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Atom3D: best way to export some line graphics for importing into my laser?

R

ReedMikel

Member
So I have a cribbage board designed in Atom3D. It milled just perfectly on my 3-n-1 Snapmaker A350's CNC. The last thing I want to do is laser etch some simple line graphics on to the board. I probably went about it the wrong way when I simply activated Sketch mode and drew a bunch of lines and arcs (which show in light blue in pic below) surrounding the sketches that make up the board. Of course Alibre complains "your sketch is not closed", so I just chose to Ignore the errors. Then I did a Export SVG (rgt clicked on sketch in Explorer pane). It does create a SVG file, but when I open it in my Snapmaker's Luban laser software, or any browser, it displays blank (all white).

Is there a better way to draw these simple line/arc graphics in Atom3D? If I could export it to JPG or SVG that would be great - as my laser software allows me to open both file types. Being unfamiliar with SVG files, I have no idea why the Export SVG is producing empty (all white) content when opened in Luban or browsers... Maybe the "not closed" errors are the culprit?

TIA,
-Mike

Cribbage board.jpg



Update on 12/20: Finished my 3 "B" cribbage boards and handing off to Santa :)
- Yes, there's a crack in 1 board - gives character, like wrinkles :)

B cribbage board.jpg
 
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R

ReedMikel

Member
And I am attaching the exported SVG (in a ZIP file) from Atom3D in case anyone might have some graphics software that is better suited for opening SVG files and can take a peek...
Tks!
 

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  • Artwork - lines 2.zip
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DavidJ

DavidJ

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If your laser software can't make sense of the SVG from Atom3D, you could create a 1:1 scale 2D drawing of the part, and add your lines using 'sketch in view' (ideally on a separate layer). You could then export the 2D drawing to DXF or DWG.
 
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R

ReedMikel

Member
DavidJ said:
If your laser software can't make sense of the SVG from Atom3D, you could create a 1:1 scale 2D drawing of the part, and add your lines using 'sketch in view' (ideally on a separate layer). You could then export the 2D drawing to DXF or DWG.
Click to expand...
I’m sensing no software can make sense of the SVG created by Atom3D…
Is my method of using the Sketch Tool to create this 2D drawing an incorrect approach?
Does the SVG export process care that the sketch isn’t “closed”? Exporting did not display any errors…
Maybe changing the color of the lines/arcs might help (long shot :) )
 
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DavidJ

DavidJ

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Staff member
There has been some discussion about the SVGs previously, but I must admit it was all above my head. It seems there are more than one version/interpretation of the spec. I'll leave any comment on that to those who understand.

SVG shouldn't care if sketch is open or closed - the SVG imports OK back into Alibre - so this looks like a compatibility issue rather than information being omitted.
 
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R

ReedMikel

Member
DavidJ said:
If your laser software can't make sense of the SVG from Atom3D, you could create a 1:1 scale 2D drawing of the part, and add your lines using 'sketch in view' (ideally on a separate layer). You could then export the 2D drawing to DXF or DWG.
Click to expand...
This is a tad over my head :) how would I create the 2D drawing of the part (cribbage board)? Using Atom3D? If yes, what tool? I did a search for "sketch in view" in Alibre help docs, but it didn't find any match...
As for the SVG exported by Atom3D - thanks for confirming it can be imported! I wonder if it's a scale thing - like exported SVG is in mm, yet other programs (like my Luban or browsers) expect some other scale (e.g. inches)?
I wonder if the SVG file format includes scale details in the exported file?

LOTs to ponder - and get (more) confused by :)
 
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DavidJ

DavidJ

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Staff member

Articles

help.alibre.com help.alibre.com

Once you have a drawing - you can right click on a view and activate 'sketch in view' - that gives you sketching tools similar to those you use when sketching in the part workspace.

Layers in 2D drawings

Articles

help.alibre.com help.alibre.com
 
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R

ReedMikel

Member
DavidJ said:

Articles

help.alibre.com help.alibre.com

Once you have a drawing - you can right click on a view and activate 'sketch in view' - that gives you sketching tools similar to those you use when sketching in the part workspace.

Layers in 2D drawings

Articles

help.alibre.com help.alibre.com
Click to expand...
I'll have to read up on this more... Tks!

BUT seeing as I have 3 cribbage boards I need to laser engrave for Xmas gifts, I'm hoping to figure out why the exported SVG does not display anything in programs like Luban or browsers... It took some time to sketch the lines and arcs...

Thinking about possibility of it being a scale issue, I looked at system options in Atom3D and I'm a bit confused: some items are in inches, others in mm. I guess Atom3D is a mixed environment? Or my old brain just needs a rest :)

System Options - metric vs inches.jpg
 
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DavidJ

DavidJ

Administrator
Staff member
Atom3D works internally in cm.

The Display units for a model can be whatever you choose from the options (and you can set defaults for new files)

For a 2D drawing, the units are inherited from the Template used (ANSI templates give inches, ISO templates give mm) - units are NOT inherited directly from the 3D model that the drawing is representing.

You can change display units at will in any workspace.

You can type in dimensions in units other than the display units, and Atom3D will convert them on the fly to the display units - handy if you have an imperial measurement for something in an otherwise metric design.
 
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R

ReedMikel

Member
DavidJ said:
Atom3D works internally in cm.

The Display units for a model can be whatever you choose from the options (and you can set defaults for new files)

For a 2D drawing, the units are inherited from the Template used (ANSI templates give inches, ISO templates give mm) - units are NOT inherited directly from the 3D model that the drawing is representing.

You can change display units at will in any workspace.

You can type in dimensions in units other than the display units, and Atom3D will convert them on the fly to the display units - handy if you have an imperial measurement for something in an otherwise metric design.
Click to expand...
I was confused why the System Options->Parts/Assemblies->Sketching lists some items in inches, other in mm... Any other CAD software I've used would display these options, all in the default (inches or mm) setting...
 
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R

ReedMikel

Member
While my imported SVG initially appears empty in my Snapmaker's Luban (laser) software, if I start playing with Luban's Vector Tool, I can see my line art, albeit with elements placed incorrectly. Must be lots of subtleties in how SVG files get exported/imported. I'm tempted to just draw (sharpie marker) the lines on my nicely milled cribbage boards so I can get them in Santa's mail... Never easy in computer world :(
SVG imported into Luban.jpg
 
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T

Tungsten

New Member
ReedMikel said:
And I am attaching the exported SVG (in a ZIP file) from Atom3D in case anyone might have some graphics software that is better suited for opening SVG files and can take a peek...
Tks!
Click to expand...
I was able to open your file in Affinity Designer. The svg initially looked blank but after doing a Ctrl+A to select all the drawing was highlighted but the stroke of the lines was only 0.1pt. Increasing to 1pt and the drawing is showing as normal.
 
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R

ReedMikel

Member
Tungsten said:
I was able to open your file in Affinity Designer. The svg initially looked blank but after doing a Ctrl+A to select all the drawing was highlighted but the stroke of the lines was only 0.1pt. Increasing to 1pt and the drawing is showing as normal.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I’ll have to try out that software, which is very affordable at $70
I’m guessing lines drawn in Alibre sketches default to very thin (.1 pt) - I wonder if there’s a way to make them export wider in SVG ?
 
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