I worked a vector file with Illustrator and then I exported DWG / DXF to enable printing on laser CNC ( I left: “Maximum editability” like options ) .
But I found a problem : the technicians informed me that the object appears divided in a lot of small segments and lines ( “Lines & Arch” ) … and that’s not good for the machine , which would print line by line with serious " approximation " of the final product .
I tried to open the file in Rhinoceros and , in fact , there are many small segments …
Is there a way to make these little lines become one unique line to print with CNC ? ( if I understand it , the polyline does not fit ) .
How can I simplify these lines and arcs without changing the shape of the final ? ( or leave the line curves as elaborate and not simplified and rough ? )
Thank you so much!
Yes, the lines are connected each other…but all split!
The command JOIN is, simply, the one with “puzzle pieces”?
Because I tried…and on the information about the line appears “CURVE”…is that ok?
When I joined the lines, the object becomes as the original: only one curve…and the technicians told me that is not suitable for the CNC.
They asked me if is possible to make “Lines & Arch”, but less than now (now there’re too many little lines…they want less)
Yes, they are all join…
I don’t know why…I’m thinking that only 1 line (joint) is ok…
But the technician told me that isn’t ok and is more suitable to have split lines, but not too much short and little (now I have maybe more about 2000 lines)…so I think I have to split them at some range, yes.
hmm… sorry then as i’m not sure what the problem is.
fwiw, this past month i’ve sent 5 models to cnc or laser using .dwg export in Rhino for Mac and all has worked fine.
can you upload your .3dm here so people can look at it?
[edit, actually, the guy with the 5x12 table took .3dm files… but two to laser and another to a punch press via .dwg and they went smooth… “files were fine” etc.]
Are there only lines and arcs in the file or are there splines? Splines will be converted into lots of tiny line segments. You might try joining everything in the file then exporting as 2004 Natural which will preserve polylines, arcs and lines. Otherwise you may need to create a custom export template.
In the example that you sent there are only straight lines. The SelLine command selects all (when you explode the inner polycurves) [Note, those inner curves are doubled up but not identical].
If I understand the problem, it sounds like the manufacturer is expecting smooth curves - try to join all lines that look like they describe a single arc (-ish). Then run Rebuild on this joined curve and change to point count to a number that results in the deviation that you can live with. On the outer chain curve in the example, I’ve joined a section and rebuild with 11 points (118 originally) which results in a deviation of 0.000986841 units.
It depends how you export them…you can modify the export profile to match your needs. The problem is that some kind of geometry is not supported by some CNC control software…
Illustrator can export splines and polylines in DXF/DWG. It does not export Arcs.
If your CNC service requires arcs instead of splines/beziers, you will need to import your illustrator file into an application that can create arcs from spline/bezier curves, or get a plugin for illustrator that can export arcs like EX-DXF Pro from BabyUniverse.
I tried to convert the lines into arch…but remains always little segments
Thank you all for helping me.
I leave another file…
This one is not ok, for the CNC.
Is possible that “CONVERT Curve to Arch” doesn’t work?
'cause I select all the lines and do “CONVERT Curve to Arch”…I can show the “Preview”, but, after click OK/SEND…nothing happens.PROVA1.dwg (1.0 MB)
You need to use the Illustrator file, not the exported DWG. Import the Illustrator file into Rhino (you may have to save your Illustrator file as an earlier version, like v8 or v3) and follow Mitch’s info about using the “Convert” command
after that…I save like “DWG” in “2004 Natural” …but, if I save it in “2004 Lines & Arcs” the problem is always the same: a lot of lines connected but split.
They send me a file for show me how they need the file:example.dwg (1.5 MB)
