Novice: Drawing around an imported image?
Moderator: andrew
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Always indicate your operating system and QCAD version.
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Post one question per topic.
Always indicate your operating system and QCAD version.
Attach drawing files and screenshots.
Post one question per topic.
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ryancousins
- Premier Member
- Posts: 367
- Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:47 am
- Location: Michigan, USA
Re: Novice: Drawing around an imported image?
Just FYI, OpenSCAD is unitless. Your slicer or some other kind of STL/GCODE processor (I'm assuming you plan on 3D printing this?) would determine the unit of measure.
Re: Novice: Drawing around an imported image?
Thanks Ryan. Yes, I aim to linearly extrude that accurately traced or drawn profile to a height (Z) of about 21mm at this stage.
Actually each of the three surfaces has a slightly different width (Y), as well as length (X) and also tapers a bit. But I'll tackle those complications later, together with the bolt/screw hole in the second surface and the cable hole in the third. Right now I'm focusing just on the cover. Call it stage #1 of this learning exercise!
I appreciate some scaling can be done in the slicer, Cura in my case, but I'd like to get it right by the last of these prior steps, at latest:
1. Overhead photo with iPhone.
2. Edit in PaintShop Pro, removing all but the profile due for extrusion
3. Import into Inkspace (which I installed on Tuesday) and trace or draw what I gather is a 'vector path'.
5. Export that to SVG. (I have not yet pursued the DXF alternative.)
6. Import to OpenSCAD and save to STL, ready for Cura slicing to gcode.
Terry
Actually each of the three surfaces has a slightly different width (Y), as well as length (X) and also tapers a bit. But I'll tackle those complications later, together with the bolt/screw hole in the second surface and the cable hole in the third. Right now I'm focusing just on the cover. Call it stage #1 of this learning exercise!
I appreciate some scaling can be done in the slicer, Cura in my case, but I'd like to get it right by the last of these prior steps, at latest:
1. Overhead photo with iPhone.
2. Edit in PaintShop Pro, removing all but the profile due for extrusion
3. Import into Inkspace (which I installed on Tuesday) and trace or draw what I gather is a 'vector path'.
5. Export that to SVG. (I have not yet pursued the DXF alternative.)
6. Import to OpenSCAD and save to STL, ready for Cura slicing to gcode.
Terry
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ryancousins
- Premier Member
- Posts: 367
- Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:47 am
- Location: Michigan, USA
Re: Novice: Drawing around an imported image?
It sounds like you've found a workflow that does not include QCAD. But it's one that I have seen used before for what you're trying to do. I believe QCAD could also be a viable tool to create a vector path from your image as Husky demonstrated. Whatever works best for you. If you need any future help with QCAD, feel free to reach out. There are some real experts here. And people like me, too. 
I do have basic experience with Cura and OpenSCAD so I'm happy to help with those programs if I'm able but it looks like you have a good start on that end of things. I will say that Cura's unit of measure is mm, so if you treat your unit in OpenSCAD as a mm, you should have a 1:1 relationship as you convert your STL to a GCODE file.
I do have basic experience with Cura and OpenSCAD so I'm happy to help with those programs if I'm able but it looks like you have a good start on that end of things. I will say that Cura's unit of measure is mm, so if you treat your unit in OpenSCAD as a mm, you should have a 1:1 relationship as you convert your STL to a GCODE file.