The Ship Model Forum

Jon wrote:...As for your drawings. They will need to be photo negatives of this. So your black area's will need to be white and vice-versa.

Thanks Jon!

I don't know anything about other CAD programs, but AutoCAD has "Model Space" and "Paper Space", the latter which is used for printing, and is what the image that I posted was created in. In "Model Space" my drawing is as you describe it. The background is black and the cutout areas are white.

Not sure who can do one-off's I know they are out there.

As for your drawings. They will need to be photo negatives of this. So your black area's will need to be white and vice-versa.

Thanks Tracy! I did not know that �Subscribe topic� did that. I appreciate the Protip.

The reason that I find this thread timely is because I would like to make some PE parts for my detailed 1/144 scale USS Greenling model. I have prepared a sheet of the items that I would like to make in AutoCAD, like the rest of the model, but unlike the model, it is strictly 2D. I have no experience with making PE, but I have used a laser cutter before. The laser cutter could engrave or cut the material (wood) based on the laser settings. One layer (0-white) was set to cut through the material. A second layer (1-red) was set to cut part way through the material for engraving. I assume the PE process is similar, so I made my PE template as I would for the laser cutter.

The image below shows my proposed PE sheet. It shows both the actual size (when filling an 8-1/2�x11� sheet) and an enlarged view. The design contains only cuts and no etching. Every apparent line is really two lines with the spaces between the lines filled in. I used PE templates that I have in my stash to design the tabs, so everything that is black is cut out.

Now the questions are�

Am I on the right track? Will PE machines be able to print the file? Is there anybody that will make such a small piece? I only need one.

Protip: You can subscribe to threads without replying to them with the "subscribe topic" link near the top:

Timely thread!

I don't have anything to add at this point. I just wanted it to show up under "My Posts" so I can follow it easier.

Moved here for safekeeping.

Indeed, I don't like the newer versions either. I stick with my Corel X3. Why mess with something that works so well. I've used 4 all the way up to X5 and X3 is the best in my eyes. Ten was also pretty good.

Older versions of corel were 16bit, they couldn't handle complex weld and trim operations.
I still use 7 for basic designs. Sometimes you see errors (trim, autoalign, equidistant polygons), but easy to adjust manually. I liked the finite zoom in nano range.
For finishing work go to X5 or X6. some stuff just can't be done without 64bit.

Indeed, simple splines are poorly transferred so I use arced segments. I do not know why the transfer of splines doesn't work as these have been around for some time and are very simple to evaluate. I used to like Corel but they have a tendency to make their programs worse with each new release, so it's the counterintuitive interface of Adob products for me now Perhaps I should continue in Matlab...

Actually that's what we used before corel. autocad drawings are precise and also vector with absolute coordinates. You can always output into vector and load into corel.
Biggest issue with AI is when you convert curvatures to vector it goes bizzard. Corel is the simplest, with very decent results.

I also do not really like the lack of zoom in Illustrator, so I start all my designs in Autocad (which is very precise) and then fill in all the lines in Illustrator. A bit cumbersome. Autocad isn't able to create filled-in regions good enough for etching templates.

ya illustrator lacked some vector functions, and memory allocation not very good, especially older versions.

dunno if i should say this but you could download cracked version of corel X5 (15) with p2p (torrent, newsletter, etc).

I'm really struggling using Illustrator but it could be my inexperience with the program. The problem is that after I zoom In far enough the ruler starts adding strange numbers and measurements to it and I eventually cannot understand it even after zooming out. Snap to grid also does strange things even when set correctly in preferences.

Does CorelDraw have a demo that would work fully for a month before expireing? Might be able to crank out what I need with something that works before it expires. Wish I could use MS Publisher and just convert it to these formats without any loss or resizing. It is vector based and has always served me well on printing out fine decals for 1/700.

Don't know their pricing standards, I'll just give our minimum quantity prices you guys can compare.
brass (0 impurity brass, safe to solder, chemical treat, and MOST importantly, more elastic. They allow more repeats of folding and curling)
0.1-0.2mm 3cents per sq cm
0.3-0.5mm 4cents per sq cm
Minimum sheet size 50sq cm, minimum quantity 100 pieces, turn around 3 weeks. Large sheets I can get quantity down to like 30 sheets, but this is why I don't generally offer these services. We etch with machines, and sheet materials roll in at 30cm width.

Some of you already knew, all our etch are vacuum filmed on both sides, high grade mat no scratches dents or dins.

With the min quantity you get 1 micron precision (not our highest standard but nano standards are beyond affordable level of this hobby/industry).
We handle all the protection and connectors (you just draw parts), and I can show you design requirements, how to calculate bendlines, protection relieve, etc, AS LONG AS YOU KNEW HOW TO USE COREL. If you didn't, please talk to the company linked above
We offer 85% thickness-width ratio as a standard, means you can etch lines as thin as 0.1275mm on 0.15mm brass, and it will not come out thicker than 0.1285mm per precision standard.

Lastly, here are some basic requirements for drawings. If you didn't understand what I meant, please refer to last paragraph
1.corel or ai. Corel v7 or above preferred.
2.all objects must be vector and sealed (watertight). Filled colors. Boarders must be colorless and preferably 0 line width.
3.SI units only. 90 degree bends need to be > 1X material thickness (1.25X for 0.1-0.2mm brass gives you straight edges no overlap or extra width).
4.color codes: black for unetched. 50% gray for frontal relieve. red for back relieve, powder blue for etched through.

That's it. Etching is simple and straight forward, devil is in design calculations.

btw, turn around 2-3 weeks. We etch for different industries, most of the time these small orders need to wait for orders required the same type of material, so we can bill all the adjustments with the larger orders.

Oh, forgot to meantion. I have drawn sheets for manufacturing/sales and did draw them one-to-one scale.

So you can draw some of your elements but I wouldn't lay them out untill you know the size of the sheet to which it will be applied. You have to add attachment arms at the end also. Use as many as you can. Be logical in both what works best to support each part and what is easy to make the part removable.

I use Corel Draw X3.

Love using this program. Be careful on how thick you make your lines as lines have their own thickness than a boarder is added. I set mine when I draw photo etch so there is no boarder/outline.

I also created a few jigs so you can create railings easily. Have jigs for 2, 3 and 4 railing bar types. Set the grid with very small squares. Each square is the height of the rail. Set the "snap to grid" setting. Save a file for each jig.

Digital calipers is really handy:

These are newbe question having never work with or making copies for PE sheets before.
Should the drawings sent be in the same size (scale) as the PE sheet?
Do you create the drawing using CorelDraw x3 or Adobe Illustrator or do you convert to that format?

Thanks

When you send these files, make sure the line thicknesses and fills are correct AND BLACK! I once sent in a drawing in a very dark grey and the etch was dotted all over. I had to send in Illustrator files in version 8.

ajkochev wrote:CorelDraw x3 or Adobe Illustrator 10

So, .cdr or .ai files.

I looked and they accept CorelDraw x3 or Adobe Illustrator 10 or lower. I have 13 but it allows to save in version 10 so I'm going to see what the cost will be once I get my drawing done.