Inkscape Community
Help Using Inkscape => Inkscape Beginners' Questions => Topic started by: Loriblackdog on August 15, 2018, 08:29:24 AM
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:?:Hi All,
I am new to Inkscape and would like to know how to trace an image png I am not sure what I need to save as? I am going to import it into my cnc (woodworking machine) with an STL importer? I am new to the woodworking and trying to learn what I can import. I would greatly appreciate any help you can send my way. I learn by doing so I need step by step...., Thank you
Loriblackdog :)
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Welcome to the forum!
I'm afraid I don't know what an STL importer is. Can you explain?
The best way to learn what you can import is to consult the documentation for your machine and it's software. That should tell you everything you need to know, including which file formats are acceptable.
The image you want to trace is the one you attached? Are you expecting the results of the woodcutting to look like that image? I mean where there are higher and lower places, with a smooth profile? So that it's kind of like a relief map, except instead of the highest place being the highest mountain, the highest place is the dog's nose?
If that's the case, you can't do that with Inkscape.....well, not that I know of. I suppose it's possible that there's some other program which can interpret the result of the trace that you do with Inkscape. But honestly, you'd have to have a super high-end machine to do that kind of cutting. Well, not unless you're already planning to do a lot of hand work also.
Or do you just want the outline to cut out? It's probably better to start with something simple.
You can trace the image using Path menu > Trace Bitmap. From my experience, it takes a lot of trial and error to get a good result. Unfortunately the tiny preview window isn't very helpful. I always have to trace-undo-treak settings-trace-undo, etc.
You definitely will need a larger version of that image. I can promise you that the result of tracing that tiny image will not be acceptable. The bigger the better, and the higher resolution, the better trace result. You'll probably want the drawing to be the same size as you want for the final result. You can scale the trace result before you send to the cutter. But still, the bigger, the better, for tracing.
1 -- File menu > Import
2 -- Path menu > Trace Bitmap
The manual has the best info I've seen about using Trace Bitmap. Plus as I said, it needs a lot of trial and error. I don't think the manual mentions anything about the best options for woodworking, because it was written before these digital and CNC cutters became widely popular and available. Plus, it depends on exactly which kind of cutting you're going to do, which options will be best.
http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Trace.html
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Uh-oh. I just looked up STL Importer. You should do the same. Apparently it's used for doing the kind of 3D woodcutting that it looks like you want to do.
So Inkscape definitely cannot do what you want. Possibly you can get a trace result from Inkscape, and use that. I don't know, I didn't read very far, because there are a lot of search results.
But anyway, you'll probably find another forum which can help you with this. It looks like there's an extension for SketchUp (another graphics program) which exports in the STL format. I'm sure SketchUp must have a forum.