Tool overlap – How close two plotted paths are next to each other when more than one contour is used (see below).Too small (0.001) and you will get artefacts in the edge detection seen as small boxes and dots. To big a value (eg 0.05) and you will not see the detail. Lower values mean more detail but longer processing time. Tool Diameter – The most important parameter.Very small values (eg 1) can lead to corner cutting. Maximum vector fit error – How closely the edge detection fits to the image.Change the value to change the size of your image. Inches per unit – At 24.5 roughly 1cmx1cm image should plot an 1cmx1cm image.Often a low “Intensity Max” value will help the edge detection pickup less distinct areas. Intensity min/max – Change these to change the level of darkness that cad.py interpreted as an edge in an image.Zmin and Zmax – The distance the pen is lifted using the z axis (Works for (Cad.py) Plotting with Z axis movement.py only).Best to do a ‘dry run’ with out a pen first to check the size of your image then adjust accordingly. Roughly equates to the size of the image printed in cm when a. X Width and Y Width – The size of the image when printed.A larger window can make it easier to see when you have the settings right. Window sizes – Changes the size of the display window of cad.py.To the best of my knowledge this is their functions: As mentioned above you have a number of variables to play with in Cad.py. Therefore you can print many images on the same page by moving the pen to a new position between prints.įurthermore you can copy and past past multiple gcode files into one as long as you add the new starting position at the end of each file. When the plotting is started the image will be plotted in the positive dictions from where ever the pen is when printing begins.
Best image to gcode converter software#
png and make sure the image is in black and white with high saturation using your desired image software such as irfanview. jpg do work they dont appear to give the same results as png images. For best effect use images with clear distinctions between white and black. When choosing your image I recommend you keep its size under 1000pixels or else the rendering time will be come very long (hours+).
It appears that cad.py takes a black and white image, performs edge detection on the black areas and then calculates tool paths based on that. Now that you hopefully have the basics out of the way you may want to know a little more detail. Here is a timelaps of my plotter at work. Now load up your desired host, run the gcode and watch your bot draw.
I have included three types all with the same interface but each outputs slightly different gcodes. Cad.py and some test images ( SourcForge) scipy-0.10.1-win32-superpack-python2.6.exe ( Scientific Library for Python) PIL-1.1.7.win32-py2.6.exe ( Python Imaging Library) numpy-1.6.1-win32-superpack-python2.6.exe ( Numerical Python) Note that python 2.6 must be used for cad.py to work. Either un-install newer versions or dirct cad.py to work with python2.6 only.
Best image to gcode converter download#
Download the following software for your respective OS.