I'm looking at getting into cnc machines this year. I have recently been disabled and I'm looking for a way to make some side income. I have a few questions about the process of getting the drawings into the cad software.

Can you import line drawings aka line art into cad software instead of drawing it all in cad?

Can you use a tablet (computer pen) to trace out, lets say ribs for an airplane, and use that in cad software?

I've done some carving work in the past by hand and I would print out the line art image and then iron it on the piece and start carving it out. I was just thinking/wondering if the line art would import into some kind of cad software. If not I could print it out and then trace it with a computer pen to get it into the cad software.

Orion13

 

Never mind, Mark was posting as I was writing.

 

"Can you import line drawings aka line art into cad software instead of drawing it all in cad?"
What exactly do you mean by line drawing? If it's lines drawn in an illustration program, like corel draw, illustrator, etc., then it's just called "vector" format and can probably be imported into a cad program directly. It's just a matter of what your particular drawing program will export and what the cad program will import.

Can you use a tablet (computer pen) to trace out, lets say ribs for an airplane, and use that in cad software?
Yes, and you can import a picture directly into the cad program and trace it out there. Or as stated above, import something like a dxf file. A tablet works just like a mouse, as input device. It has it's advantages in free hand drawing for art work. But you probably don't want to draw freehand. Cad and illustrator programs have curve tools, like bezier curves, that are much better for tracing curves. These curve tools give you smooth curve with just a few point you select. Whereas, freehand drawings will never be as nice. Here is a quick video about drawing an airfoil in Sketchup: http://www.mediafire.com/file/rzdmenvgyoy/Drawing%20an%20airfoil%20in%20Sketchup.wmv

-Kwok

 

Hi All,

This note is mostly for Orion to invite him to visit my pop-pop steamboats group and get acquainted with some of the group's members and co-owners. To begin with, pop-pop or putt-putt boats have the simplest of all possible steam engines because you can't get much simpler than engines with no moving parts. Joining does not require permission. A new member's first post or two are moderated but after that new members have the run of the place. One of my co-owners is a professional cad draftsman and another one is a prolific builder of pop-pop boats that can be seen on YouTube videos at http://tinyurl.com/yhn7wke The group' s current home page picture shows a wooden pop-pop boat made by Richard Jenkins who is currently working to develop a boat with a radio controlled Kitchen rudder. Another member is the proprietor of Buzz's Boatyard at http://www.buzzboats.com/ Click on the phrase "Custom Boats" on the left side of the first page to see a wooden boat that has been on display for just about forever without actually being offered for sale. Another member is the author of the pop-pop pages at http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass/pop-pop/ which include a fairly complete list of websites where imported tinplate pop-pop boats are sold. Almost forgot one item, the pop-pop group address, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pop-pop-steamboats/

Best wishes, Frank