[TheForge] software

[Ben Barrett]

I have, but only minimally and not with DXF—I think Ries hit the nail on
the head in regard to widespread industry support, and Corel is not
standard in many places... you might poke around, put up a local craigslist
help-wanted ad for CorelDraw vector-DXF help and see what you get—if you
find a reliable local person who can help you when needed, that might make
it a good fit.  Without a lifeline, I wouldn't suggest going against the
mainstream, unless you have the tech skills and zeal to work through the
open source tools, which are all-free.  Inkscape is a great program for
plenty of vector needs, but I'm unfamiliar with the variety of ways to
optimize DXF and I think I read that the commercial tools do that best...
although there has been a ton of innovation coded up in Ruby to work within
Google Sketchup, as well (tools which seem to provide commercial power for
free, albeit without direct commercial support).

If you're not doing the bitmap-to-vector work that Ries mentions, and have
limited use, Corel might be a good fit... but I think Corel is nearing its
end-of-life... a plethora of simple small tools do the same.  Based on
where I've seen Corel so far, it reminds me a bit of FileMaker—annoying to
the mainstream but they'll probably keep doing their job in their niche for
some years to come...
another idea for getting Adobe on the cheap is to look at used computers
that have it preloaded... beware to ensure that they have a valid license
though, since thee is a ton of crackware out there.  You may be able to get
a great upgrade deal with an older copy or even the competition's software,
but again beware of licensing details—and, sigh, I should probably mention
that it is not wise to use, or to advise the use of student versions for
commercial work, however I am trying to be less pedantic or at least cop to
it :) and you're not likely to cause much fuss if your files are all
internal-use (that is, the files themselves are not part of your
deliverable, just used by the cnc).

best regards,

ben




On Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 6:28 PM, Mark and Sylvia Mondloch <
mondloch at silvercreekpottery.com> wrote:

> I have been looking on-line and Corel Draw does DXF. Amazon has the X5
> version for $175. Has anyone used Corel Draw?
>
>
>
> Mark and Sylvia Mondloch
> Silver Creek Pottery & Forge
> mondloch at silvercreekpottery.com
> www.silvercreekpottery.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ries Niemi
> Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2012 8:17 PM
> To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] software
>
> DXF is a vector format. Word never offered vector formats or conversions.
>
> In industry, most people use Autocad for this, and its a big pain.
>
> ries
>
> On Jun 17, 2012, at 6:06 PM, Bruce . wrote:
>
> > Back in the Windows 95 or 98 era, I bought a version of Windows Office
> (or
> > some such name) that had a program similar to Word, but under another
> > name.  This program featured "word art" which allowed you to do exactly
> > what you're describing.  As I recall, it was pretty easy to use.
> >
> > If you open Word (for Windows 7 in my case) and click on the "insert"
> tab,
> > toward the right is a group called "text" that includes Word Art.  This
> is
> > similar to what I remember, and could possibly be of use.
> >
> > However, Word is limited in its output file types, and in particular DFX
> > does not seem to be one of them.  You might check whether any of the
> > others
> > will do.  Or you might check on PowerPoint, which also supports WordArt.
> >
> > On Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 12:53 PM, Mark and Sylvia Mondloch <
> > mondloch at silvercreekpottery.com> wrote:
> >
> >> I have been finding a need to do some lettering for signs. I want the
> >> ability to use different fonts and curve the words. Also would want to
> be
> >> able to have the files compatible with my laser cutter.Also would like
> to
> >> be
> >> able to scan leaves or pictures and trace for laser cutting. Any
> >> suggestions?
> >>
> >> Mark and Sylvia Mondloch
> >> Silver Creek Pottery & Forge
> >> mondloch at silvercreekpottery.com
> >> www.silvercreekpottery.com
> >>
> >
> >
> > --
> > Bruce
> > NJ
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