AnvilCAD Lite

[dstacey]

Has anyone ever used AnvilCad Lite to create drawings and then export them as an Autocad .dxf file? My Dad was an expert on this program and I learned a little from him, but he's gone now so I can't ask.

I have been trying to export simple files but for some reason when I export the files the scale changes. If I export a part that is about 3' by 5', when I open the file in Partworks I get a part that is less than 3" by 4.5". I have fought with this for hours and can't find anykind of a scale setting that changes this.

The system works pretty good and I hate to go spend money on another one if there is just something stupid that I need to fix.

Thanks,
Dave

[steve_g]

Dave:
I’ve never used or heard of AnvilCAD, But it sounds like it’s expecting your input in some other form… for example engineering mode- inches.xxx or Architectural -feet and inches , or something else maybe MM?

Steve

[dstacey]

Thanks Steve!

You were right, I simply changed the units of measure from feet/inches to inches and it worked. I knew it was something simple but after several hours of fighting with it I needed someone with more experience.

Thanks Again,
Dave

[steve_g]

I’m glad that fixed you up! A lucky guess on my part.

Steve

[dstacey]

Another easy question, I hope:

If I need to draw a 12 in dado, 6 inches of the dado needs to be .25" deep and the remaining 6 inches needs to be .5" deep, how do I handle the short line that intersects the 2 dados?

Is there an easy way to handle this in partworks or do I need to draw 2 lines on top of each other and try to link them to their respective 3 other lines?

Thanks for the help,

Dave

[srwtlc]

Draw two rectangles end to end (if the dado is wider than the bit being used) and pocket toolpath one at 0.25 and the other at 0.5.

Process both toolpaths out to one cut file then.

[steve_g]

Dave:
If this was just a regular 2D view for someone to look at you would just have a single open line to show the edge of the step. Since I assume you are drawing this to cut …
Let the rectangle representing the .25 dado overlap the .5 rectangle by approximately a bit diameter. This will give you a dado without the bit radius in the end of the cut.

I hope this makes sense, If not ask me to restate it!

Steve

[dstacey]

I think I understand the dado issue, but I'm still struggling with the duplicate line issue. If I have a piece of material 12" x 12" and I want a .75" x .2" dado on each end to accept a piece joining @ 90 degrees, I have drawn the square and the dados, but the dados on the end share the same line as the cut for the outline.

I created the dado tool path, but I had to join the line that would also be the outside of the square to the dado rectangle so can't use it for the outside cut. Is there an easy way to unjoin a vector after you have joined them, or am I going about this the wrong way?

Thanks,
Dave:confused:

[steve_g]

Dave:
I hope I understand your question correctly. Here’s my answer as I perceive it.

Attached “example 1” shows a 12 X 12 piece of material (black line) with a rabbet on the top and bottom (supposed to be a blue line but doesn’t show clearly blue on my computer) and a dado across the center (red line).

I know that this doesn’t look any thing like what you’re used to but… the boxes representing the dado and rabbets over shoot the finished part boundary to allow the router bit (assumed as ½” in this example) to complete the cut with out leaving the bit radius of material in the groove. The rabbet “boxes” are also bigger than the material its entire length to get you a good clean cut all the way to the edge.

“example 2” shows the tool paths in the dado and rabbets while “example 3” shows the tool path of the perimeter cut of the 12 X 12 part.

“example 4” is a rendering of the routed part

I hope this helps you develop your drawing strategies!

Steve

[beacon14]

To "unjoin" vectors, press the N key to go to Node Editing mode. Right-click on any point and you will have options including "Cut Vector". The single letters on the right are keyboard shortcuts - instead of right-clicking you can hover over a point and press the shortcut key on your keyboard.

The advice to create a larger rectangle for your dadoes and rabbets is right on. If you did want to duplicate a vector to be used on more than one shape, select the vector (or group of vectors) and hit "Ctrl-C", then "Ctrl-V". This creates a copy to the Windows clipboard and then pastes the copy on top of the original. You can then join each copy to other vectors as desired.

[dstacey]

I think I'm finally getting the picture.

I'm having to rethink the way I draw the parts. Your examples and pictures have been very helpful. I appreicate you taking time to explain this for me.

Dave