported SVG
from that and it worked a treat. Thanks for all the help.

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Just wanted to confirm that I built an up to date version and exported SVG from that and it worked a treat. Thanks for all the help. -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/Filled-projection-cut-tp20732p21070.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

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Filled projection cut?

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