Etchers (UK), that are able to work with TurboCAD (TCW) files.

[Dan Randall]

I've used PPD for my etching requirements in the past and have been very happy with both the service and results. Unfortunately, they now say they can no longer accept TurboCAD files, even if saved in DWG format.

 

Does anyone know of a photo-etch company in the UK, that can accept TurboCAD files please?

 

 

Regards

 

Dan

[Pugsley]

Bu**er, that's me stuffed as well then.  Did they say what the specific problem was with TurboCAD, or is it just DWG files in general?  If it's a specific TurboCAD problem, there are other, free, tools that will export in DWG format.

[Adrian]

I use QCAD http://www.qcad.org/en/ it's free and PPD have just done a set of etches for me with the output from QCAD.

[Jol Wilkinson]

Try PEC

 

I send CorelDraw files but their website says they can take dwg, which you can probably create with TurboCad

 

http://www.photo-etch.co.uk/page9/page9.html

[Dan Randall]

Bu**er, that's me stuffed as well then. Did they say what the specific problem was with TurboCAD, or is it just DWG files in general? If it's a specific TurboCAD problem, there are other, free, tools that will export in DWG format.

Sorry Martin, but it was several weeks ago that I spoke to them and I don't recall exactly what they said now, but I suspect it was a TurboCad issue.

 

I realise there are several choices of free software that will export in DWG format, but it'll take time to learn another programme (something I'm very short of at the moment) and I have spent several hundred hours drawing stuff in TurboCAD. Some of these drawings are finished, some are not, but the thought of having to start from scratch again, is very frustrating to say the least.

 

TurboCAD ought to be able to save files in DWG format, but so far, all my attempts have failed.

 

Thanks to Adrian and LNWRmodeller for your replies.

 

 

Regards

 

Dan

[AndyH]

Can they use PDF files? I know they have quirks, but it might be a good way to export your work in vector file format.

A free PDF writer, that looks like a virtual printer to software, is CutePDF. You send the drawing to print and it produces a vector PDF file.

You do have to look at how some objects are converted as vectors, but you could always tidy it up if required in a free vector editing programme like Inkscape, or a free version of Xara Extreme.

Hope that helps,

Andy

[flubrush]

I realise there are several choices of free software that will export in DWG format, but it'll take time to learn another programme (something I'm very short of at the moment) and I have spent several hundred hours drawing stuff in TurboCAD. Some of these drawings are finished, some are not, but the thought of having to start from scratch again, is very frustrating to say the least.

 

 

Dan,

 

Maybe download a program like DraftSight and import a DXF from TurboCAD into it,  then save as a DWG file or a DXF file from DraftSight.  It could be that there is a problem in the TurboCAD files which PPD don't like and using Draftsight to "convert" them might get round the problem without you having to re-draw anything in a new piece of software.

 

I've used Draftsight to draw material for PPD and there have been no problems.

 

Jim.

[Gt.Shefford]

What about a .dxf?

 

When you create a dwg what options are avaliable (there are currenlty 7 types of dwg) or is it a generic 'save as', I have personal experience of working with TurboCAD files (for laser cutting) where ther are gaps in the geometry or the drawing scales eith uniformly or to a different factor in the x/y axis.

 

Could it be to do with the way turboCAD creates the solid hatch?

 

Jonathan

[Dan Randall]

Thanks for the additional replies chaps. When I get some free time, I shall look into the various options mentioned.

 

 

Regards

 

Dan

[Beatty 139]

Hi

I don't use TurboCad only Autocad but I know a couplr of friend uses TurboCad and Grainge & Hodder Ltd. take work from all of use.

 

Its not unusual for people to reject TurboCad it has some issues that I know the Software designers are aware of when you save in a .dxf file form and it cause issues from time to time.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Kind Regards

 

Andy

[Beatty 139]

What about a .dxf?

 

When you create a dwg what options are avaliable (there are currenlty 7 types of dwg) or is it a generic 'save as', I have personal experience of working with TurboCAD files (for laser cutting) where ther are gaps in the geometry or the drawing scales eith uniformly or to a different factor in the x/y axis.

 

Could it be to do with the way turboCAD creates the solid hatch?

 

Jonathan

 

It is an issue with TurboCad as you say, I have spoken to them about this and your now the third person I know about who has had issues with it in relationship to laser cutting.

 

I do find that you can solve some of the issues by opening a file in Coreldraw then saving as a AutoCad dxf but this isn't always a done deal to solve the problems, to the point where I only accept TuboCad files on a caveat that it may need redrawing or other correction to the file.

 

Andy

[trawest]

In some ways it is reassuring to see that others have the same issue but extremely frustrating when there appears to be no easy solution to rectify the situation.

 

I too use TurboCad (Windows - TCW Files) and I too have used PPD for photo etching in previous years with no apparent issues but have also been told by them (in the last month) that they will not accept TurboCad (TCW Files). It was suggested that I send them as DXF Files although the content of the e.mail response suggested that this might not work either.

 

I use version 20 although I note that Version 21 has already been advertised.

 

Clarity on the following would be appreciated:

 

Whilst the TurboCad programme does allow a drawing to be saved as a DXF or DWG File (and a number of other file formats) I have found that you are given a warning on screen that the file format selected may not support all of TurboCad,s features. Where Beziers & Splines have been used the DXF File does appear to have problems saving these in this format and can alter the drawing when reopened.

 

I have used TurboCad (Windows) for a number of years now and have no wish to start learning or purchasing a new CAD system. It has taken me long enough to become proficient in TurbCad as it is and like Dan Randall I have a number of drawings completed or in progress.

 

What is the issue with TurboCad that is causing the problems that PPD are experiencing?

 

If TurboCad appears to be the problem, and there are many people that use this programme, what can or will IMSI / Design do to rectify the issue as they have the potential to lose customers. I have yet to pose the question on the TurboCad Forum.

 

If there are more of us out there who are having this issue then maybe something positive can be done to resolve this issue. 

 

On another note - Dan's original e.mail was not fully answered - "Does anyone know of a photo-etch company in the UK, that can accept TurboCAD files please?" I too would appreciate a response.

 

Iain

 

[Gt.Shefford]

I've had a dig through my drawing archive and found a possible explanation.

 

 

This screen grab was taken from AutoCAD upon opening up a dwg produced on turboCAD. If PPD are running AutoCAD it might be that they are also getting this message and in the past were prepared to ignore it but for an unknown reason have chenged their policy. It might be that they have to carry out additional steps to the drawing when producing the phototool.

 

Something else to consider is that the .dwg format is 'owned' by Autodesk.

 

Jonathan

 

 

[Beatty 139]

On another note - Dan's original e.mail was not fully answered - "Does anyone know of a photo-etch company in the UK, that can accept TurboCAD files please?" I too would appreciate a response.

 

Iain

 

 

 

Grainge & Hodder Ltd.

 

Think I did they will want it as a DXF as they do not use TurboCad or AutoCad but use DXF as a file transfer preference, Give Richard a call there and I am sure he will advise, I know at least 3 in the Trade use them and use TurboCad

 

Andy

[billbedford]

Unless they have changed their policy in the last few years Grainge and Hodder are not able to produce tools from CAD files. They put all such work out to PhotoData. 

 

'Ocourse you can always print your own films......

[peter220950]

Unless they have changed their policy in the last few years Grainge and Hodder are not able to produce tools from CAD files. They put all such work out to PhotoData. 

 

'Ocourse you can always print your own films......

 

not sure if it's put out or not, but they now only accept CAD files, their brochure states

 

"DTP programs such as CorelDraw, Photoshop & Illustrator support many different formats, and the quality of their export formatting tends to vary considerably from package to package, and therefore we would recommend contacting us before going down one of these paths."

 

They no longer want drawn artwork, they prefer DXF, as we found when we wanted new windows done for our Club layout, and a very nice job they made of the first batch.

 

[Jol Wilkinson]

Peter,

 

I think Bill is correct. The proprietor of London Road Models was told by G&H that they had disposed of their photographic equipment owing to the price/scarcity of film stock and put out their phototool production to a company in Manchester which is probably Photodata (as he is from Watford they probably thought he wouldn't know where Oldham was).

 

I use CorelDraw X4 for etch artwork design which the majority of etchers can accept. I am aware (from having to sort out another designers artwork) that converting from "free" or low cost software to other file formats (usually Autocad) can introduce errors and spurious items. Perhaps that is something PPD have also been experiencing.

 

My recommendations are therefore always to use the one recommended software programs in the first place. AutoCad is probably too expensive for most of us but older versions of Coreldraw can bought quite cheaply. It is 2D rather than the currently fashionable 3D programs, but that is all you need for etch or laser artwork. I believe that Illustrator is also a suitable program and although I have it installed on my pc, haven't used it for for etch artwork.

 

Jol

[Michael Edge]

We use Turbocad for all our etch drawings but we don't send the CAD file to the etchers (Photo Etch). We send the file, converted to .eps, to Phillips Digital Services in Letchworth, they print the films (back and front) and return them to us - next day usually. We can then check the films for minor errors (mostly missing tags) and send them on to Photo Etch,

Michael Edge

Judith Edge kits

[Dan Randall]

Thanks Mike. I seem to recall that you used TurboCAD so that's worth knowing.

 

Thanks to everyone else for your answers too.

 

 

Regards

 

Dan

[graingeandhodder]

Richard here from Grainge and Hodder.

We no longer take camera artwork, however we have been able to help several "old school" customers with pen and ink drawings by re-drawing them in CAD for photoplotting.

We accept cad files as .dxf or .dwg or even pdf. Trouble can happen with DTP programs like coral draw as they sometimes incorrectly convert to proper CAD files for a photo-plotting format.

However we have not as yet had to turn away any drawing regardless of format, there is usually a workaround.

Some customers do provide us with home made inkjet or laser tooling, which can be very successful, and we are happy to use it if possible, however the lifespan of this type of tooling is very restricted, and the quality is not comparable to proper Halide plotted tooling, but for some applications it can be adequate.

Any questions get in touch! We are always ready to help.

www.graingeandhodder.co.uk/contact-us

[John@PPD]

We have in the past been able to work with dwg files generated in Turbocad, but in recent years we have found increasing problems in opening these files in AutoCAD, the main problem being in the 'hatch' or 'filled' areas. The problem that we have is that in may occasions we are not aware of any issues until our customers contact us to complain of a fault in their etched sheet. To avoid this issue we have asked that customers who use Turbocad to create a pdf as a 'double check' and in the majority of cases our customers can then see the errors within the pdf file.

We are more than happy to try to correct minor errors in hatches that we spot but the time involved in correcting Turbocad dwg files becomes inefficient and costly to us and the customer.

We appreciate that Turbocad is a programme that some of our customers use and so we are keen to find a solution to this issue, one programme that so far has provided excellent results is Draftsight, free to download and similar to use to Turbocad/AutoCAD it doesn't appear to have any problems in translation.

Ideally we would recommend that the drawing is created in Draftsight and sent to us as a dwg created in Draftsight, but we have had success where our customer has created a drawing in Turbocad, then he opened and checked the drawing in Draftsight, he then saved the file in Draftsight as a dwg and forwarded the file to us. We've had limited experience in this but those that we have processed have been without any errors.

Hopefully this explains the problems and a potential cost free solution, but please do contact us if there are any other queries.

 

John McCartan

PPD Ltd.

 

Tel  01546-602963

[Dan Randall]

Hi John

 

Thanks for explaining the problems that PPD have sometimes experienced with drawings originating in TurboCAD and also for putting forward some possible solutions.

 

I recently downloaded Draftsight, but am still trying to get my head around it, having used TurboCAD for at least 10 years! As I have amassed rather a large number of finished or almost finished TurboCAD drawings, I'm not keen on abandoning it if at all possible, so the potential to use it in conjunction with Draftsight is most appealing. With any luck, I'll be getting some stuff off to PPD in the not too distant future!

 

Thanks again.

 

 

Regards

 

Dan

[Jol Wilkinson]

Richard here from Grainge and Hodder.

We no longer take camera artwork, however we have been able to help several "old school" customers with pen and ink drawings by re-drawing them in CAD for photoplotting.

We accept cad files as .dxf or .dwg or even pdf. Trouble can happen with DTP programs like coral draw as they sometimes incorrectly convert to proper CAD files for a photo-plotting format.

However we have not as yet had to turn away any drawing regardless of format, there is usually a workaround.

Some customers do provide us with home made inkjet or laser tooling, which can be very successful, and we are happy to use it if possible, however the lifespan of this type of tooling is very restricted, and the quality is not comparable to proper Halide plotted tooling, but for some applications it can be adequate.

Any questions get in touch! We are always ready to help.

www.graingeandhodder.co.uk/contact-us

Richard,

 

it's actually called CorelDraw. I've just converted a number of CorelDraw files to dfx format for some laser cutting, fortunately without a problem. This appears to be an older Autocad format (up to 2010) so may be one way forward as newer versions of software will usually open older files formats, but the opposite isn't usually the case.

 

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/AutoCAD-2013-DWG-file-format-change.html

 

I reiterate my previous comment (a view I have held for some years) that the best way to do it it is to use the software that generates the file format required. Conversions form one format to another to often generate errors that are time consuming and expensive to put right. 

 

Jol

[Adrian]

Hi John

 

Thanks for explaining the problems that PPD have sometimes experienced with drawings originating in TurboCAD and also for putting forward some possible solutions.

 

I recently downloaded Draftsight, but am still trying to get my head around it, having used TurboCAD for at least 10 years! As I have amassed rather a large number of finished or almost finished TurboCAD drawings, I'm not keen on abandoning it if at all possible, so the potential to use it in conjunction with Draftsight is most appealing. With any luck, I'll be getting some stuff off to PPD in the not too distant future!

 

Thanks again.

 

 

Regards

 

Dan

 

I tried Draftsight as well but struggled to with it. I've switched to QCAD (www.qcad.org) which seemed a lot clearer and well laid out, I could make progress quite quickly. Output format can be used by PPD as they've just sent me my first set of etchings based on the QCAD drawing.

[graingeandhodder]

Using Coreldraw is great for Laser cutting.

As a general rule Laser cutting does not require hatches, it usually uses vectored paths. The vector paths usually translate fine when transferred from one format to another however hatches can cause problems when producing plotted tools for photo-etching.

 

 

We adopt a slightly different approach to customers' files. When a potential customer wishes to have new tooling produced we like to inspect the submitted files regardless of format and advise of any problems, these are then corrected. Then we will submit a pdf of the tooling back to the customer for checking before any costs are incurred in plotting the tooling or any etches are produced.

 

We are always happy to receive files early on in the design process for advice on suitability, this will not incur any cost to the customer, and can save them many wasted hours producing something that is not suitable.

If in doubt ask!