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Post by WaffleM on Dec 11, 2009 6:05:30 GMT -9
Sorry if an answer to this is posted else where, but I couldn't find it. I don't have an automated cutter, so I'm not sure what creating cutting files entails. I'd love to make GSD files for my designs, but I have no way of testing them. Are there certain thing that I can add to my page design to make automated cutting easier for others who have cutters? Are there standard registration marks that I could add?
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Post by Adam Souza on Dec 11, 2009 6:12:51 GMT -9
I don't have an automated cutter either, but I was under the impression that the software is available for free on the manufacturer's webiste.
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Post by old squirmydad on Dec 11, 2009 7:59:48 GMT -9
The software is available free here; www.silhouettemachine.com/faq.aspxI can send you master template layout with registration marks based off of what Ebbles Miniatures uses for his GSD layouts. It really help to have everything that needs to be cut already placed inside the boundaries of the cutting area as defined by the area inside the registration marks. That area is about 7.5"x9.5". Even if you don't want to go to the trouble of setting up the paths yourself, having your pdf laid out to be compatible from the start is a big help for the conversion crews. I would be happy to test any files for you. ;D
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Post by jabbro on Dec 11, 2009 11:21:58 GMT -9
What Eric said. Once you get the registration lines, the main thing is to have the silhouette (black outline) follow the figures almost precisely. I know GIMP and PS are good about expanding a selection so you have a smooth but larger outline. I usually use the top half and shrink it about 3 pixels to make sure the cutter cuts into the black without risk of lopping off random bits of figure. I usually leave the base at full size. If anyone knows a trick for duplicating cut lines, top to bottom in RoboMaster, I'd be really grateful. Ive been taking the top sillouette in a BMP and mirroring it to the bottom and then importing the image to outline in RoboMaster. Unfortunately the program does not trace things the same way for both halves all the time.
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Post by Adam Souza on Dec 11, 2009 15:55:50 GMT -9
I've been manually drawing the lines around my models. How does one expand a selection with GIMP ?
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Post by old squirmydad on Dec 12, 2009 20:05:00 GMT -9
I usually use the top half and shrink it about 3 pixels to make sure the cutter cuts into the black without risk of lopping off random bits of figure. I usually leave the base at full size. If anyone knows a trick for duplicating cut lines, top to bottom in RoboMaster, I'd be really grateful. Ive been taking the top sillouette in a BMP and mirroring it to the bottom and then importing the image to outline in RoboMaster. Unfortunately the program does not trace things the same way for both halves all the time. It's those darn bezier curves, curse you Bezier! The trick to getting exact mirror images, and it's what was in MelEbbles original tutorial, which is now gone, was to only import the top half of a miniature and do your auto-trace on that. The copy, paste, mirror vertical, move the cutting paths down into alignment. Which gives you a perfect mirror image for your cutting paths. Unfortunately, it also gives you a center cut-line instead of a score-line so you end up with two halves instead of one whole. Mel likes this method, I don't. The little variations in the auto-trace cut-path are very easy to take care of with the occasional slice or just a dab from an edging marker. If I understood DXF file types betterI believe you could make an front face silhouette of a miniature in Photo-whatever-shop, import into a 3d modelling program, export as an autocad/dxf file, import that in Robomaster where it becomes a collection of lines, delete the center cut-line, group the rest, copy-paste-mirror-align-add center score-line for a perfect mirror image. I can export from Pepakura as a dxf and import that type of dxf into Robomaster, that's how I lay out my models these days. Getting an image silhouette into Pepakura to export as a dxf has so far eluded me. I'll have to try it again when I get some free time this week.
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Post by jabbro on Dec 15, 2009 4:57:57 GMT -9
The trick to getting exact mirror images, and it's what was in MelEbbles original tutorial, which is now gone, was to only import the top half of a miniature and do your auto-trace on that. The copy, paste, mirror vertical, move the cutting paths down into alignment. Which gives you a perfect mirror image for your cutting paths. Do you copy and past inside the tracing program or on the main page? If I can figure that out I may be able to join the lines in the middle. I have become pretty good at editing within the tracer. If you get something better with Paprika, let me know. Maybe if we both go at this from different angles, one of us will hit the jackpot.
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Post by old squirmydad on Dec 16, 2009 12:17:51 GMT -9
The trick to getting exact mirror images, and it's what was in MelEbbles original tutorial, which is now gone, was to only import the top half of a miniature and do your auto-trace on that. The copy, paste, mirror vertical, move the cutting paths down into alignment. Which gives you a perfect mirror image for your cutting paths. Do you copy and past inside the tracing program or on the main page? If I can figure that out I may be able to join the lines in the middle. I have become pretty good at editing within the tracer. If you get something better with Paprika, let me know. Maybe if we both go at this from different angles, one of us will hit the jackpot. Copy and paste inside the main window, not the tracing dialogue window. I know oyu can add and delete anchors in both windows, but what I really want is to be able to cut or break a polyline and that feature doesn't exist. I made some figures last night as dxf imports with some success, at least I had more control over the lines when I got into laying them out in RoboMaster, but it took a long road to get them there. Still trying to find a shorter cleaner path...
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