Import .jpg/.tif/.pdf to LB for cutting

LightBurn Software Questions
1

Good morning. Here’s what I’d like to do and maybe there is a video that would clarify this. I want to cut some gaskets. I can trace the gasket, scan it to a any type of file and I can get it into LB but from there on I can’t get it to do what I want. I’m guessing that I need to take that graphic trace and convert it to some sort of single line LB graphic for cutting. The preview for anything I’ve tried, so far, has the laser jumping all over the place, evidently cutting small sections of the overall graphic in pieces, especially if I want more than one pass. Here is a file with the shape of the gasket and I don’t know exactly what is being uploaded:
1962FlangeGasket.lbrn2 (28.9 KB)

Thanks,
Tony

2

You have both “Perforation Mode” and Tabs/Bridges configured in your Cut setting. Disable those and see if that’s what you’re expecting.

3

Thanks for that info. It doesn’t seem to make a difference. If I run the preview with one pass it appears acceptable. If I add more than one pass, each section within the tabs gets cut more than one time so the laser moves back and forth in short sections. I think if you make the number of passes 2 or 3 you’ll see what I mean. Looks like I can run with one pass, then run it 2 or more times to get the cut, but that’s not what I wanted to do.

Tony

4

You have a lot of open shapes and profiles that do not meet cleanly.

Here’s one example

image
image2076×1546 156 KB

5

Aha, I’ll look more closely. I thought I saw a function that would close all the open or unconnected lines.

Tony

6

1962FlangeGasket_wv.lbrn2 (15.0 KB)
Here’s my version.

Cut’s all inside lines first, then cuts out the gasket shape.

7

Basically, that’s what I was looking to do. I’m going to need to go through the manual and examples again, but how did you go about making that work?

Tony

8

I used the Select Open Shapes feature in the Edit menu. That highlighted the outside shape then I just went to work on the individual segments to see where they started/ended. Then I used the Edit Nodes (under the Tools menu or window typically docked on the left side of the screen) to manipulate the nodes so that I could use Auto-join Selected Shapes.

:thinking:
Sounds more daunting than it actually is.

I changed the larger central circle to a path so I could remove the small arc and join it to the bottom, larger arc.

I hope that makes sense.

9

For simple shapes,I use the scanned image as a sanity check while putting (properly sized) circles over holes, fairing smooth curves around the outlines, and doing some node editing:

I find tracing a bitmap image into vectors produces a blizzard of tiny lines, so manually laying the curves simplifies the path. That’s obviously not practical for complex shapes, but so far I’ve been able to dodge those bullets.

10

Will_vl, thanks for the time into this. Now I have something to go on after reviewing the manual to get the details on the tools. Had to step away for the afternoon to get some stuff done.

Thanks,
Tony

11

Ed, I think I was doing something like that but ended up botching the whole thing and started over with the same result. More than once.

Thanks,
Tony

12

Hey, you think I’m gonna show off my first attempt? :grin:

Here’s a neck cozy pattern that started as a rectangle, became a four-sided path, sprouted a more nodes, then got all shapely:

https://softsolder.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/neck-cozy-pattern-lb-extended-splines.png?w=900

The advantage of starting with a closed shape, like a rectangle or a circle, is you don’t end up with a bunch of almost-connected lines and points.

Some useful tricks:

  • Insert nodes at corners, then turn them into “corner” nodes
  • Insert nodes at inflection points to anchor the curve
  • Drag a line to make a curve
  • Drag control points away from their node for more bendiness
  • Object snap is your friend
  • Ctrl-drag to disable snapping to the wrong thing
  • If it must be symmetric, make half, mirror it, and weld them together
  • Undo (Ctrl-Z) is your best friend

The more you do it, the better you get!

The node editor doc, for anyone who hasn’t seen it:

1 Like
13

Thanks. I appreciate the guidance.

Tony

14

Ok, after playing with all the features, several times over, I was able to start from scratch and produce a good lookin’ 1962 Ford Ranchero rear axle gasket that fits and is to my satisfaction. Thanks again for the pointers.

One more unrelated issue. As an example, let’s say I have a circle inside a square and I want to move the circle around in increments. I see that I can select the circle and then use the arrow keys or use the mouse on the Xpos and Ypos coords or enter a number directly, but it’s too coarse. Is there a way to make the movements with the arrow keys or the mouse clicks at the Xpos/Ypos box finer somewhere in the hundredths or thousandths area?

Thanks,
Tony

1 Like
15

You can adjust the nudge values in the ‘Settings’ dialogue:
image

1 Like
16

Thanks. EXACTLY what I was looking for.

Tony

17

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