Am I doing this right?

[AKmud]

I'm very new to this CNC thing and just landed a job from a friend. Their logo is this Thunderbird and we are shooting for about 24" diameter.

0.jpg

I have converted it to a .bmp and used the trace function in Inkscape to come up with this -

rect2224.png

I've started to work it from the head down by joining floating pieces to complete the path by bridging manually. Is this the right approach or is there another way I should be doing this?

[acourtjester]

The way I would do it is to break apart the elements of the logo and cut them as separate parts and assemble it as a layered logo. here is one I did some time back and some from your logo. you can do this all in Inkscape by breaking apart the trace and then copy and paste on another page of Inkscape.

cutting Miami (2).JPG

DSCN2110.JPG

bird logo 3.JPG

bird logo 2.JPG

[AKmud]

The customer didn't want a layered sign. I need to work this as a single piece. Are there any tips/tricks to bridging this file? I'm about 3/4 the way done with it now. It's taken me a few hours of bridging at this point.

[TJS]

Make sure you have least nodes as possible. They will be stacked upon one another. I learned that from the Jester himself.

[acourtjester]

A major problem with a single layer is related to size, if a bridge is to small it will not cut or stay attached. An option that your customer may not like is a single plate with the different colors cut from sign vinyl and attached to the plate. This can be done by indexing the color layers so you put down the Black and then the red after on to the plate. That way they are not overlapping each other but 2 colors on a single layer plate. They make permanent vinyl that should last a very long time.
Good Luck

[tnbndr]

You only have to do 1/2 of the design and then just mirror to the other half. Should cut down some time. Unfortunately a lot of custom work is simply a lot of computer tracing, bridging and sizing. That's why custom work is usually more expensive.