Tip: Getting those most out of your sheet

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Dave
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Tip: Getting those most out of your sheet

Post by Dave » Thu Aug 30, 2018 8:02 pm

If you're like me, you've got a bunch of sheet metal lying around with random parts cut out, and it can be tricky fitting another part onto the sheet. I came up with a process that's been working pretty well for me:

1. With the sheet on the table, take a tape measure and lay it out on the sheet parallel to the X or Y-axis so that the 2' mark is visible. Make sure the tape is as parallel as possible to one axis.

2. Take a picture looking straight down at the table from as high as you can with the tape measure in view. I put a small level on the back of my phone to make sure the picture is parallel to the table.

3. Open the .svg you want to cut out in Inkscape and drag and drop the picture you took into Inkscape.

4. Make a 24" long rectangle.

5. Scale/rotate the picture so that the 24" of tape measure lines up with the 24" rectangle. Make sure to lock the axes and only scale using the corners so you keep the same aspect ratio.

6. You should now have a to-scale picture of the sheet you're cutting out of in the same orientation as the table.

7. Place the vector you want to cut out on the sheet where you would like to cut it from.

8. Move the orientation point (0,0,0) arrow to an easily identifiable spot on the sheet, like a previously cut out corner.

9. Generate gcode for the vector to be cut out and load it on your tablet.

10. Zero your torch to the same point you placed the orientation point at in Inkscape.

11. Cut!

If all went well, your part should be cut out on the sheet exactly as it appeared in Inkscape.
Attachments
IMG_2566.jpg
zeroing.jpg
IMG_2558.JPG
IMG_2566.jpg

User avatar
Dave
Posts: 198
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2018 4:39 am
Location: Pflugerville, TX
Contact:
Re: Tip: Getting those most out of your sheet

Post by Dave » Thu Aug 30, 2018 8:15 pm

No idea what's going on with attachments there, but hopefully the pictures help.


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