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Okay, new one for you boys and girls involving plasma cutting

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mccoy178:
I have found a metal shop that will cut out my four person cp with a plasma cutter buttons and all for $50.  It is 16 gauge metal.  I need to provide a .dfx file for the cutter.  If I have my layout made in Adobe Illustrator, is there anyway to convert over the measurements into such a program?  If anyone could help I would greatly appreciate it.  I think that is a pretty solid deal for metal and all, so I'm pretty stoked.  I will be posting my layout later tonight.  Thanks in advance for any help.

Fozzy The Bear:
I think you mean .dxf file... That's a txt based CAD description file generated by AutoCAD and also generated by CAD programs that can produce AutoCAD compatible files. 

The only way I know of to convert an illustrator file to that format is to copy it into the CAD software as a graphic and trace the image. But in order to do it accurately you really need to re-draw it properly in CAD software. Which does mean understanding and learning to use a CAD program.

Otherwise you'll have to pay them (probably a large sum) for their time to draw it for you.

The other option is to ask on here... Somebody may have the time to help you out, by re-drawing your panel as a .dxf....  I would offer to help you with this one, but I'm snowed under with work right now.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

PoDunkMoFo:
I can convert it for you.

Give me a PM.

BTW plasma is not exactly the most accurate way to cut metal but it should do for a CP, just don't get too tight on your tolerances.

NoOne=NBA=:
Illustrator will export .dxf files.

Whether they will be workable at the other end is a bit of a crapshoot however.
They work fine for some of my vendors, but not for others.
I've got several suppliers who prefer .eps files, and use some kind of a conversion program at their end to create the .dxf files themselves.

PoDunkMoFo:

--- Quote from: NoOne=NBA= on March 07, 2006, 06:54:07 pm ---
I've got several suppliers who prefer .eps files, and use some kind of a conversion program at their end to create the .dxf files themselves.

--- End quote ---

This is the way I would do it.  I have seen strange stuff happen when trying to import native illustrator files into other programs.

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