Using Inkscape to produce cutting files, a worked example

[MikeTrice]

I spoke too soon as I realised I had a few more tasks to do using the end image.

 

First off I need to sort out the central pillar. Here the right hand side has been fixed and I am about to do the left one:

 

So to shorten a line to a point zoom in, select the line and go into node edit mode:

 

Position the mouse pointer over the point you want to shorten it too and double click. This will add a new node at that point:

 

Now the right hand node can be selected and deleted. Job done:

 

Another task is to work out the bulge over the doors. A centre line has been drawn then a line drawn comprising a number of nodes:

 

All intervening nodes are selected and smoothed:

 

The left hand two nodes are then selected and the first line converted to a straight:

 

The line is duplicated and mirrored, joined to the left one and the centre node smoothed:

 

Added a marker to show the bottom of the roof overhang and marked out where the door buttresses are shaped (for later reference):

 

Finally I can draw in the end of the roof eaves and pillar decoration:

[MikeTrice]

With the end image hidden alignment of the windows etc against the original plan is not bad:

 

Slight adjustment and it looks even better:

 

My roof bulge is positioned over one of the doors at what I believe is the right height by looking at photos. I have also cloned one of the upper pillars and copied it down for later use:

 

The bulge is duplicated 5 times and moved horizontally into position. Each bulge is then centred over a door:

 

Two lines from adjacent bulges are selected then put into node edit mode. The two end nodes are selected then the node join icon on the toolbar clicked:

 

Resulting in:

 

The door buttress is also trimmed at the top to suit the overhang:

 

The height markers created earlier against the photo were moved into position:

 

Shortened and colour changed:

 

Buttresses cloned and positioned:

 

 

 

[MikeTrice]

Roof overhang previously drawn moved into position:

 

I used it as a guide to draw in a new upper level profile:

 

And interupt it at a pillar:

 

Extended across window:

 

Extended to centre, then duplicated and mirrored:

 

Side buttress, roof profile and top decoration moved into position:

 

The whole right hand profile is now mirrored. With the original image hidden it is far easier to see where I have reached now:

 

I have added some reference items to relect the track height (Peco Code 55) in Dark Blue, the ground proper in 5mm foamboard shown in cerise and the flat baseboard level in 5mm foamboard shown in pale blue:

 

Now I have added some reference horizontals in green so I can start adjusting the sides to correct the parallax effect mentioned way back:

[MikeTrice]

Side windows/door selected and grouped:

 

Resized vertically to match ground level:

 

Side unit colours changed to black and base of building extended to match flat baseboard level:

 

Main shed side also extended down to match flat baseboard level:

 

Main shed end also extended down to match baseboard level:

 

Side buttresses also extended down:

 

First attempt at creating a file suitable for printing onto a sheet of A4 to permit a new mockup to be created. In reality my printer margins would not allow me to do this in one sheet:

 

Next something more practical - a new mockup.

[MikeTrice]

My first model of Erstfeld was based on an A4 footprint. No attempt was made to model the end of the main shed as it was impractical to include in any photographs:

 

The model "lives" in a Really Useful 9ltr box. As a result the full height of the roof cannot be included but there is potential for lengthening the footprint a bit:

 

As stated in my previous post I printed off the new drawings and have created another mockup out of 5mm foamboard. Really happy with the potential for this:

 

 

 

 

So I have reached a major decision point (and I hate it when those happen). How much of a footprint should the new diorama take up and how do I house it?

 

Taking the internal dimensions of my original 9ltr depot box I mapped out the revised footprint on the dining table with various rulers:

 

The track plan and mockup can be posed to see how it fits (I have blanked out the part of the mockup that would have to go using the 9ltr box):

 

 

If I was to skew the track plan then I can get more of the main sheed end face in thus:

 

With careful cropping I could get away with photos like these:

 

 

 

Changing to an A3 footprint would alter the gameplan:

 

Skewing it would allow all of the main end to fit and would do everything I wanted:

 

The biggest problem is there is no Really Useful Box tall enough in A3 to work.

 

Instead they list an 18 ltr box. Fortunately I have one to try out on a temporary basis. The mockup fits in its entirety providing the orientation is skewed a bit (which I am growing to like anyway):

 

Once again mapping out the footprint with the rulers allows me to visualise things much better:

 

 

 

So it looks as if I will target the model to fit a Really Useful Box Company 18ltr box. The down side is I will have to build a detailed main end for the shed.

 

[Siberian Snooper]

Mike, I like your pragmatic approach too the problem. I look forward to the photos of progress and of course the final diaorama. It was a bit of a choice on which rating too use on your previous post.

[MikeTrice]

Been away for a few days hence delay in continuing.

 

Bought 2 18ltr boxes (they were £10 for one, £15 for two in Rymans)

 

The boxes worked out fractionally smaller than the internal sizes quoted so I have had to shrink my diorama size slightly.

 

A sheet of 5mm foamboard from Hobbycraft has resulted in a simple lightweight baseboard:

 

A view of the underside. I started assembly with Tacky Glue but ended up swapping to UHU Solvent Free:

 

The Really Useful Box has rounded corners. Rather than reduce the baseboard footprint I decided to build it with rounded corners as well (it will hide the corner when viewed from the front). The curve was formed by cutting a series of parallel lines through just one card layer and the foam of the foamboard:

 

The final arrangement with my printed track plan shown in position:

 

It is a snug fit in the box:

 

And with the lid clipped in place all is protected:

 

The baseboard will be finished later with a thin card "skin" to cover up the corner cuts but that will have to be done after the building is built and the ground surface added.

[MikeTrice]

I keep showing these actual size track plans in these latest posts but have not covered how they are produced. Given this is something of general use I include it now.

 

Here is my current Erstfeld drawing. The plan is actual size at 1:160. The bit I am interested in is covered by my current document size of A2, too big to print on an A4 printer:

 

First job is to draw my actual baseboard dimensions onto the drawing, done in a new layer and shown in red:

 

The dimension layer is locked and the plan unlocked and the plan selected. To rotate the plan I used the "Object>-Transform..." menu then set the rotation in the dialogue to 10 degrees anti-clockwise. The rotated plan could then be dragged into position in my baseboard area:

 

Next task is to save the svg file, then do a "File->Save As..." and change the target to PDF. Make sure the setting includes "Use document's page size":

 

Inkscape can now be closed. On opening the pdf file created above in Adobe Acrobat Reader we have a drawing containing just the A2 element:

 

Rather than print all the drawing outside my baseboard area I have reduced the Acrobat Reader Window and sized the drawing to try and fill the window avoiding most of the bits I don't want:

 

I can now do "File->Print.." and depending on what you have printed previously the print options dialogue appears reflecting your last print:

 

Click on the "More options" arrow and select "Current view", then select "Poster" and look at the preview on the right. Click on "Print" and you will end up with 4 printed A4 pages which can be trimmed up and pasted together to form a full size track template:

[MikeTrice]

All 9 layers cut from 10 thou:

 

The two inner layers have been laminated together and the 7 outer layers:

 

Closeup of the outer layer laminations. I changed my mind regarding the blind boxes on these layers and cut them off. Now ready to file the tapers to the recesses:

 

Left hand windows have been tapered and placed temporarily over the inner layers to see the final effect:

 

 

Just 12 more to file.

 

[MikeTrice]

The buttresses are cut out. I started to remove them from the mat and decided they would be easier to photograph still on the mat:

 

Assembly can be seen bottom up. A core of 5mm sq styrene is roughly cut to a taper. The Silhouette cut sides of the buttresses have a score line down the centre so they can be folded over and glued. The resulting double layered side is rebated to suit the 10 thou outer pieces:

 

The buttresses fixed in place on the side and various detailing added. Given a spray of filler primer so I can see where any remedial work is required BEFORE I fix the two subassemblies together:

 

Some filler will be needed and tidying up:

 

A while ago I invested in a couple of offcuts of Aluminum and Steel which I used to advantage during assembly to ensure the buttresses are aligned:

[MikeTrice]

9 laminations of 10 thou make up the front of the main shed. As before the top layer has scribed lines to represent where the various fittings need to go:

 

Of the 9 laminations, the rear 7 have been recessed to provide a cleaner joint with the side previously built:

[MikeTrice]

For reference here is a view of the front of the main shed at Erstfeld:

 

A closer view shows the "interesting" shape of the main support pillars:

 

After a lot of head scratching and a few false starts I finally came up with the following approach to reproduce them:

 

The main side profiles are cut on the Silhouette. There are two unscored which are used to build each side and two scored ones to produce the dogleg profile. Two spacers of 0.75mm and some Evergreen 2mm * 4mm and Evergreen 2mm * 2mm

 

The first stage is to solvent the inner profiles either side of the Evergreen 2mm strip. As before use was made of my large Aluminium block:

 

A short length of the 4mm * 2mm bar added:

 

And finally the 2mm * 2mm bar added:

 

The scored profiles now had the spacing strips added to the backs:

 

The sides can now be tweaked to provide the dogleg profile:

 

The adjusted profiles now added to the main unit:

 

This is what the various layers look like up close:

 

After filing away the unwanted parts this is what remains:

 

Having repeated the process for all 7 pillars they could be attached to the front face:

 

With pillars in place I can now start putting together the porch roof:

[JCL]

Looking good Mike. This is way more complicated than first appears, with a lot more parts to be cut than I thought at the beginning.

Edited November 22, 2016 by JCL

[MikeTrice]

As is often the case, I don't pick an easy prototype.

[MikeTrice]

Following a couple of minor diversions I have managed to do some more with Erstfeld.

 

A profiled front for the porch has been cut on the Silhouette and mounted. Triangles of 10 thou styrene were then curved and stuck in place to form the roof bulges:

 

The roof bulges have then been covered in Humbrol filler. The cappings over the windows have been laminated from 13 layers of 10 thou and fixed in place:

 

The different profiles of the capping layers gives a reasonable representation of the prototype. The top and bottom faces were tapered by hand with a file before fixing in place:

 

The vertical pillars were produced by hand from 4*4mm styrene tapering with files and fixed in place one by one:

 

All pillars are now in place and the porch bulges have been sanded smooth so here is the end after a couple of coats of filler primer to show up any blemishes:

 

 

[MikeTrice]

Now comes the bit I have been dreading, tiling the porch roof.

 

Using the same artwork produced previous tile strips were cut with the Silhouette. Instead of label stock, this time I used sticky back plastic. The first five strips have been laid and coaxed into position:

 

Individual pieces were then cut to fill in the rest:

 

The final result and I am happy to go with this:

 

I have decided not to continue my coverage of Erstfeld under this topic, it has gone on long enough already. Instead I will start a new topic to cover the rest of the build.

[MikeTrice]

The new topic can be found here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/117593-erstfeld-depot-a-swiss-n-gauge-diorama/

[runs as required]

Can I post a frustration with Inkscape here?

I've been learning it to feed into a Silhouette Portrait cutter(forthcoming birthday pres) as encouraged in Jason's compelling thread.

I've found it enjoyable building up my expertise by drawing out a very flamoyant Art Deco 1930s touring road motor coach in 4mm.

 

But I'd just got to the stage of adding a lot of detail to an overall general arrangement file from which I was going to generate cutting files when I lost the lot

after a quick warning message flashed on the screen a couple of times (which clearly I inadequately reacted to).

 

In retrospect I'd:

allowed too big amd cumbersome file to build up

hadn't saved back-up files

hadn't clicked Save enough (I Never learn from past mistakes).

 

Although I've already started restoring the detail on a much smaller file, I'd like to ask the experts whether some mutilated (sub SVG) fragments of what I lost are likely to exist somewhere in the bowels of my laptop?

dh

 

PS (with edit)

I omitted to say how grateful I am to Mike Trice for this very clear tutorial thread.

Plus I also should admit that a newer computer than this old Toshiba laptop recently changed over from XP to Windows 7 is way overdue.

Edited February 5, 2017 by runs as required

[runs as required]

Ne panickez pas! I've just found it.

It wasn't within Inkscape's ken but I found it by trawling through new files in User folder!

Luckily it looks like it got saved right up to the point it cried for Help

[MikeTrice]

You will note throughout my tutorials that at the start of each session I copy the file I have been working on and give it a new version number. Having said that I have never had the problem you have had and generally find v0.91 to be far more stable than the previous versions. Glad you managed to sort it out.

 

Under Edit->Preferences->Input/Output->Autosave you can configure autosaving to any period you require from 1 minute upwards.

Edited February 6, 2017 by MikeTrice

[runs as required]

You will note through my tutorials that at the start of each session I copy the file I have been working on and give it a new version number. Having said that I have never had the problem you have had and generally find v0.91 to be far more stable than the previous versions. Glad you managed to sort it out.

 

Under Edit->Preferences->Input/Output->Autosave you can configure autosaving to any period you require from 1 minute upwards.

Thanks for that - very helpful about Autosave

This is what I'd worked up (exported via PrtSc into Photoshop to quickly colour up). Looking forward to cutting parts on the Silhouette.  dh

{Edited pic below to shew PNG export from Inkscape in lower as per Mike's post below}

Edited February 7, 2017 by runs as required

[MikeTrice]

Thanks for that - very helpful about Autosave

This is what I'd worked up (exported via PrtSc into Photoshop to quickly colour up). Looking forward to cutting parts on the Silhouette.  dh

NG 1935 SE5 chara.jpg

Inkscape lets you export your drawing as a bitmap giving you much higher resolution. File->Export PNG Image...

[runs as required]

The above advice to use Inkscape's PNG export file facility rather than the lazy man's 'screen grab' was instructive.

I've edited my pic in post #221 to include the PNG version. Many Thanks

dh

[relaxinghobby]

Learning CAD using Inkscape inspred by this thread which is mostly the work of JCL and Mike Trice.

 

A walk around the picture of the examples done so far GNR fish van from JCL's diagrams, I copied and printed it out and cut the parts by hand, a way to see how the tab and slot system of aligning the sides and ends to the floor, it makes a very good fit. If the parts had been cut by machine it would have been properly accurate. As I had to hand 0.6mm cardboard I used it, the plan was printed out on paper then stuck to the card. These builds have been inspiration and shown for me how to draw up my own models. Shown here are a D-shape tank to fit onto a kit wagon chassis, the rectangular tank in the foreground could also be an open coal wagon.

 

 

 

Until I get access to a Silhouette or other plotter-cutter the Inkscape drawings help you think out the layers and overlaps, even cutting the printed drawings by hand it helps you get things square and to size. Also a loco here are the parts and sub-assemblies for a shunting tank. A bit more complicated, it has curved and rounded shapes. The cardboard tends to crease when it is being rolled around a pen to get a bend.

Edited March 31, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[meltonpieman]

Hi everyone

 

I have been trying to save a dxf file from Inkscape to modify in my CAD (Draftsight 2018), before passing on to a laser cutter.

 

Problem: no matter what I do the file size always seems to be 4kb and when opened in Draftsight all I get is a completely blank screen. I have tried openning the saved files in Inkscape and there are blank there as well. Therefore, I suspect that my problem is in the saving part of the process. I think that I have tried every option in the options box when saving, but .....

 

Has anyone any useful suggestions to enable me to do this 'simple' task?

 

Regards

David