The simplest way to generate a DXF file from Inkscape is to use the DXF export module (I guess you already figured that out!).īefore exporting to DXF, you need to make sure that: The labels, figures, texts and bitmap are in 4 different layers and also 4 different colors. The first row contains Objects, the second row the same objects converted to Paths and the third row a Bitmap. The examples hereunder are based on the following Inkscape project: If you need an exact fit between 2 objects, you need to take in account the kerf.Īs said above, you can visualize the kerf by setting the kerf value as stroke width.Ī 4x4cm piece of 3mm MDF cut at the FabLab measures 39.8mm, we have here a 0.2mm kerf. It varies with the material used and the depth of the cut (about 0.2 mm).

The kerf is the width of the groove made by the laser while cutting. Typically we do not want to do that and this can be changed in the Inkscape Preferences, Transforms tab Note that by default Inkscape will scale the stroke width when you scale the objects.

In some cases you may want to set the stroke width to the kerf (see below) 0.01 mm) as the measurements given by Inkscape are always including stroke! Stroke width does not matter as such, the laser cutter will always cut in the center of the line.Īgain if the exact size is important to you, use a very small stroke width (e.g. in pixels, it will be less obvious to see how big your project will be in reality) (Actually it will probably work with whatever unit you choose, but if the size of your final project matters and you choose to work e.g. Ensure your drawing units in Inkscape are set to millimeters as well! After installing 0.48.2, download the 0.48.4 Source Tarball and copy the following 4 files from the source tree to your Application package in the Contents/Resources/extensions directory:īy default SmartCarve expects units to be millimeters. Although this version is working very well, the DXF export filter is a bit outdated. Note for the Mac users: the latest bundle available for Mac OS X is still 0.48.2. General remarks Inkscape VersionĮnsure you are using the latest version for your operating system (0.48.4 at the time of this writing - March 2013). This article illustrates some 'do and don't' when using Inkscape in combination with SmartCarve at iMAL. SmartCarve, the laser cutter software operating the Cyborg, is using the DXF file format for importing vector graphics and Inkscape allows us to easily export our SVG projects in DXF format. Inkscape is a popular Open Source vector graphics editor which can be used with the Cyborg laser cutter at iMAL.

Inkscape dxf color mapping