Can anyone recommend any good tutorials on file preparation when using inkscape or Coreldraw for LW3/4? I’ve been working with SVG file types and I can’t seem to get the final results to come out right. Text will be unfilled resulting in the laser “outlining” them as opposed to filling and things of that nature. Could use a good guide or how to.
LW doesn’t do “fill”. If you give it filled shapes in a vector format (ie: SVG), it will give you an outline, as you’ve discovered.
If you give it a bit mapped image, though, you could get filled text.
So I think what you want is two images, one SVG to cut outlines and a second for fill: vectors are way faster to etch than rasters, so try to frontload.
If you’re doing all image, just save the file as a bitmap.
Hi @Richard_Betel thanks for that. I think I was under the impression that i could do everything in on file (svg). And I think I still can but I’m going about it wrong as you mention. Can you elaborate on this statement “vectors are way faster to etch than rasters, so try to frontload”. I think I’m getting my terminology mixed up because I do want to etch a vector (or engrave a raster?) but it shows up as an outline and not filled where laserdraw will understand it. That being said, I’m pretty sure its myself that needs to understand it and not laserdraw!
Correction: LW3 doesn’t fill vectors, but LW4 does; use the Laser Fill Path operation.
Will try. I’ll have to revisit the YouTube walk through as I seem to remember something about fills and whatnot with color assignments or something like that.
I had to play with fill parameters a bit but using this LW4 feature worked perfectly for me on text and objects.
Eventually id like to compile a list of how to’s for k40’s and diode lasers. Just some basic parameters to get people started. I know I’ve bugged enough of you good folks for long enough. But as popular as lasers are, in the grand scheme they aren’t very popular! In my case I’m really limited to this group.
Chuck: I don’t think anyone feels bugged. Also, as a tech-type, there’s something magical about having a conversation with a tech writer and it magically transmuting into a well written, laid out, typeset, and illustrated doc.
Vectors vs Rasters: if you want a shape, vectors just draw the outlines. Rasters will scan back and forth on one axis, moving a millimeter at a time on the other, which can take a long time. I guess the simplest way to put it: a 1-inch square can be drawn as 4 linear inches if you only do the outline, but is at least 25 linear inches if you raster it. So if you can not fill, just do an outline, your job will run much faster…
Todd: I totally forgot about LW4 adding fill! I haven’t actually USED it yet.
Interesting, yesterday I played most of the day with Inkscape to learn how to create designs/jobs that contained hybrid objects that requires engraving and ordered cuts. I am capable of creating objects in InkScape with and without fill and they load fine in LW4 with and without fill?
I did find that text has to be converted to “paths” to render correctly.
@donkjr I did exactly the same thing yesterday but my results varied. I couldn’t seem to narrow down a process that worked. Ideally, I want to create my cut shape, add graphics and text and process in one go. But the only thing that comes out correctly is the vector lines. Graphics move and scale, and font paths aren’t closed and aren’t filled to raster.
@Chuck_Comito if you link me to the .svg file I can try it here and see if I can find a difference?
Ok that sounds good. Check out this youtube video. This is ideally the results I’m looking for, or at least part of what I want to do. Here’s the link to a sign I’m making.
@Chuck_Comito See the load of this file into LW4. The immediate changes I made:
- un-group everything into objects (no grouping)
- there were some grouping boxes around the objects (not sure what they are, I deleted
Loads into LW fine and I can select and create paths for the objects I tinkered with?
Other suggestions:
3. the objects and their space are to big to for the cutting/engraving area. Create a document space in Inkscape (IS) that matches your K40 work area then stay in bounds. You should be able to group the whole thing resize it and then regroup. Before you save un-group everything.
4. put things on layers and color them if you want more control of the job and order of cut etc.
BTW I am new to IS also …
@Chuck_Comito forgot the snapshot…
Hi @donkjr , ok this sounds good. So the nutshell is 1. no grouping ever for anything? 2. I also don’t know what the grouping boxes are, so make sure they’re not there. 3. That file was too big and I knew it. The plan was to break out each section I needed but the step is noted. 4. Can you suggest a process for step 4, ie, colors to use, names of layers, how layers can affect job order? I think red is cut, black is engrave, etc. Also, I think some of you guys come from a software background that used colors in the laser project. I’ve never seen this and only assume this based on hearing some questions you guys had. Is there something about colors and stroke I should be aware of?
Hello +Peter van der Walt. So the colors are imported with the file that is being processed? So if I have an svg file with red lines and a blue raster, that’s when I’ll see red and blue in the dropdown in LW ? Right now, everything is black in that section you have circled but then again all my colors in my svg are also black.
@Chuck_Comito
Here are the rules I created for myself when using inkscape as a source for LW4 …but I am just learning…
General rule: be generous with layers and colors as you can use these in LW as a means of programming operations and sequence of operations. You can program an operation on a layer of things a single thing or any combination.
…
- Create 1 or more layer(s) as cut layers and put things you want cut there
- Create 1 or more image layers and put image(s) there.
- On the cut layer(s) color things that you may want to change the order on different colored objects. The colors you use will show up as stroke and fill filters in the various operation settings. They allow you to filter those objects for operations.
- Doesn’t matter what color but I do not use red. Red is used to color the path during LW simulations so it blends and looks like nothing is happening.
- Don’t leave things grouped. Although I think paths are kept together when it gets to LW I have had problems (probably me). I use groups when editing but I always un-group before I save. You cannot see/assign anything inside a group when it is over in LW.
- When in LW do not assign an image layer to anything but “laser raster” it will let you assign it to other operations but nothing will come of it.
- You can fill in inkscape or you can use the fill function in LW (Laser Fill).
- In LW convert text created with text tool to path using path/“object to path” .
More as I learn …
+Peter van der Walt so the fill is cosmetic and it will not cause the laser to fill?
+Peter van der Walt the real confusing thing to me is that it let me select cutting operations on an image.
In 6 above I should have been explicit that I meant the “Laser Fill” operation.
The “laser fill” and “filter fill” differences can be confusing as well.
It’s fine, should be easy (maybe cumbersome on large files, as have to traverse whole tree looking for images though) 