Array printing from .csv file

takitus · February 9, 2016, 1:23pm

For anyone that is going to be producing a product line, this type of thing will be incredibly important

polarbrainfreeze · February 9, 2016, 2:39pm

I know some of the “free” software have APIs to program them. I looked at the one for Fusion 360 and it looked pretty straight forward (disclaimer: I’m a programmer, so it may look easy to me).

I think you could probably write something that creates sketches based on input from a text file, and then export that sketch as a DXF or something else you could use. If that’s the way you want to go, I could dig a little deeper and figure out more how it works.

jusjus · February 9, 2016, 2:51pm

I found this one for Inkscape: text from csv it looks promising. But unfortunately it doesn’t work Do you think you could have quick look at it? Maybe your skiled eyes catch something…?

johnawerner · February 9, 2016, 3:34pm

If you have programming experience, it would be fairly easy using Processing. It’s based on Java, and comes with libraries to write in either PDF or DXF format.

processing.org

Scott.Burns · February 9, 2016, 4:08pm

I vaguely recall reading somewhere on this forum that engraving can be done with vector artwork.

polarbrainfreeze · February 9, 2016, 4:13pm

I did get it working, but I had to “hard-code” the height of the canvas. On line 47 of textfromcsv.py, change:

height = inkex.unittouu(svg.attrib[‘height’])

to

height = 100;

Then it works fine. I’d have to dig some more to figure out then new way to get the canvas height in python. But for now, you can just hard-code the height of your canvas.

My input file looks like this:

10,10,Hello
20,29,World

And it gave me this in InkScape:

jusjus · February 9, 2016, 4:31pm

soooo cool - your are my herro of the day

jbv · February 9, 2016, 5:43pm

Yes, you can engrave vectors. Some fonts will work fine as vectors, some will not work as well. Some fonts will work better as vectors if you convert them to outlines (in illustrator that is found under the text menu> outline text, i assume inkscape has a similar function). Do a google search for “single line fonts” or “hershey text” to get a better idea of why you might want to use one over the other.

polarbrainfreeze · February 9, 2016, 6:46pm

Also, be careful when using fonts in Inkscape and moving to another computer. If the font is not installed on the new computer, then Inkscape will pick a different font.

Once you have the text in place where you want it, then you can convert the font to a path, by using the “Path -> Object to Path”. You will not be able to edit the text anymore, but it is no longer dependent on the installed font.

Working with a maker-space, I’ve run into this a couple of times.

jacobturner · February 9, 2016, 9:12pm

Mail merge applications were brought up in a discussion before. I talked through an ideal workflow.

Seems @dan didn’t add it to the feature hopper then. But quite a few other people with ideas on how to use mass-personalization.

Continuing the discussion from Registration of pre-printed sheets:

Registration of pre-printed sheets

In one of the other discussions about alignment of bulk batches, mail merges were brought up. Discussing this with my wife had her instantly drooling.

The idea is that if I wanted to engrave student names on #2 pencils, I could open a pack and just toss them in the forge. Not worrying about orientation at all.

I then tell the forge to locate the shortest flat end (the tip of the eraser) and offset 1.5" in from there, centering with the short extent at that point, and engrave the name selected from the mail merge style list.

With those few commands, boom… my excel list of student names is moved onto the pencils, and they all align flawlessly with one another (sure, some may be on the side which comes factory etched, but if I really care then after my careless toss I just flip a few to ensure those sides aren’t facing up anywhere)

The way I picture this happening in the actual software would be that I use the magic wand to isolate a pencil. I then choose some command which indicates I have just identified an object which exists in multiple, the software asks how many are on the bed, and I enter a number. It then identifies what it thinks is each object, and I have the option to cycle through the list and verify each one (if I select item 5, then a standard mask is overlayed on the display blanking out everything except the fifth identified pencil).

I then accept the identified lot of pencils, and am presented with a nicely straightened out mask on which to align my intended cut/engrave. I select the Mail Merge option, and am provided a standard text box type of selection tool (after locating the file from which to generate the mail merge text options). I click on the spot where I want it to start the engrave (and if I wanted I could select a box area with click/drag, then choose to shrink text to fit, or truncate overflow). If I am satisfied with just manuallly clicking, I can leave it with my first click, but I want things nicely aligned, so I click on the Alignment button, and then select the top and bottom bounding lines, and click center. I then click the edge of the eraser and click offset, entering a value of 1.5"

At this point I click OK, and it shows me a preview of the expected engrave, again I can cycle through each pencil individually and see a masking isolation to check the work. If I am happy, I send to the Glowforge and press my magic button on the unit itself in moments.

Doing an alignment jig and self-assembling each print run is perfectly possible with any laser cutter. I would hope to leverage the camera system fully in the glowforge and make it more awesome.

mad_macs · February 9, 2016, 11:25pm

Agreed, dumping the box of pencils and have the software automatically recognize, and print on on them regardless of orientation in would be the ultimate goal. I was thinking the cameras would be used to verify and maybe tweak alignment. Each cell of the array could be free floating, and aligned/rotated as required during the preview stage.

bwente · February 10, 2016, 1:37am

Okay. You can use OpenOffice to do the mail merge and export as a PDF, convert the PDF to JPG and engrave!

If you are on a Mac you could use Automate to make a “droplet” to drop the CSV into a folder and have it auto create the JPG for you. I am sure other operating systems could create a similar workflow.

JLabs · February 10, 2016, 3:00pm

I did this once before for iPhones. I had a batch and pulled the data from a csv with an illustrator plugin. I can’t seen to find it right now but will look around and post it when I do!

JLabs · February 10, 2016, 3:04pm

This isn’t the script I originally used, but it looks similar:

github.com

Silly-V/Adobe-Illustrator/blob/master/Variable Importer/VariableImporter.jsx

/***
{
	"name" : "VariableImporter 8",
	"scriptVersion" : "8.1.10",
	"note" : "This script helps to import .CSV and tab-delimited .TXT spreadsheets as Illustrator XML datasets.",
	"author" : {
		"by" : "Vasily Hall",
    "email" : "vasily.hall@gmail.com",
    "linkedIn" : "https://www.linkedin.com/pub/vasily-hall/18/166/912?trk=biz_employee_pub"
	},
	"thanks" : [
		"Thanks to the global community of Illustrator enthusiasts who have helped make this script happen:",
    "* Hans Boon / testing on multiple versions, workstations & platforms" ,
    "* Stephen Marsh / http://prepression.blogspot.com/" ,
    "* Andy VanWagoner's CSV Parser / http://stackoverflow.com/users/1701761/andy-vanwagoner" ,
    "* Albert Bassa / 'double-backslash' line-break character suggestion" ,
    "* John Garrett / http://hypertransitory.com/" ,
    "* Dmitriy Gritsenko / help with multiple graph-data import" ,
    "* Norbert Gindl / user testing multiple graph-data import" ,
    "* Alice Elliott / bug fix in graph-data import" ,

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peter1 · February 11, 2016, 12:12am

What about using a script to generate an OpenSCAD build file and then exporting to DXF?

billkornxk8 · March 3, 2016, 3:21pm

I’ve done the very same thing with Excel and Word to etch and cut equipment tags with changing data. No need for custom programming or scripts. Excel will auto number an array of cells, like consecutive numbers, dates, and equation results. You enter your data in a spreadsheet, format a table in Word with spacing that matches your blank holder, and mail merge the data from the Excel file to fill in the table. From v 2013 up you can even have Word generate bar codes, including CR, right in the merge. Word recognizes all of the preformatted blank label sheets from Avery and others. Your M&M idea should be pretty straightforward, and should look great.

marmak3261 · March 3, 2016, 5:00pm

I assume we can save the Word document as a PDF which the Glowforge will recognize. How do you distinguish in the PDF what is vector cut and what is raster etched? I can imagine setting up a little jig with little dimples to hold the m&ms. Format the Word Template using a table to match the jig’s grid. Then export the Word document as a PDF. Then position the PDF and go to it.

smcgathyfay · March 4, 2016, 1:07am

Easily done with CorelDraw…mail merge.
Ive done pens, pencils, invites on wood, dog tags etc. Have a field with positioning, font size etc… load up the database and merge…
Another reason @dan to have a CorelDraw Plugin…

billkornxk8 · March 4, 2016, 2:12pm

For discrete etched items with no cutting like M&Ms you format the text the way you want it to look. When you are going to etch an item and then cut it out, you format the text or graphic in the Word table cell like an etch only. Word lets you format the border of each cell individually or all at once, so you apply a line border and format the line to tell the laser to cut not etch. In most lasers you make the line 0.001" wide and red. Sometimes you have to tell the laser to do the etching first so things don’t move, then cut. This is usually done either by setting certain colors and setting a color cut order in the driver.