Nodes

[adbuch]

hey man,
you seem to be the man in the know so i have a question maybe you can help me with. when i'm designing in fusion 360 i get some files with way to many node in them for nothing, someone said something about smoothing the file and getting rid of those to be easier to work, is that something i can do on 360? or do i need to use a different software? im not familiar with CAD just beating my way through learning the hard way with vids and advise.


Thanks,
Josh

Hi Josh - Thanks for asking. When you said you are designing in Fusion 360, are you importing dxf or svg files for editing, or is this happening with a file created internally to Fusion 360 with no importing of external files? I am assuming that this is happening to you with imported dxf or svg files.

I am not aware of any smoothing or node reduction tool within Fusion 360. Inkscape does have a Simplify tool which can be useful for elimination overlapping redundant nodes. Files can often be manually edited with Inkscape to reduce nodes while maintaining the overall shape of the drawing paths.

LIghtBurn can be used for linking/joining nodes to help eliminate crossovers and unwanted intersections. An unlinked dxf file imported to LightBurn will be automatically linked/joined when the file is exported as dxf. This can often be very useful when preparing vector files for import to SheetCam for creating cut paths.

Perhaps you could share an example file that is giving you problems in Fusion 360, and we can take a look and maybe give you some ideas how to improve your outcome.

David

[JP1]

aahhh, well no wonder i couldn't find it on 360, yeah for sure i'll share the file tonight.

[adbuch]

aahhh, well no wonder i couldn't find it on 360, yeah for sure i'll share the file tonight.

I will look forward to seeing your file so I can try it out with Fusion 360.
David

[JP1]

sorry took so long, got busy, attached is the file.

[adbuch]

Thanks! I will take a look later today or this evening.
David

[adbuch]

I used Design Edge to link/join and smooth to reduce file size. It loads into Fusion 360 fine, but I am not able to get it to put the lead-ins and cut paths inside the letters and other features for your file. It has been awhile since I have used Fusion 360 to create files for cnc plasma cutting, and I know that they recently "updated" Fusion 360 and perhaps this has something to do with it. If I draw a part from within Fusion 360, then I am able to put the lead-ins and cut paths where I want them. Sure glad I don't have to use Fusion 360 for processing files for plasma cutting. I normally use it for creating solid models for 3D printing and for that purpose it works fine for me.

Here is the dxf file after linking/joining and smoothing. You could give it a try to see of it works better for you than your original.

LED BACK LIT BEER SIGN linked, joined, smoothed.dxf

(38.63 KiB) Downloaded 93 times

LED BACK LIT BEER SIGN linked, joined, smoothed.dxf

(38.63 KiB) Downloaded 93 times

And here is a screen shot of this file opened with Fusion 360.

[adbuch]

I created this simple dxf file and imported to Fusion 360. It imports and creates cut paths just fine, so now I am thinking that perhaps there is a problem in the way your beer sign file was created. Where did you get the file?
David

[adbuch]

I did an auto trace of a screen shot of your original image using Inkscape and exported as dxf. I wanted to see if this file would work any better when imported to Fusion 360. It imported fine, but then crashed Fusion 360 when I tried to extrude it before creating cut paths. I tried it twice and it crashed both times. My take on this is that Fusion 360 in its present form doesn't play nice with large imported vector files.

David

[JP1]

not sure where i got the file, i glad to see it wasn't something i was doing 360 crashes alot with the bigger files. do you recommend a software to maybe handle files better? i do have ink scape haven't messed with it to much.

[adbuch]

not sure where i got the file, i glad to see it wasn't something i was doing 360 crashes alot with the bigger files. do you recommend a software to maybe handle files better? i do have ink scape haven't messed with it to much.

I've had many files have problems importing to Fusion 360. But generally no problems with files created with Fusion 360. I assume you are using Fusion 360 to create your cut files. Another option would be a combination of Inkscape and Sheetcam, or perhaps LightBurn and Sheetcam - for your CAD/CAM needs.
David

[JP1]

i use 360, then sheetcam

[JP1]

now that i think about it, your right if i create the file in 360 i haven't had any issues, it's only when i import one.

[adbuch]

now that i think about it, your right if i create the file in 360 i haven't had any issues, it's only when i import one.

So maybe switch from Fusion 360 to Inkscape for editing. If you're not using Fusion 360 for CAM and post processing, then I really don't see the point.
David