Didnt think the crown file was all that fun. Not too shabby for the first plotter print.
1 Like
Oh yessss!
sweet! What did you use to convert the photo?
Wow! Yeah what did you use? I know how to trace images manually into vector files but this is on a whole other level.
Hell yea
Please do a tutorial!!!
Â
Gary
After you generate the svg you can use ESTLcam or other cam software to do it, no real need for the inkscape plugin. I’ll try it that way and see what happens
Dont follow these original instructions. I wrote a much more in depth guide that can be found over at this thread
https://www.v1engineering.com/forum/topic/guide-for-converting-pictures-into-stylized-svgs-suitable-for-plotting/Â
Â
(Not sure what happened, I edited my previous post and it just got deleted instead Ive included the original text below.)
the work flow for this is pretty convoluted, so buckle up.
First I use BlackStripes Python Extension
https://github.com/fullscreennl/blackstripes-python-extensions
This takes an PNG image and converts it to an SVG . They have a full blown raspberry Pi install that can directly control a machine but I didnt want to spin that up as im not terribly comfortable with the Pi. That can be found here. https://github.com/fullscreennl/blackstripes-drawbot-driver
I had to use Enthought Canopy because dealing with anything python in windows is a nightmare
https://store.enthought.com/downloads/
use the Canopy command line to build and install the Black Stripes Extension.
you’re probably going to have some issues. Most of them were covered in this article for me
https://support.enthought.com/hc/en-us/articles/204469260-Building-Python-extensions-with-Canopy
The output is an SVG that consists of a bunch of ARCS. If these are directly converted into Gcode you’ll get G02 commands which as far as i can tell marlin refuses to even acknowledge unless you’re running a SCARA machine. So in Inkscape under Extensions -> modify Path -> Flatten beziers. This will break up the arc paths into a bunch of little straight lines that will result in G01 commands in the Gcode.
I was playing around with some files and marlin read the G02 commands just fine. I think I may have left some comments in a previous file and attributed the frozen job to the G02 commands incorrectly.
Now that everything is in line format in Inkscape use the GcodeTools Extension -> Path to GCode. This will take all the Paths in the SVG and make G moves from them and output an NGC file.
(i can make a tutorial of how i use gcode tools if needed. its a very poorly documented extension)
Last thing to do is to open the NGC file and remove literally everything that isnt actual GCode. Theres a lot of comments that have parenthesis around them and Marlin /simplify3d/octoprint really doesnt like that
So open the ngc in Notepad ++. Use the Find feature go to the Mark tab and check mark “bookmark Line” and then search for whatever it is youre trying to remove. Notepad ++ will add a mark to every line that has the search criteria. after adding bookmarks to the lines you want to remove go to Search -> Bookmark -> Remove Bookmarked Lines. this will delete all the lines that have been marked. After that make sure there arent any extra comments hiding around and also make sure to delete the header and footer. You want a file thats literally just move commands.
set your machine to the spot where you specified 0,0 in gcodetools, lower the z till its pressing firmly into the paper. I use flexible cutting mat beneath the paper so theres some give. Issue a G92 X0 Y0 Z0 and hit go. With any luck youll only rip a handful of pieces of paper.
let me know if you have any questions. Ive managed to cobble this workflow together and am by no means an expert on it but I might be able to help.
At the moment I dont have ESTLcam but I would say anything you can do to avoid inkscape and gcodetools is probably a good move. Inkscape is an incredible piece of software considering its free but holy moly its slow.