There are a couple of other editing options here. Now, we can click on okay to execute the changes into the raster file. See, it does kind of make it… It’s a little bit more neat. Let’s see what happens if we click on this image. Thicken lines just makes thinner lines more visible, and it kind of tries to smooth out these jagged edges like this one. In this case, this is a pretty clean image so there’s no need for us to use that. Remove speckles and holes to remove any visible graphic noise or holes that we can find in the image. Now, we have a couple of clean image options here. But if it is possible, always go for the option of clicking on threshold. You’ll see that if the image is already black and white, it’s going to be grayed out like this one, and it won’t be possible to click on it. In this case, the option isn’t available because the original image is already black and white. Now normally, you would want the click on threshold to turn the image black and white. So let’s clean up the image by clicking on clean image here in the upper left. In this case, you want to first clean this up, convert into a vector file and then save it as a DXF file. Let’s open up a sample floor plan raster file here. Today, I’m gonna be showing you how to use Scan2CAD to convert either raster or vector images into a DXF file format that you can open up on LibreCAD. With the raster files, you’ll have to trace over them to vectorize them, and when it comes to vector files, it can only really handle its native DXF vector file. Still selected, this profile cutline is currently 1mm proud of the “clearance edge”, so move it back, using the Offset Shapes tool once again… inward 1mm to coincide with the edge of the clearance area.LibreCAD is a nice piece of software but it gets kind of tricky when you try to import different image files into it. Still selected, now create another offset 1mm outward and then put it onto a third layer, the “inlay_profile” layer, with power and speed settings sufficient to cut completely through the material. Using the Offset Shapes tool once again, create a 5mm or so “clearance” area, (outward, outer shapes only) around the actual inlay, which will remove any material that will prevent the inlay and pocket from mating together. The right image, still selected from the move to the right, must now be mirrored horizontally. Also, it’ll speed things up to pay particular attention to what’s selected when finishing an Offset Shapes operation.… most often it’s exactly what’s needed for the next operation and saves confusion should you click elsewhere and deselect it. The left image, “pocket”, is essentially done. Side-by-side in Lightburn, you now have two images, "pocket’ on the left, “inlay” on the right… differing by one full kerf-width. These relationships are important… if reversed, you’ll have ill-fitting parts, like the bottom-most inlay shown below… Then select all the outward edges and move them to the “inlay layer”… and, while still selected, move them to the right. Deleting the unneeded original “centerline” during the offset operation, you’re left with double lines, each one-half a kerf-width on either side of the original line.įrom there, select all the inward edges and put them on the “pocket” layer. I started with my inlay shape in outline mode and then offset all lines, BOTH inward and outward by 0.08 mm, about half of the 0.169 mm above… much like a 2-lane highway’s centerline and the adjacent lanes’ edge lines. So, then I started playing with the Offset Shapes tool in Lightburn. But when you start dealing with irregular male and female parts (pockets and inlay)… what’s “waste” and where is the “kerf” applied? It got confusing quickly and I kept getting worse and worse results. Normally “kerf offset”, as used in woodworking, is applied to the “waste” side of the cut… adjusted outward for outside shapes and inward for inside shapes. Divide that by 20 to come up with 0.169 mm for your laser’s full kerf-width… and use half that for kerf offset in Lightburn, when needed. Pushing all the segments to one end and carefully measuring the gap with digital calipers, I measured a 3.37 mm gap.
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