Software for Tracing Outlines

[Tadasana]

We have recently purchased a waterjet table and we now are receiving drawings (usually pdf) that the client wants cut out of metal.  Does anyone know of a good software that will automatically trace an outline and create a .dxf (or other waterjet compatible format) for cutting? 

[TonyHolsinger]

Autocad will allow you to import the PDF using "PDFImport".  It will convert the PDF into autocad lines, and you could then save it as a .dxf?

[DonWunder]

I use some websites that can change a image file into a DXF, then I use CAMduct to import the DXF.

[madcad]

Autocad will allow you to import the PDF using "PDFImport".  It will convert the PDF into autocad lines, and you could then save it as a .dxf?

I think that function was added in AutoCAD 2016.

[Phred]

if they were created with a drawing program, why not ask for the dwg or dxf files, we also use Aide pdf to dwg convertor. It work pretty good as long as they are not scans.

[Tadasana]

We usually receive image files as pdf or png and they can be quite messy.  I am attaching an example of one that I have to manually trace over with splines in order to create the dxf file.  I had no luck using ACad 2018 to import this pdf and have it automatically create the outlines.  We are also asked to do a lot of lettering in specific text styles.  The only way to do that that I have been able to figure out is to create the text, explode it, and then most of it has to be redrawn with splines, lines and arcs.  VERY time consuming!  We are looking for a program that will pick up on the outlines of pdf / jpeg, etc, and also do lettering.

[davidratx]

We usually receive image files as pdf or png and they can be quite messy.  I am attaching an example of one that I have to manually trace over with splines in order to create the dxf file.  I had no luck using ACad 2018 to import this pdf and have it automatically create the outlines.  We are also asked to do a lot of lettering in specific text styles.  The only way to do that that I have been able to figure out is to create the text, explode it, and then most of it has to be redrawn with splines, lines and arcs.  VERY time consuming!  We are looking for a program that will pick up on the outlines of pdf / jpeg, etc, and also do lettering.

Tadasana I have used a free software called Inkscape to outline image files. Not always perfect results but it might be worth looking into. Below is a webinar we did showing the workflow into CAMduct.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E7uhCHx-Nc&list=PLD4SALYsH6FmoumF7ib6GKc-jEgDUiQ0O&index=3

[tvtinbender]

Inkscape works good most of the time. I have seen a couple cases where the DXF generated from the bitmap trace causes errors when you try to nest in CAMduct. However, it works more often than not....