MC Training or tutorials for working with Illustrator files

[CJH]

Hi all,

 

I new to Mastercam and also to the forum. A recent request has come up from our graphics dept to get some sort of training in setting up illustrator files for us to cut on our router in the shop. We've had some success in this but it takes a little work to get right. A project was done about 6 months ago, where one of our programmers had to cut a bunch of graphic panels that were shaped like people, having the printed image on them.

 

A few issues were run into in getting this complete. It turned out the graphics when printed didn't quite match the clipping path created in Illustrator for cutting on the router. So after the files were turned over to the shop, the vector files needed a bit of editing in Rhino3D to make the vectors match the actual printed graphic, due to some distortion in the printing process, then the cutting began.

 

It all worked out well in the end, but our graphics dept sees the intermediate step as unecessary, and feels the files should be able to be brought right into MC and ready to cut. I tried to explain to them that no matter where the file comes from either 2D or 3D there is always the possibility that it may need some editing on the shop end to make things work.

 

They are requesting to get some sort of training that will better help them prepare the files for us programmers. So I thought I would pose the question to the forum and ask for some help. Does anyone know of any tutorials or customized training options that would address this? I've been to the basic MC class so far, and need to attend the more advanced classes, and it seems to me that the regular classes wouldn't address this issue for our graphics dept.

 

Any help you guys can provide would be useful.

 

Thanks,

 

Chris

[Rocketmachinist]

One thing that you may need to help eliminate some headache would be Mastercam Art. It can take images into Mastercam and convert them into part geometry. It is an additional cost to buy the art package. But, if you use it a lot it may pay for itself fairly quickly.

[CJH]

Yeah we have, I think, 2 add-on seats of it. Though neither of them are on my pc. The main thing is trying to fulfill the request of our graphics dept. Though the issue arises from their final printed images not matching the vector for cutting, so it takes hand measuring and adjustment in the shop.

 

But thanks for the suggestion.