I am trying to use Easel and X-Carve to cut out pieces of birch plywood to make a scale model of my house. Some of the windows are arched and I am trying to draw them freehand using the Easel drawing tool. Is there an easier way?
I’m thinking of doing an image trace of the blueprint window outline unless I can figure out an easier way.
Thank you,
Anthony
I am certainly not an expert but maybe the DXF Import option in Easel would be a good option if you have access to a CAD program to create the geometry (arc).
Thanks, but how do you draw just the arc, with a certain radius, from a point on a line?
You cant, you need to make a full circle with certain radius, then make other objects to cover up the unwanted bits. When these are combined you are left with an arc / partial circle.
Haldor, I tried doing what you suggest, but all I got when combining was a bigger object. How do you get rid of the unwanted sections of the circle? The arc I need goes from one edge of the workpiece to an adjacent edge of the workpiece. The circle that is required to get this arc is bigger than the workpiece so the unwanted portions are outside of the cut area.
Do you have a picture of what you’re wanting to create? Or can you sketch it out on paper?
Thanks
Russell
Before @RussellCrawford does it.
I use Fusion anytime I need to sketch dimensioned objects.
+1
Neil, thanks much! I have Fusion360 but haven’t spent any time getting to know how to use it. For my woodworking planning I use Sketchup. This is my first project on CNC.
Neil, get a finger ask for an arm… my CNC table is 11" wide, so I’m making this in two pieces. How can I cut yours in half? Is it possible in Easel, or will I have to bite the bullet on Fusion?
You can cover half the drawing with a square and set it to 0 depth. Cut the first half then move the square to the other side and cover it. The biggest problem with this is getting them lined up correctly.
Wayne, forgive the newbie questions, but does this prevent the machine from trying to go beyond the 11" width?
I defined a “safe area” - does this also prevent the machine from trying to go beyond the 11" width?
Not sure how big of a piece you are cutting but if you completly cover say half of it it will only carve what it can see.
No it does not, it will though if you cover the left half with a rectangle set to Fill and zero depth. This will tell Easel not to go there (as there is nothing to do)
That’s what he means.
Can I ask what that part is by the way?
It’s a game board from this article in Wood Magazine.YachtRock Article.pdf (8.3 MB) I hope I’m not violating a copyright by uploading it.
I saw it, and since I just bought my first cnc (a 3018 from FoxAlien), it seemed like a perfect first project. I intend to make two identical pieces and then end-glue them together to make the full 22" board. I know that doing it the way the article described is not hard, just tedious. I already have the people and the brass rods. Thought it would be fun for the grandkids.
Here is a copy of @NeilFerreri1 drawing split into 3 sections. Since you only have 11" of travel and the piece is 22" long i split it into 3 pieces.
