Hey guys so possibly an odd question. I make custom switch panels for vehicles mostly out of carbon fiber sheets. I’ve always wanted a CNC machine but am still saving up. So before I get one I want to be familiar with the software etc… Anyways I made a switch panel on easel, (pic for reference) I am wondering how I would go about being able to print this out on paper in full scale? The piece is 5inchesx2inches so it would fit on a normal piece of paper. I could then tape it onto the piece and cut it using the template. Seeing as I don’t have a CNC machine yet.
Just design it in Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Inkscape. You can print it there and export it to Easel via .SVG.
I have photoshop but the problem is is I don’t think i can scale the holes to specific sizes etc… that is why i like easel
Not Photoshop. You need a vector editor like Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Inkscape (free).
whats the best one to use out of the 3?
Illustrator: The most popular commercially.
CorelDraw: The one I’m most comfortable with.
Inkscape: Not as feature complete as the others, but still very good and FREE.
with illustrator can I specify the size of circles by mm? Most of my work is making the proper sized holes for the switches etc… I always thought illustrator and photoshop where pixel based?
The last version of Photoshop I used was CS5 and was about a year or so ago but if memory serves you can set your units to inches/mm based or pixel based when you create a new canvas. Creating shapes such as circles should also let you specify size or at the very least a counter of sorts should tell you the current size of the circle as you are manipulating it.
I’ll look into it tomorrow if I still have it installed but I don’t recall that being a limitation in Photoshop or Illustrator.
Photoshop is pixel based. Illustrator is vector based. It can indeed handle specifying the size of circles, rectangles, etc by exact measurements.