Trick for creating engraving paths for logos

Many people on this board may already know this, but I had not and
was quite pleased when I found how well it works.

For a few of my machined projects, I wanted to be able to engrave a
logo into the part when I was finished. However, the logos were
extremely difficult to come by in a dxf or other raster/vector format
that I could easily convert to a toolpath. What I discovered
yesterday is that with windows versions of Autocad (even LT) you can
import a bitmap (BMP) file. It doesn't convert it to anything, but
it does then provide an excellent template to just use a polyline and
trace the shape you want to engrave. With a little patience, you can
generate some excellent DXF lineart of logos that convert quickly
into toolpaths.

To import the BMP file, simply drag it from a windows explorer window
into the drawing.

-Chris
http://www.slideruleracing.com