Vector drawings for laser cutting. Artistic plasma cutting Artistic plasma cutting

  • 03.07.2018

I started my Chinese cantilever machine described in another thread.
Now faced with the problem of preparing drawings for artistic cutting.
If everything is simple with ordinary drawings, I draw in Compass, in ProNest I lay out the parts on the sheet and in the same UE.

Then there are such problems with artistic cutting:
1. In Compass it is inconvenient to draw, for example, beautiful carved gates, it is much more convenient to outline the raster in Korel.

2. After drawing in Korel, we save it in DXF and here is the problem, the entire drawing consists of NURBS lines (at least Compass sees them that way), so here ProNest hangs tightly from Korel drawings. Empirically, I found out that the problem is in NURBS lines, and the question arises of how to turn them into ordinary Arcs, contours, segments ...
......2.1 The first way is quite cumbersome - to drive DXF into Solid and then re-save again into DXF. But when importing into Solid, some connections are torn, but fortunately in Solid there is an option to check for jambs and within 15 minutes you can connect everything broken
......2.2 The second method is simpler, but the geometry is violated, it is to save the DXF version R11 from Corel right away, but then the entire drawing will consist of segments, i.e. no arcs, all circles turn into polyhedra and the UE code turns out to be lengthy
......2.3 The third way is the most ideal, if I'm not mistaken, the EPS-OUT application was written by Ukrainian masters, it is not easy to find it, there is little information, so I will attach it below + video. But the main problem- works only on Windows XP, this problem was solved easily - we set up a virtual machine with Windows XP and there is no problem. We save it from Corel to EPS, run it with a program in a couple of clicks and that's it. All Korelovsky NURBS breaks into arcs, segments, contours just perfectly, no refinement, how many complex drawings I tried, everything can be driven into the machine right away, it cuts perfectly, ProNest draws all inputs and outputs in seconds.

3. I also tried SheetCam, it understands NURBS curves, but it doesn’t care about all the jambs of the drawing, there is a gap in the lines - be kind enough to find it yourself, otherwise it will screw up in the UE. Well, this Shitkam doesn’t suit my soul, so maybe those who work for them will write off whether everything is fine with him with cutting complex large drawings.

4. Perhaps in new versions of ProNest there is already work with NURBS, but in version 12 it does not work, but I have not seen others on torrents.

So my way of working is:
1. Draw in corel (I especially like the auto-tracing of the raster)
2. Select all the points and reduce them to the maximum (just make sure that the picture does not lose quality)
3. Save as DXF
4. We drive it into SolidWorks to check for errors (a cool function, it looks for jambs in a vector drawing, erroneous points, breaks. If there are any, we immediately fix it in Corel, maybe Corel has such a function too, I haven’t looked yet)
5. How the drawing was brought to the ideal - save it in EPS
6. We run through EPS-OUT, we get excellent DXF without any NURBS.
7. In ProNeste we make UE.
8. Mode.

This is what it looks like in Corel:

This is how the Korelovsky DXF, not processed by the program, looks like, as you can see, it consists of these NURBS (Bezier curves, they are easy to edit, pull, change the bend, but because of them many of the described problems arise when cutting)


And this is how the file processed by the EPS-OUT program already looks like, as you can see, these are already 4 arcs interconnected, you can’t smoothly change the shape of the bend, but it’s no longer necessary for the machine:


How do you prepare drawings for artistic cutting?

Here you can download the program, a video of how it works, and the Theory of the authors of the program creators:
https://yadi.sk/d/NR1jZg8O3ALgCR
If someone knows good exchangers, reupload, otherwise something will happen to my Yandex disk, I’ll forget, delete the file ...

Well, as a bonus, I’ll fill in the source of the beautiful gate that freelancers drew for me, because of which all this pandemonium began:
https://yadi.sk/d/fNs-H2v73ALqin



This is a file that has not yet been corrected by me, there are decently jambs in it, about 7 pieces. artifacts (small non-visible superfluous details, visible at high magnification), consists of NURBS entirely, in my opinion there is one open circuit (at least Solid sees it like that, or maybe he opens it himself).
Please put an experiment on those who work on ProNeste, especially later than version 12, will it load? won't screw up? Well, for those who use their own way, you can also try, tell about success.
And so with this drawing, half an hour of work and chic gates can be cut.

Both in the city and in the countryside, traditions are returning to decorate your own space with original things made to order or with your own hands. Express your aesthetic needs for decorating your home, garden plot made easier with the advent of plasma metal cutting.

Unlike hot forging, which has been used for centuries to create fences, porch canopies, weather vanes, fireplace and stove doors, the plasma cutting process requires less physical effort. artistic cutting metal plasma, a faster manufacturing process, forging, and the pattern is more openwork and thinner.

Heating the metal to very high temperatures does not affect its technical specifications due to short-term contact of the processed material with the flame. In view of this, no sagging is formed on the sections, which means that the finished product will not require grinding.

The most painstaking work in artistic plasma cutting of metal is to create sketches for cutting. Not being an artist, you will have to use the method of increasing the drawing you like to required dimensions, projecting it onto a sheet of metal using a light bulb placed in a box behind the image on paper. Such a home-made magnifier is used if a slide projector has not been preserved in the house for a long time. The size of the image is varied by moving the pattern towards the beam of light or by removing it to the required distance.




Artistic cutting for metal can be different in terms of the technique of leading the cutter. To create a garden sculpture, a clear outline of the object is necessary. It is better if the cutting will take place in long, clear lines. Also, this method of leading the cutting arc along the contour of the element is necessary for cutting large elements in the fence, on the gate and other details of the decor. Small cuts are created by short "strokes" of flame across a sheet of metal.

Features of decorative metal cutting

The thinner a metal sheet and the lower its melting temperature, the greater the risk that by holding the cutting arc for a fraction of a second longer in one place, the element may turn out to be indistinct. To create paintings with small, closely spaced elements using plasma cutting, it is better to create on CNC plasma cutting machines.

Plasma cutting can be carried out on metals of different thicknesses. Some devices for plasma cutting give a flame heating temperature of up to 30,000 ° C, and their cutting depth reaches 20 cm. Figured cutting with such equipment indicators can be used not only to create stencil sculptures, but also for convex ones. It is more expedient and cost-effective to cut thick sheets of metal with oxygen, and not with a plasma torch, despite the rather high cutting speed.

Plasma arc cutting features high speed, controlled flame heating. Curly cutting is done with a plasma jet rather than a solid cutting object, which gives cuts without jags. For some types of alloys, strong heating affects the destruction of the metal structure. For curly cutting, this is unacceptable. Due to the fact that when processing with a plasma cutter, a very thin section is heated, and cooling occurs quickly, the structure of the metal does not change.

Advantages of plasma cutting on CNC machines

Complex geometric and floral ornaments in metal art, the rappoports of which must be repeated to the nearest millimeter, can come out from under a hand cutter with slight differences. The reason for this may be the trembling hand of the master, the accidental delay of the flame in one place. The technology of applying each artistic element is introduced into the program of the CNC machine. The flame then goes out, then lights up again, but only at the moment when the cutter moves to a given point.

artistic plasma cutting- relatively new technology production of figures, ornaments, drawings and other elements from sheet metal. Actually, with the advent of CNC machines of this group, a worthy alternative to expensive forging, which is not accessible to everyone, was found.

Curved plasma cutting - huge variability at an affordable price

Artistic metal products have been in demand ever since man mastered the art of forging. However, such a craft required considerable physical strength and artistic talent from a person. Only the symbiosis of these qualities allowed the Master to create forged masterpieces that, for thousands of years, adorn the existence of man.

With the development of technology, people have the opportunity to make ornate fences, fences, and other metal objects at an affordable price. Plasma Equipment is considered the most rational of all the available units, with the help of which you can quickly, cheaply and in an original way cut any piece of art from various kinds metals. So it's really a profitable business.

Today, metal art decor is experiencing a renaissance. The symbiosis of the availability and functionality of plasma cutting makes metal decorations for the exterior, landscape and interior even more in demand, and therefore popular.

Wealthier Russians order artistic cutting from expensive metals - copper, stainless steel, aluminum, etc. People with average incomes often make applications for cutting sheet carbon metals small thickness.

Cleaned and treated with anti-corrosion compounds curly surfaces steel weather vanes, radiator grilles, gates, fence sections, etc., cut into plasma machines, covered with resistant paints or Kuzbass varnish. They look no less rich and original than art products derived from copper and other expensive metals.

Even the most complex, at first glance, figures and ornaments obtained on such machines are created from closed contours. Looking closely, you can see that all the elements on the sketches for plasma cutting of metal represent the transition of straight line segments to arcs (and vice versa).

Today, the presence of a plasma cutting machine will give you the opportunity to make a considerable profit in the manufacture of:

Metal art decor is used in bedrooms, living rooms and inside other rooms. In addition, patterns for plasma cutting of metal will help decorate the porch, street benches, lampposts, trash cans, gazebos, gates and other small architectural forms.

Today in Russia, as in most European countries, original cute large and small metal weather vanes are in fashion in urban planning. On plasma machines, you can quickly and inexpensively cut such a product in the form of a silhouette of a plant, animal or some object using drawings for artistic plasma cutting.

Advantages of artistic cutting on a plasma machine

With the help of this technology, products of the required shapes and sizes are obtained, and at a very affordable price. provide high accuracy of curly parts made according to the existing catalog or cut to order, according to individual sketches or drawings.

The advantages of plasma art cutting are as follows:

This technology allows you to get inexpensive, plasma-cut grills. Plasma equipment makes it possible to quickly and efficiently cut out the details of the brazier, both the box and the figured holes, which serve to blow air, which ensures good combustion for firewood.

Also today, on the wave of patriotism, the coat of arms of Russia for plasma cutting has become popular. The owners of such equipment quickly and to the smallest detail carve the state emblem of Russia from metal, satisfying the increased demand among Russians, thereby making a decent profit.

Sketches for plasma cutting

Below are options for plasma cutting sketches in .dxf format, which can be downloaded for free. This is a basic catalog that you will be able to significantly supplement over time, offering your customers more and more new drawings, patterns, ornaments and decorative elements from metal.