I’ve been trying to find a good way to just draw something and get it to an easily convertible form that doesn’t involve learning all the nuance of autocad. Think basic leaves or simple signage. Fusion is great for fabrication, but freehand, artsy stuff is much harder to do. Inkscape is OK, but having something tablet based that I could use a stylus on would be great. I tried Vector-ink as well, but it lacks a lot too.
Luckily I have a friend who is an app developer who is thinking about helping me out with this and I wanted to reach out to this brain trust for some ideas on just what a simple, tablet based app would need to be able to go from sketch to cut file.
So far I have the following:
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Enable users to create drawings using freehand and basic shape tools (lines, circles, rectangles).
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Support tablet input (touch/stylus) for intuitive drawing.
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Convert drawings to G-code compatible with CNC machines.
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Provide a simple, responsive UI optimized for tablets.
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Export designs as downloadable G-code files.
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add in measurement/scaling for proper sizing of parts
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add in cut sequencing for g-code processing - doing a sign has lots of different cut-outs, being able to pick the order that each one happens is critical.
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speaking of G-code - the files that the cutter actually uses are either NC or TAP files. Not sure if that changes much, I think it is how the G code is interpreted by the individual cutter. (it is set for material thickness, cut speed, thickness of the cut, prob a few other things too)
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in/out cutting - some shapes/materials will need a lead in or out to do a smooth cut. Being able to control where the cut starts, and how it ties in and out is critical. Each material/project would be the same throughout, so this can be part of an initial setting
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some kind of line stabilization (the stylus can be hard to draw smoothly and would often trigger excessive points from my shaky hands)
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Adding in text capability - especially if a few fonts could be added that look good when cut
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If we really get fancy, a way to curve the text around a circle (think arched sign) would be nice
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Being able to pick a spot (say on a line) and pull that line in or out would be pretty cool as well
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Closing the loop - most shapes that are cut out will need a smooth transition from start to finish, this is sometimes shaky with a stylus as well. Especially on an irregular shape.
If you have any other must haves, I would love to hear. If/when we get a test version I’ll definitely reach back out to this group to get some guniea pigs!
