polylines with freehand drawing

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ross
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Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 2:11 pm

polylines with freehand drawing

Post by ross » Wed Nov 02, 2016 1:32 pm

Hi Andrew and thanks for user name info for log in.
I am drawing a freehand line and trying to reduce the number of nodes for cnc laser cutting.
Please can you help /
Regards
Ross

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andrew
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Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

Re: polylines with freehand drawing

Post by andrew » Wed Nov 02, 2016 1:41 pm

Hi Ross, depending on what you are drawing with freehand lines, you might be able to use splines instead which are smooth by definition and tend to require fewer nodes. Splines can also be exploded (Modify > Explode) into polylines with arc segments with a configurable tolerance.

If you wish to use freehand lines, you can convert them to polylines (Draw > Polyline > Create from Segments) and then simplify those polylines (Draw > Polyline > Simplify).

ross
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Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 2:11 pm

Re: polylines with freehand drawing

Post by ross » Fri Nov 04, 2016 3:15 pm

Hi Andrew
Thanks for info ----just drew (with a spline) a butterfly and MODIFY > EXPLODE.
Looks good.
I cannot see any nodes now--will a cnc machine still be able to follow it ?
Regards
Ross

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andrew
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Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

Re: polylines with freehand drawing

Post by andrew » Fri Nov 04, 2016 3:19 pm

ross wrote:I cannot see any nodes now
Nodes should be visible if you select the polyline entity. If there are too many nodes to display, they might not be shown at all. This does not affect the drawing or how it is saved in any way.

You can configure the maximum number of nodes displayed under:
Edit > Application Preferences > Graphics View > Appearance > Maximum number of reference points displayed
ross wrote:will a cnc machine still be able to follow it ?
Features of CNC machines vary greatly, however, most should be able to cut along a polyline, yes. Certainly more likely than along a spline.

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