[xclr82xtc]

Hey guys. i have a picture of a dog that i would like to outline and engrave onto a sign for my boss man, who just remodeled his home. I guess i need to somehow trace the image. I have software that will give me a vector image trace, but it saves it in a proprietary format. so.. does anyone have a procedure for making it happen? never done it before. i know how to use mastercam, but this is throwing me for a loop

[-Chris-]

Hi, Check out the area " General Metalwork Discussion" a little farther down the main forum page then ask in the share your files and art ect thats the place youll get some help -Chris-

[xclr82xtc]

ok cool.. thanks

[cncnitro]

There is a C-Hook in Mastercam 4. It's called Rast2Vec.dll. Just click on it .

Good luck!

[chevcamo]

In respect to cncnitro, a more detailed answer is:

1. Drop-down menu ART.
2. Trace Image-Raster to Vector...
3. Select appropriate image.
4. Mess around with the "Linear Black/White Conversion" (Optional, but will help get a better picture out of it.)
5. Under Resolution DPI pick what size you're wanting this to come out as.
6. Choose Create Outlines.
7. Under Spline Parameters pick best Optimize for: option for the job
8. Green Checkmark.

From there it creates the outlines of the image. You can click somewhere on the black screen and move the axis view a little to see what the lines look like. If satisfied, click the Green checkmark again and go from there with the tooling. If not satisfied, use smooth more or click the red X and change #6 to Manually Trace Bitmap Image. You can then manually trace the image as you wish.

If you need anymore help just holler.