Simplifying a vector for laser cutting machine.

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
January 27, 2018
3 replies
5544 views

Here is my situation: I have a piece of complex vector art that i need to convert to just a thin .001 black out line so its compatible with a laser cutting machine. The problem is I have many over lapping shapes and I need to have the out line of only the visible edges in the artwork. Simply put, there cant be extra hidden lines under other shapes because the machine will recognize and try to draw those.

I also need to have a separate red .001 outline on the outer most edge of the entire group of shapes. the red line is for cutting and the black one is for engraving

So far I have tried putting it into Photoshop rasterizing it bringing it back into illustrator and using image trace but it doesn't work well and it misses a lot of shapes and loses a lot of definition.

Thank you for your time,

Cheers.

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JETalmage

Inspiring

...there cant be extra hidden lines under other shapes...

I'm guessing, because you haven't shown an example of the artwork in question. But the problem is one common to preparing artwork for any kind of NC machine, including vinyl cutters.

In the most common kinds of cases, differently-filled paths overlap. The easiest approach is to:

Select all the paths comprising the artwork.
Pathfinder palette: Click the Merge button.

The Merge operation simultaneously unions contiguous areas of the same fill and punches underlying paths of different fills. That yields neatly abutting paths in the shapes of contiguous same-color areas. So after that, you can just remove fills and apply whatever stroke attributes you need.

I also need to have a separate red .001 outline on the outer most edge of the entire group of shapes.

After the above:

Select: Select All
Edit: Copy
Edit: Paste In Front
Pathfinder palette: Click the Add (union) button.

JET

Monika Gause

Community Expert

JETalmage schrieb
In the most common kinds of cases, differently-filled paths overlap. The easiest approach is to:
Select all the paths comprising the artwork.
Pathfinder palette: Click the Merge button.

And bevor step 2, outline all strokes or brushes and expand all effects.