Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: convert drawing to cad file

Roland,

Thanks for the good comments.

I have used many of the low end programs with some success, but it always
takes a lot of rework.

Now I am using Rhino with scanned images. In Rhino you manually trace the
drawing and clean it up as you go. This seems to be a good way to go.

In addition if you have a front and side view of a machine part, you can
convert the drawing into a 3D part. The last step is to scale the drawing
to the actual size that you want.

Bob Campbell

----- Original Message -----
From: "Cardinal.Eng" <cardinal.eng@...>
To: <CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2003 6:35 AM
Subject: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: convert drawing to cad file


> Don't usually stick my oar in here but have done a LOT of drawing-to-CAD
> conversion work for waterjet, laser cutting, CNC milling and also
> architectural stuff for local engineering firms and a couple of major
> hospitals on a contract basis -
>
> While I agree that 5 to 10 years ago the software was pretty bad, it gets
> better every year - I think that the main problem at this time is the
usual
> one associated with hobbyists and that particularly applies to
> Raster-to-Vector conversion which is -- "Cheap software isn't Good - Good
> software isn't Cheap" - This may change, hopefully, but that is the
current
> situation -
>
> I use GTX RasterCAD and have also used CadOverlay on a trial basis - Both
> can convert into arcs rather than lots of short line segments - However
you
> are talking about relatively high prices - (Several thousands of $ for the
> high end stuff) - Hardly reasonable for a strictly hobby use -
>
> Good semi-automatic conversion is possible at this time, but there is
still
> quite a bit of clean-up work to be done, particularly at multiple
> intersections of lines and arcs - Also if you intend to do mathematically
> accurate conversions for machining (within a few thousandths) you might as
> well forget it - Paper stretch, scanner errors and original drawing errors
> all contribute to the problem - And if you are working from an
Ozalid-type
> copy (blueline copy) there is a consistent growth in the dimensions in the
> direction that the paper was fed through the duplicating machine that is
> inherent in the process -
>
> Roland Friestad, P.E., Contributing Editor
> HOME SHOP MACHINIST
> c/o Cardinal Engineering, Inc.
> 2211 155th Street
> Cameron, IL 61423
> Phone - 309-342-7474
> E-Mail - cardinal.eng@...
> Web Page - www.cardinaleng.com
>
>
>
> > Message: 12
> > Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 09:16:31 -0000
> > From: "stevenson_engineers" <john@...>
> > Subject: Re: convert drawing to cad file
> >
> > >--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "ds@d..." <ds@d...> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi,does anyone know he best way to convert a drawing by hand to a
> > >cad file
> > > whats the best software to use for it,any tips.thanks a lot for any
> > >help
> > >
> > >
> >
> > The best method by far is to use ANY cad system and forget the
> > conversion. None of the conversion programs are worth a rats arse.
> > They convert arcs to many small lines, even straight lines are
> > chopped up.
> > You spend more time trying to clean the drawing up than redoing it.
> > If you need the drawing for a CNC machine you can get horrible
> > results with all the small gaps.
> > About the only place they work is converting artwork where you can
> > put up with inaccurate drawings to get a shape, logo's are an example.
> >
> > If you find a CAD program that suits you then instead of spending the
> > time messing with raster to vector programs use the time to get up to
> > speed with it.
> > An hour spend setting up hot keys will pay off in spades.
> >
> > Some years ago when I got out of hospital and couldn't work I took
> > some conversion work in for a local company. They were converting
> > from paper to disk. Two guys were at base using Autocad, one
> > redrawing and one cleaning up scanned images. I was at home redrawing
> > with a simple $500 program, my daily output was always better than
> > both of theirs put together.
> >
> > John S.
>
>
>
>
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