Ovals that aren't ovals

General software related questions should be posted here.
Post Reply
BanksAg
2.5 Star Member
2.5 Star Member
Posts: 171
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2016 5:13 pm

Ovals that aren't ovals

Post by BanksAg »

I'm hoping someone will have some ideas for me to try. I'm working on a sign with a name & wedding year inside of an oval frame. It's drawn in Rhino 3D, which I don't know if anyone else on here uses; it's along the same lines as AutoCAD, SolidWorks, etc. I have to export it as a dxf to import it into Sheetcam (Rhino doesn't do svg's). I've played with the export settings and tried earlier dxf versions, and get one of two things: 1) the outer oval is distorted or 2) any of the curves end up faceted instead of smooth. I attached picture of what it looks like in Rhino, along with what I'm seeing in Sheetcam, as well as the dxf files. I don't seem to have any issues with circles, other curves, or straight lines. Is there something unique about the geometry of an oval that could be giving me problems? I even tried drawing a couple of other ovals in another file, and I get the same issues.

Thanks for any thoughts you might have.

Tim
Attachments
Groneman nameplate - Copy.dxf
(172.38 KiB) Downloaded 40 times
Groneman nameplate.dxf
(511.44 KiB) Downloaded 49 times
Groneman.JPG
Sheetcam2.JPG
Sheetcam1.JPG
Tim Eggleston
Banks High School
Banks, OR

Arc Pro 4800
PowerMax 45XP
Mach 3, SheetCam
Inkscape, Rhino 3D
User avatar
acourtjester
6 Star Elite Contributing Member
6 Star Elite Contributing Member
Posts: 7770
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 6:04 pm
Location: Pensacola, Fla

Re: Ovals that aren't ovals

Post by acourtjester »

I would switch from Rhino to Inkscape projects like that are very easy to construct as you can convert normal fonts to paths. It will do all kinds of shape following with the letters, it welds letter to lines. And it saves in SVG or DXF file formats, FREE for download too a large number of tutorials on the web too..
DIY 4X4 Plasma/Router Table
Hypertherm PM65 Machine Torch
Drag Knife and Scribe
Miller Mig welder
13" metal lathe
Small Mill
Everlast PowerTig 255 EXT
User avatar
East German
4 Star Elite Contributing Member
4 Star Elite Contributing Member
Posts: 580
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:21 am
Location: Stapelburg Germany

Re: Ovals that aren't ovals

Post by East German »

Hello Tim

I do not know the program. I opened it with VCarve and saved it then it works.

I hope this help!?

Peter
Attachments
Gronemann.jpg
Groneman nameplate Vectric.dxf
(105.91 KiB) Downloaded 43 times
Sorry for my language! The last English class was in 1982.

Homemade CNC Plasma-Watertable
MyPlasmCNC
Hypertherm Powermax 85
Machine Torch
Hypertherm Powermax 1100
Machine Torch
Old Iron
3.5 Star Member
3.5 Star Member
Posts: 681
Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2014 5:12 pm

Re: Ovals that aren't ovals

Post by Old Iron »

I'm with Tom on this one.
I use a combination of Inkscape, Qcad and then go to Sheetcam for a lot of my processes.
bhamer62
3 Star Member
3 Star Member
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:06 pm
Location: New Providence, PA

Re: Ovals that aren't ovals

Post by bhamer62 »

An ellipse is considered a spline in many CNC cutting machines, they just don't care for them... They won't polyline in ACAD at all so I don't use them in ANY design....period. Draw your stuff using 3 point arcs and practice blending the start stop points to give a smooth transition Works for me....
BanksAg
2.5 Star Member
2.5 Star Member
Posts: 171
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2016 5:13 pm

Re: Ovals that aren't ovals

Post by BanksAg »

Thanks for the input guys. I'll try playing with arcs in the future to see if we can make that work.

I do have, and can use Inkscape, but to be honest I don't like it near as much as a good CAD program, and since I offer college credit through our local community college for Rhino I need to stick with that as much as I can.

Thanks for the help.

Tim
Tim Eggleston
Banks High School
Banks, OR

Arc Pro 4800
PowerMax 45XP
Mach 3, SheetCam
Inkscape, Rhino 3D
Old Iron
3.5 Star Member
3.5 Star Member
Posts: 681
Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2014 5:12 pm

Re: Ovals that aren't ovals

Post by Old Iron »

Qcad draws eclipse with no trouble and my CNC plas will cut, with no issues.
User avatar
MemFor
1.5 Star Member
1.5 Star Member
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2015 9:08 pm
Location: Southern Illinois
Contact:

Re: Ovals that aren't ovals

Post by MemFor »

Some reading into splines vs polylines might give you some insight. I recently learnt all programs do not interpret curves the same way.

This link might help: https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/save-as- ... ns/21505/7
Post Reply

Return to “General Discussion”