Dxf

[Filardo]

https://sendcutsend.com/blog/how-to-pre ... sing-qcad/

and from the Intercon Plasma Manual. dxf prep advice.

Before importing a DXF it is good practice to review the vector file. Just because a vector file
looks ok on the screen doesn’t mean it is ready or good to cut.
Common DXF pitfalls are:
- Duplicate Lines and Arcs. These are lines and arcs that are identical and drawn on top of each other.
They do not show up when looking at the cad file in a cad system but if they are there Plasma Intercon
will see them and try and use them. Solution: Most all CAD systems have a “Delete Duplicate”
function which cleans up the cad drawing by deleting any duplicate entities (lines and arcs).
- Endpoint over-run or gaps: Lines or Arcs don’t end at the same start point of the next line. This could
be a gap or over-run. Solution: Most CAD systems and drawing program have tools to automatically
join line and arcs endpoints so they start and end on the same point. Clean up the CAD file in this way
before importing into Plasma Intercon for the best results. Plasma Intercon has a Vector gap tolerence
setting as well. Plasma Intercon will automatically join vector endpoints that are within this distance
tolerance setting.
- Hidden Lines and arcs. Lines and Arcs that may not show up in the CAD program may be because of
color or a line thickness of zero. Will show up in Plasma Intercon. Solution: Make all lines and arcs the
same color and thickness.
- Hidden layers, multiple layers. Sometimes hidden layers or multiple layers will cause an issue. Put
all geometry (lines and arcs) on one Layer and delete all other layers.
- Fonts don’t work. When creating text in the CAD system most systems will use any of the Windows
installed fonts so you can easily size and place the text you want. Solution: The last step before saving
the CAD file in preparation for importation into Plasma Intercon is to convert all text into lines and arcs
in the CAD system. Typically in the CAD system there is a feature called “Convert (fonts) to Outlines”
or in Qcad is called “Explode”
- To many nodes. A common problem with art related SVG’s and DXF’s is the vectors that make up
the art are very very short vectors (for example .001” long lines) sometimes there are thousands and
thousands of ‘nodes’ (aka endpoints) this is commonly a result of scanning and using CAD tools to
convert a photo (bitmap image .bmp, .jpg, .png, etc) to vectors. Centroid CNC12 is very good at
running a short vector plasma part program at smooth speeds when using its “Plasma Smoothing”
feature. That being said it is always good practice to not have super short vectors. There are
diminishing returns involved, having super short vectors is unnessary and at some point will start to
\documents\plasma_intercon\plasma_intercon_manual.odt Page 32
degrade the cut performance. Good rule of thumb is to not have any vectors shorter than .01”. When
tracing a bitmap with software tools don’t just crank up the resolution as that will create a file with very
short vectors. Only increase the tracing resolution settings to the point that a satisfactory trace is
made. If you are working with a tracing DXF/SVG file created by someone else and you are not the
one tracing it you can still optomize it as most CAD systems and Art programs (inkscape and illustrator)
have optomization tools that will reduce the number of lines and arcs that make up the file by fitting
longer lines and acrs through all the short vectors that closely matches the geometry.
- Drawing is using fill or width parameters. CAD file looks fine in the CAD/Graphics program but looks
completely different in Plasma Intercon. Commonly found in graphics programs are fill and vector width
values that are used to define a shape. Solution: Use the tools in the CAD/Graphics program to
export/save as only vectors. In illustrator use “Convert to Outlines” to convert shapes to lines and
arcs.

Merci beaucoup pour votre réponse

[Filardo]

https://sendcutsend.com/blog/how-to-pre ... sing-qcad/

and from the Intercon Plasma Manual. dxf prep advice.

Before importing a DXF it is good practice to review the vector file. Just because a vector file
looks ok on the screen doesn’t mean it is ready or good to cut.
Common DXF pitfalls are:
- Duplicate Lines and Arcs. These are lines and arcs that are identical and drawn on top of each other.
They do not show up when looking at the cad file in a cad system but if they are there Plasma Intercon
will see them and try and use them. Solution: Most all CAD systems have a “Delete Duplicate”
function which cleans up the cad drawing by deleting any duplicate entities (lines and arcs).
- Endpoint over-run or gaps: Lines or Arcs don’t end at the same start point of the next line. This could
be a gap or over-run. Solution: Most CAD systems and drawing program have tools to automatically
join line and arcs endpoints so they start and end on the same point. Clean up the CAD file in this way
before importing into Plasma Intercon for the best results. Plasma Intercon has a Vector gap tolerence
setting as well. Plasma Intercon will automatically join vector endpoints that are within this distance
tolerance setting.
- Hidden Lines and arcs. Lines and Arcs that may not show up in the CAD program may be because of
color or a line thickness of zero. Will show up in Plasma Intercon. Solution: Make all lines and arcs the
same color and thickness.
- Hidden layers, multiple layers. Sometimes hidden layers or multiple layers will cause an issue. Put
all geometry (lines and arcs) on one Layer and delete all other layers.
- Fonts don’t work. When creating text in the CAD system most systems will use any of the Windows
installed fonts so you can easily size and place the text you want. Solution: The last step before saving
the CAD file in preparation for importation into Plasma Intercon is to convert all text into lines and arcs
in the CAD system. Typically in the CAD system there is a feature called “Convert (fonts) to Outlines”
or in Qcad is called “Explode”
- To many nodes. A common problem with art related SVG’s and DXF’s is the vectors that make up
the art are very very short vectors (for example .001” long lines) sometimes there are thousands and
thousands of ‘nodes’ (aka endpoints) this is commonly a result of scanning and using CAD tools to
convert a photo (bitmap image .bmp, .jpg, .png, etc) to vectors. Centroid CNC12 is very good at
running a short vector plasma part program at smooth speeds when using its “Plasma Smoothing”
feature. That being said it is always good practice to not have super short vectors. There are
diminishing returns involved, having super short vectors is unnessary and at some point will start to
\documents\plasma_intercon\plasma_intercon_manual.odt Page 32
degrade the cut performance. Good rule of thumb is to not have any vectors shorter than .01”. When
tracing a bitmap with software tools don’t just crank up the resolution as that will create a file with very
short vectors. Only increase the tracing resolution settings to the point that a satisfactory trace is
made. If you are working with a tracing DXF/SVG file created by someone else and you are not the
one tracing it you can still optomize it as most CAD systems and Art programs (inkscape and illustrator)
have optomization tools that will reduce the number of lines and arcs that make up the file by fitting
longer lines and acrs through all the short vectors that closely matches the geometry.
- Drawing is using fill or width parameters. CAD file looks fine in the CAD/Graphics program but looks
completely different in Plasma Intercon. Commonly found in graphics programs are fill and vector width
values that are used to define a shape. Solution: Use the tools in the CAD/Graphics program to
export/save as only vectors. In illustrator use “Convert to Outlines” to convert shapes to lines and
arcs.

hello i have reinstalled everything and the dxf problem comes from the color selection in the dark theme color picker .can you do a dxf test with this theme to see if the problem comes only from me

bonjour voila j'ai tous réinstallé et le problème dxf viens de la sélection de couleur dans le dark thème color picker .pouvez vous faire un essai dxf avec ce theme pour voir si le problème viens que de moi

[cnckeith]

please show example of 'the problem' thanks!

[Filardo]

please show example of 'the problem' thanks!

When this option is checked, you can no longer select the outlines on the dxfs, the drawing line remains white, no color change
Which normally turns red when you click on the plot


Quand cette option est cochée ont ne peut plus sélectionner les contours sur les dxf le tracé du dessin reste blanc aucun changement de couleur
Qui normalement devient rouge quand ont clic sur le tracé

[cnckeith]

thanks! looking into it now.

[Filardo]

thanks! looking into it now.

Merci

[suntravel]

Yes, after using color picker, DXF Import did not show the crosshair, even if going back to classic.

Had to delete ColotPicker.txt to get it working again. Tested with V5.04

Uwe

[cnckeith]

thanks for pointing this out.. we fixed it. (note: uwe is using a test version (RC3) of v5.04) the public release of v5.04 will have this fix and DXF colors added to the color picker so this won't happen

[Filardo]

thanks for pointing this out.. we fixed it. (note: uwe is using a test version (RC3) of v5.04) the public release of v5.04 will have this fix and DXF colors added to the color picker so this won't happen

dxf color picker.png

Merci beaucoup d'avoir fait le nécessaire