A little help please

[adbuch]

There are some useful Extensions in Inkscape but most are special effects for illustration.

Here are some of the Inkscape custom extensions I like.

David

[ben de lappe]

It is a possibility that Ben exported the file in question in DXF (Line) format as opposed to DXF(Polyarc), DXF(Polyline), or DXF(Spline) format. If so, then that would explain all the separate disconnected short path segments. I assume these choices are all DXF R14.

That's it David! I had to have saved it as .dxf line. If exporting a file as .dxf today I would save it as .dxf polyarc.

As Mo also stated very nice work with your parts etc. and thank you guys for the compliment.

[adbuch]

It is a possibility that Ben exported the file in question in DXF (Line) format as opposed to DXF(Polyarc), DXF(Polyline), or DXF(Spline) format. If so, then that would explain all the separate disconnected short path segments. I assume these choices are all DXF R14.

That's it David! I had to have saved it as .dxf line. If exporting a file as .dxf today I would save it as .dxf polyarc.

As Mo also stated very nice work with your parts etc. and thank you guys for the compliment.

Ben - glad to hear you've got if figured out! Yes - I really never paid any attention to the type of dxf when exporting from TMCad either. I usually open these with Design Edge for further editing, and always just hit the "J" button to automatically link/join the file - regardless of source. Also thanks for your compliment on my parts. And - we aspire to reach your level of proficiency at tracing and artistic abilities. You're a real "Pro".

David

[ben de lappe]

[/quote]

Ben - glad to hear you've got if figured out! Yes - I really never paid any attention to the type of dxf when exporting from TMCad either. I usually open these with Design Edge for further editing, and always just hit the "J" button to automatically link/join the file - regardless of source. Also thanks for your compliment on my parts. And - we aspire to reach your level of proficiency at tracing and artistic abilities. You're a real "Pro".

David
[/quote]
A little more info on TM save types I learned over time from personal experience. Torchmate's native file type is .cdl. Working and saving in this format alleviates all issues discussed within this thread. I have noticed that files worked long ago such as this and exported as .dxf will have issues such as arcs not smooth etc. To save in .cdl format one must select "Save As" and not "export". This will also save any images along with the file. So knowing what I know today I work everything in .cdl format and only export as .dxf polyarc upon completion. That way I've never had an issue no matter who's opening the file.

[adbuch]

A little more info on TM save types I learned over time from personal experience. Torchmate's native file type is .cdl. Working and saving in this format alleviates all issues discussed within this thread. I have noticed that files worked long ago such as this and exported as .dxf will have issues such as arcs not smooth etc. To save in .cdl format one must select "Save As" and not "export". This will also save any images along with the file. So knowing what I know today I work everything in .cdl format and only export as .dxf polyarc upon completion. That way I've never had an issue no matter who's opening the file.

Ben - working and saving in the .cdl format does not alleviate all issues discussed within this thread. Working and saving in.cdl format is fine for those who have a TMCad license, but not for the rest of the users. The razorback trace you posted was in dxf format so that anyone could open it. As you have said, you originally exported it in DXF (line) format - and hence the problems with all the disconnected paths.

The cdl file format is proprietary to TMCad, in much the same way as Plasmacam .pcm files, CorelDraw .cdr files, LightBurn .lbrn, Aspire .crv3D, etc. But yes I do agree that for TMCad - working everything in .cdl format and only exporting as DXF (polyarc) or one of the other more usable formats is the way to go.

David

[tcaudle]

Just a quick asside: If you save a Coreldraw in X4 (Rev 14) format it will open in Inkscape with all the objects intact and joined.
A good format to move things back and forth with most vector drawign programs is either PDF (form of Postscript) or SVG . Fusion 360 will take in SVG although you have to play some scaling tricks / Like all Autodesk applications your options for export are rather limited. They pretty much want you to use thier apps for editing and drawing vectors. DXF was never intended it be an accurate transfer of a connected vector drawing to another drawing program and connected nodes are a lot up to the IMPORT filter since polylines and arcs are not supported in the older DXF formats and most imports can't handle newer than R14 versions . The specs for the formats are not published so it hard to write a filter import.

[adbuch]

Tom - I have recently been using CorelDraw to convert my DesignEdge dxf files to svg format. I import the dxf from Design Edge to CorelDraw and then export as svg for import to Inkscape for further editing. This works great and saves me much time compared to importing the Design Edge dxf directly to Inkscape and then having to edit to eliminate all the unwanted nodes.

David

[ROKCRLER]

I've noticed this with dxfs, which is why I don't understand why folks prefer dxf over svg.
I usually open in QCad and convert to svg.
This is only for art stuff.

[adbuch]

I've noticed this with dxfs, which is why I don't understand why folks prefer dxf over svg.
I usually open in QCad and convert to svg.
This is only for art stuff.

Mo - I primarily use Design Edge and it does not open or save in svg format. Most of the other programs I use do work with svg files.
I just did this one from a VinylMaster auto trace of a pdf and saved as dxf. Then opened with Design Edge to do some of the editing and saved as dxf. Imported the dxf to CorelDraw and exported as svg to open with Inkscape. Then did my final editing with Inkscape and saved as svg. Lots of steps, but that was my process.

David

Waylon Jennings cut ready.svg

(36.72 KiB) Downloaded 78 times

Waylon Jennings cut ready.svg

(36.72 KiB) Downloaded 78 times

[adbuch]

I used the same method here, except autotrace with Inkscape and save as dxf, edit with Design Edge and save as dxf, use CorelDraw to convert from dxf to svg, and then final edit with Inkscape.

David

campfire scene image.jpg (54.71 KiB) Viewed 3604 times

campfire scene image.jpg (54.71 KiB) Viewed 3604 times

Campfire Scene.svg

(116.61 KiB) Downloaded 72 times

Campfire Scene.svg

(116.61 KiB) Downloaded 72 times