Image to CAD, how is it done?

[pseagerthomas]

I have recently started using CAD (AutoCAD R14) to produce artwork for photo-etching, purely for my hobby, model cars.

 

There are a few components I wish to make where the simplest means of producing the artwork would be to take an image and convert it to a CAD file.

 

I am sure such action is possible, but can it be done with this (borrowed) version, and if so, what method should I look at?

 

Various sites mention raster files. Is this a halfway point?

 

Those kind folk brave enough to venture an answer should be aware I am at the very bottom of the learning curve....

 

Many thanks, Peter

[Cad64]

Autocad cannot convert raster images to vector linework. You would need to use a program like Adobe Illustrator to do this. But in my opinion, to get the best results, you should insert your image into Autocad and then manually trace it. You can insert images using the IMAGEATTACH command.

[pseagerthomas]

Thank you for the suggestion, I'll give it a go.

 

Peter

[ReMark]

What type of artwork are we talking about?

[pseagerthomas]

The imageattach ploy works well. I used polylines, very busy around the tighter curves. Is there an AutoCAD facility which will make a polyline join the plotted points in a curve rather than lines?

 

Regarding type of artwork. All 2D, straight lines, curves and circles. Three different fills/hatches to denote non-etched areas, and half etched areas from one side or the other.

All drawings done so far have been pure geometrical shapes, though the next project will involve shapes where an exact radius will be coincidence rather than intentional. Thus tracing an imported image will be more a requirement than an option.

 

Thanks for the hlp so far...

 

Peter

[kindy52]

You should probably use a command 'spline' to connect the points or 'arc'.

[pseagerthomas]

Problem solved, work is now again making progress.

 

Thanks, Peter

[Cad64]

Is there an AutoCAD facility which will make a polyline join the plotted points in a curve rather than lines?

 

Type PEDIT at the command line, select your polyline, Type S for Spline and then hit Enter. This will spline your polyline. If you want to switch back to the previous polyline state, type PEDIT again, select your splined polyline, Type D for Decurve and hit Enter.

[eldon]

Type PEDIT at the command line, select your polyline, Type S for Spline and then hit Enter. This will spline your polyline.

 

Wouldn't it be better to type F for Fit? Then the curved polyline passes through the picked points. The Splined Polyline does not pass through the points.

[Cad64]

Wouldn't it be better to type F for Fit? Then the curved polyline passes through the picked points. The Splined Polyline does not pass through the points.

 

I guess it depends on what you're trying to do, and how precise you need the end result to be. Spline will give you a smoother transition between points, and if you're just tracing over an image, the points are not going to be precise anyway. Also, Spline gives you a lot fewer grips to deal with, so if you need to tweak the result, it's fairly simple. Fit gives you a multitude of grips which makes editing difficult. I prefer Spline because of the smoothness and editability of it, accuracy is not critical. But, to each his own. Try them both and see which one works best for you. :wink: