Laser cutting from Vectorworks file

[Thor Walter Andersen]

Laser cutters are  unable to read files prepared from Vectorworks.
If it was possible to set line thickness to 0.01 it would be possible to  to prepare the cutting files without exporting to Illustrator or Autocad.
Is this something that could be fixed by a script?

Thor Walter Andersen


 

[PVA - Admin]

You should be able to do this by going to Tools > Options > Line Thickness, however the minimum it allows when I try in 2018 Sp2 is .013, if I try .01 or smaller it doesn't allow me to confirm the change.

I'll ask engineering what's going on there and submit a bug if need be.

[Andy Broomell]

I wonder if it depends on the lasercutter?

 

For the VLS3.50 I used for a few years, setting the thickness in Vectorworks to 1 Mil always seemed to work fine.

[Jim Smith]

I've been able to do this directly from VW in the past. However, for one client we had to use a nesting programme by exporting a DWG file & importing it into something called ALMA CAD to nest the objects & then this was exported to the laser as it was an old machine that could only buffer 20k. Not 20 mega-bites but twenty kilo-bites.  

[Benson Shaw]

@Thor Walter AndersenDo you provide vwx file or export to dwg or other format? I have never encountered a cutting shop cutting directly from vwx software - cnc router, laser, water jet - they all use dxf or dwg. So far no problems with dwg line weight. One water jet shop even accepts dwg or dxf drawings with line weight equal to kerf (width of cut) =.042 mil (42 thousandths of an inch).  If cutting is centered on the vector rather than offset to one side (called “kerfing”), such fat lines help me understand how much metal will be retained either side of the cut. Important if cuts are close together.

 

If your vwx lines are too fat, can the laser cutting shop select all and adjust the line weight to optimal value prior to inserting transits, offsets and pierces?

 

-B

Edited January 26, 2018 by Benson Shaw

[Claes Lundstrom]

14 hours ago, Thor Walter Andersen said:

Laser cutters are  unable to read files prepared from Vectorworks.
If it was possible to set line thickness to 0.01 it would be possible to  to prepare the cutting files without exporting to Illustrator or Autocad.
Is this something that could be fixed by a script?

Thor Walter Andersen


 

Just export as an older version DXF. V14 or V12.

 

The line thickness should be compensated by the the cutter driver if everything works as it should, depending on what material you cut and how thick it is. This applies to closed shapes, where it's obvious if the cut is to be on the inside or outside, or if you have closed shapes inside and already closed shape, for example holes on a given surface. In some variants of DXF, such as then AAMA-DXF (used in the industrial fabrics sector), you have special layer codes for outline cuts, cuts inside an online cut, texts, and just plot lines. 

 

Good idea to limit yourself to lines, arcs, and when using polylines only consisting of line segments and arcs. Avoid anything more complex, such as symbols and groups. Avoid fills of any kind.

 

Illustrator adds absolutely nothing, as the precision is lower than CAD standard and their DXF converter is crap. 

[Benson Shaw]

30 minutes ago, Claes Lundstrom said:

Good idea to limit yourself to lines, arcs, and when using polylines only consisting of line segments and arcs. Avoid anything more complex, such as symbols and groups. Avoid fills of any kind.

Right!  No beziers, no cubic splines.  Lines and arcs are the way to go unless the laser shop has some software that reads other types of curves.

It takes some testing between you and the cutter the first few times to get an optimized file exchange.

 

I also agree with Claes L  - don't export to Illustrator.  Export as  rev12 or rev14 dxf, or highest rev of dxf or dwg the cutter can read.  If possible, try to be there when they open your dxf/dwg so you see what they see.  Or at least ask for a cutting/nesting proof pdf before issuing notice to proceed with cutting.

 

-B

[Thor Walter Andersen]

Thankyou for your replies.
We have a lasercutter in our office. You send files to it like a printer and it reads red lines set to thickness 0.01 as cutting and up to 16 other line colours and thicknesses as engraving with different strength.
I would like to set up everything in Vectorworks and send plot files to it directly without exporting via dwg/dwg and preparing the files in Autocad. (I prefer working i Vectorworks)
Seems like something that should be possible to fix in a later release...
 

 

[Claes Lundstrom]

9 minutes ago, Thor Walter Andersen said:

Thankyou for your replies.
We have a lasercutter in our office. You send files to it like a printer and it reads red lines set to thickness 0.01 as cutting and up to 16 other line colours and thicknesses as engraving with different strength.
I would like to set up everything in Vectorworks and send plot files to it directly without exporting via dwg/dwg and preparing the files in Autocad. (I prefer working i Vectorworks)
Seems like something that should be possible to fix in a later release...
 

 

You are obviously not talking about sending an ordinary cutting file to a laser. More like engraving based on colors or shades of gray, which is a completely different thing. This is a different technique also possible do with laser machines but also for milling machines based, but instead of being based on vector couriers, it's based on pictures. What we talked about is actually cutting out contours, which you can also do with a laser. So, two completely different things. 

 

So, perhaps a relevant question is what 0.01 actually means. In VW it refers to millimeters, but I somehow doubt that any normal printer would actually be able to print such a thin line. Probably why the thinnest line is set to 0.05. Perhaps though your number refers to 0.01 inches, which is about 0.254 mm, and so on. Would make so much more sense.

 

Here is a laser cut I did some years ago on my office laser cutter in acrylic glass. Nice cuts but very smelly.

[Thor Walter Andersen]

1 hour ago, Claes Lundstrom said:

You are obviously not talking about sending an ordinary cutting file to a laser. More like engraving based on colors or shades of gray, which is a completely different thing. This is a different technique also possible do with laser machines but also for milling machines based, but instead of being based on vector couriers, it's based on pictures. What we talked about is actually cutting out contours, which you can also do with a laser. So, two completely different things. 

 

So, perhaps a relevant question is what 0.01 actually means. In VW it refers to millimeters, but I somehow doubt that any normal printer would actually be able to print such a thin line. Probably why the thinnest line is set to 0.05. Perhaps though your number refers to 0.01 inches, which is about 0.254 mm, and so on. Would make so much more sense.

 

Here is a laser cut I did some years ago on my office laser cutter in acrylic glass. Nice cuts but very smelly.

I am talking about sending cutting files to the laser directly from vectorworks. The laser can cut and engrav depending on the the line settings.
VW is unable to produce the line thickness that is necessary for cutting directly.

file-preparation-(vectorworks)-1.pdf