pattern conversion

[Lori Cross]

i recieved a pattern made for a scroll saw however id like to make it with the laser if possible does anyone have an idea the best way to convert it to cdr so i can vector it

[Mike Null]

Lori

Welcome to SMC.

I'm sure you'll get several answers. I'd probably scan them into Corel and draw them. I might try to trace them first in Corel but I doubt that will be successful.

[Frank Corker]

Lori this is the second time that you have posted for help, the last time you didn't have the courtesy to say thanks for the replies that were posted by others, hopefully you will make the effort this time.

If your image is a pdf you can import it directly into Corel and trace it using Corel trace. Probably the quickest way with this particular one because it is poor quality would be to redraw it by hand, scan it and then import it into Corel and use the trace.

Attached you will find a slightly less than perfect attempt that I have made, it will need cleaning up, it would have been infinitely better if the image quality had been better.

[Lori Cross]

thanks alot frank ill try to get a better scan and try tracing it in corel. sry i didnt respond to my first post i went out of town for thanksgiving and came back sick i really do appreciate the help and responses.

[Lori Cross]

i was able to scan a much better one in a pdf format i imported it into corel and trace but cant get it anywhere like you did. could you please tell me how you did it.

[Carl Sewell]

Try the attached (version 9).

Brought into PhotoPaint. Used magic wand tool to selectively add the solid line. Deleted the rest. Brought into X3. Trace> Line Art. Broke the individual curves apart and deleted the inside lines.

[Mike Null]

Carl

Very nice work.

[Carl Sewell]

Thanks. The center line trace in X4 (if I had it) may have been quicker.

[Lori Cross]

carl thanks for replying to my post i tried taking it into photo shop but im confused how the magic wand made solid lines. im not really good with iether corel or photoshop im trying to learn could you please tell me how you got the nice outcome that you did.

thanks

[George Elston]

Lori

If you do a search for posts with my name and "vector magic", you will find a couple of scrollsaw designs I converted using vector magic site. It's no longer free but worth the $5 a month if you use it

[Carl Sewell]

I used PhotoPaint, not Photo Shop. With the magic wand tool, you can add to or subtract from the mask by holding down the CTRL or SHIFT keys. I always forget which is which so I try one and then the other. After you remove all the lines from the mask, invert the mask, and press the delete key. This will remove everything but the solid lines. You may need to use the paint brush to remove the center lines and arrow.

You can then use CorelDraw's trace feature, using Line Art option, to trace the solid lines. Unfortunately, Corel left the centerline trace out of X3 (I think it has been added to X4), which might give better/faster results.

I then broke up the individual curves to give inside and outside lines (ie the thickness of the solid lines). And then removed the inside lines to yield the cut-out. It's a little involved, but, according to the file save times, the whole procedure took approximately 6 minutes, from download to saving the final version.