Help needed please

[Spooky]

ummm, what software are you using Susie? and Jpegs cannot be cut,only engraved.

best wishes

Dave

[PhillyDee]

Jpegs can only be used to engrave.
You can use a lot of different packages to edit jpegs. I personally use either Coreldraw, or Paint.net. The 1st one costs money, the 2nd is free.

To design cut lines, you will need to use something like Draftsite (free) or autocad etc. The Newlydraw software is very basic in that regard.
It looks daunting at first, most of the buttons you will not use.

[Daven]

Getting there! Can I use publisher to design and change the file Jpeg? Also LS3020 is not on the dropdown menu.
Thanks

When you say the LS3020 in not on the dropdown menu do you mean in Publisher? If so it doesn't work that way - use a cad program to create the DXF file or art program for JPG and then import to Newlydraw and then cut/engrave.

Cheers

Dave

[Susie]

So I can import a jpeg image to Newleydraw but it will only cut & not engrave? Can I use publisher to do the designing then save as a Jpeg then change the jpeg to DXF?
Susie

[Spooky]

Nope, other way round Susie,

You can import a JPEG into newlydraw and ENGRAVE it, it cannot be cut. To cut you need a Vector format file of which the main type is DXF, saving a JPEG (Raster file) as a DXF (Vector File) won't work, the files base format needs to be either Raster (For engraving) or Vector (For Cutting)

Raster (Picture files) can be converted to Vectors for cutting but it's not as simple as a "save as" instruction. The raster file format is made up of pixels of differing colours, Vector file format is made of X & Y positions that tell the software what picture to generate, Vector files can be resized without loss of quality whereas Raster files cannot.

Publisher isn't really the right kind of design software for Laser work, in the main, packages such as Photoshop, Corel Draw, Photopaint and Microsoft Paint are fine for Raster files (Engraving picture files) and software such as a dedicated CAD package like Draftsite, AutoCAD, TurboCAD should be used for Vector files (Cutting files).

Vector files should be saved in AutoCAD2000 compatible format if you want to cut anything out.

Hope that makes sense

best wishes

Dave

[Daven]

No. Import a JPG to Newlydraw to engrave - it won't cut. To cut you need a dxf file. To convert a JPG to dxf you need something like R2V to convert or draw it directly in Draftsight, Autocad or DoubleCad.

To be honest I would try to learn a CAD program like Draftsight or DoubleCad (both free) and design using that rather than a drawing program as you would most likely have to amend a converted jpg anyway.

Have a read about Raster and vector images - thats where I started (and still have a lot to learn!) as I didn't have a clue either

EDIT - Dave beat me to it

Cheers

Dave

[Susie]

I really need to engrave and cut most of the items I make. If I can get used to using one of the designing programmes you have said, Will that do both engrave and cut. So as I see it I set the laser to first engrave then set it to cut out the engraved piece?
Feeling really stupid now!
Sue

[Spooky]

Not stupid at all Sue,believe me I've done far worse when I bought my first laser cutter

As Dave said, get a handle on the differences between Raster & Vector files and you will be well on the way.There's quite a few tutorials on the web about converting between formats and the differences between them.

Can I ask what your end use or product is that you want to laser cut? it may make it a little easier for us to taylor advice to suit your purpose without overloading you with information you will never need

best wishes

Dave

[Daven]

OK - let say you want to cut a circle out with a face engraved on it. Import the JPG face into ND and then use ND to draw a circle around the face. You can select both and ND will engrave first and then cut. The problem you will have is finding the right speeds for the power set to engrave at the right density and cut through the material. It is possible and you can also copy the circle and overlay it so it will cut twice.

To draw complex cuts a CAD program is the way to go - you can draw a picture if you like then import it to trace over to produce the outline dxf as well.

Just build your skill set gradually - start of trying the do the face for example and go from there

Cheers

Dave

[Susie]

Thanks starting to get the hang of all the jargon now! I do miniaturess so want to make furniture with cut out scrolls and engraved parts.
Thanks very much for all your help and patience.
Susie