Tried out snapmarks for the first time this evening. I love how much more useful PG hardwoods have become!
I never would have even attempted this print without snapmarks! This is only my second “test” using snapmarks. Thanks to the GF team and the beta testers for adding this much needed functionality! I hope those that don’t have the “magnet” yet will get it soon!
Brilliant idea! What kind of accuracy are you getting?
This would be pretty trivial with standard cardboard corner jigging techniques too… (for those of us with no snap marks whomp)
still no love?
I was wondering how the other side (the Fish Off side) came out?
It would have looked nice at the bait shop I worked at, but computer was a job and not something you could buy and Bell Labs was still figuring out what a laser was capable of.
Zero snaps given.
That being said, I’m pretty quick with a jig, so it works well for what I’m doing. There are definitely use cases for snaps though. I’m sure I’ll get them someday.
Personally I don’t quite get what snapmarks are for? I’ve never had any issues setting up my cuts, or engraves with precise sizing or placement. What does this snapmark thing actually give us that can’t already be done?
If you’re doing repetitive items, especially if you want to flip them to do both sides, if you put the snap marks on the template, it’s LESS fiddling with pre-aligning the material on the bed.
I agree not a big deal if you have a set up and doing the same item all at one time, but if you go back & forth between different jobs a lot (e.g. small runs of each), it makes it really easy for set-ups.
Example: I have been trying to etch guitar picks, and more than one at a time. So the further they get away from the under the camera, it’s bit more of a guess how to account for offset in the actual etching vs. the artwork when I’m placing over picks (taped to a board). With a snapmark template, I can just place the template and then the picks down, and it aligns itself–maybe more work involved creating the template, but for repeat jobs, so much faster!
It lets you precisely line up your cuts on something you previously printed. One example is triskele(s) – I have been printing out designs on my laser printer and then cutting them out with the GF. I print snapmarks on the paper so the GF can line up the cut and score lines to match the artwork.
I haven’t engraved anything on the other side yet. I was thinking of just mirroring this design and using snapmarks for placement. Although now you have me thinking that I need a Fish Off design! hmmm 
Nice fiducial ruler! 
Thanks 
I was going to prints yours out but decided it’d be fun to make one myself. Adding it here in case anyone would like this version.
MyRuler.zip (5.9 KB)
Question? Did you have to add the fish and the ruler all in one design or did you just upload the ruler to read snap markers then you just pop any other design into the ui then line it up next to the on screen layover?
So all in all. do you have to make multiple files with the ruler in it as well as the thing you cut?
or… its a one and done ruler file and the ruler doesn’t need to be added in any future designs?
To start I use InkScape. For the fish project I added the ruler and the snapmarks as separate locked layers and then added the fish artwork to the “project” layer.
Once I had the placement I wanted I hid the “Ruler” layer and kept the snapmarks.
Then I saved out a copy as a Plain SVG…
That I used to import into the GFUI. Then I used the ruler, I’d previously printed out, as shown in the first post.
If you’re only engraving one side and then cutting, I’m completely missing what Snapmarks are adding to the process. Is it just using up scrap?
They provide enough accuracy to cut right up to the edge of a standard piece of PG hardwood, my camera placement was never good enough for that. Now I can use the ruler and snapmarks and know I’m not going to fall off the edge of the PG hardwood.
Ah. Thanks for explaining!
thanks for the ruler.
