With Inkscape version 0.92, I upload the file for cutting two nested triangles. That is what I see using View-> Outline mode in Inkscape. But Glowforge cuts a circle in addition to the triangles.
Can anyone see this circle? I need to edit it out.
Here is the zip file for the triangles followed by a photo of what was cut.
Bowl 3-way symm 5-6 tiers only plain.zip (2.6 KB)
Hi @brok09,
Inkscape has two arrow tools. The 2nd one lets you see the control points. Use that tool and click on the triangles. What you have are a bunch of control points in close proximity. Inkscape interprets them as a fluid connection. Both other SVG programs see the points and angles and seem to interpret it as a circle or loop.
To fix: Select the control points (you can drag a box around them) and click on the button at the top that combines 2 points into one point. (I think it’s the 3rd button, right after the + and - buttons.) Do that for each of your control point clusters. (You are them in the middle of each triangle; 9 clusters total.)
Hope that helps!
ps. Try it on cardboard as a first draft. This way, you won’t burn through expensive woods.
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I had this very thing happen recently…had me scratching my head. Once I went into inkscape and deleted some of the points, it was fine.
That is/was it! My method* of generating these nested patterns generates tiny artifacts for some reason. *i.e. using larger width stroke, stroke to path, break apart, etc. But this is the first time these artifacts generated an unwanted circle which did not show in Outline.
Thank you,
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So this apparently happens via the Glowforge’s interpretation of the SVG file. The artifacts are quite small and consist of a bunch of nodes zig-zagging along the correct path. I had to use magnification to view the rascals. That is, they are hard to find without trying a Print of the file on the Glowforge. Checking each SVG file with a paper score gets time consuming.
Today I tried uploading a pdf file made from the SVG containing the artifact that previously printed with the unwanted circle.
The pdf file had no circle. It printed correctly following the nodes.
Is there any reason to avoid uploading pdf files to Glowforge?
I’m sorry for the inconvenience. We’re seeing this, too, and the team is looking into it. I apologize that I don’t have any further updates at this time. In the meantime, I’d like to share some tips that may help to work around the issue.
Based on early testing we’ve done, it looks like this is occurring because of a problem with how the software interprets certain path properties in SVG files. We’ve heard from other customers who ran into this and reported that removing or otherwise mitigating overlapping path nodes from the file using design software helped eliminate the issue. Depending on the software you use and the techniques you prefer, there are a few different ways to do this. If you’re not sure where to start, I expect you could find a helpful tutorial in the Tips and Tricks area of our community forum.
Thanks for letting us know that uploading the file as a PDF helped mitigate the issue; I’ve passed this detail on to the team as well.
Alternatively, you can engrave the design by converting it to a bitmap, which will also eliminate the issue. In Inkscape you can do this by following these steps:
- Open the file in Inkscape.
- Go to Edit > Preferences > Bitmaps.
- Under Create, change the Resolution for Create Bitmap Copy to the resolution of your choice
- Close the Preferences window.
- Select your image.
- Choose Edit > Make a Bitmap Copy.
- Inkscape will make a bitmap copy on top of the original artwork.
- Click the top artwork to select it, drag it off of the original artwork, and delete the original artwork. You’ll be left with the bitmap copy.
- Select File > Save As and save the file as a Inkscape SVG file.
- Upload your file to the app and print.