A question for CAD practitioners

Re: A question for CAD practitioners

Bill Howatt

I have done a bit (not really too much) CAD in the past and I've used graphics type programs to do similar work

What I have done is divide up the leg, in this case, and print sections of it with the same scaling onto several sheets of paper. Trim and tape the paper together to create the full-size leg.

The real commercial production CAD wizards just the sent the drawing file to a computer controlled cutting machine but you won't have that either.

Bill

large prints/hardcopy

John K Jordan

There are places with large printers who will make big prints for reasonable cost. Knoxville Blue Print is one I remember. (800)258-3032

Commercial graphic arts companies also have large format printers but they are probably geared towards images instead of drawings. (Had some billboard-sized prints made of me 3D renderings back when I worked for pay.) Might not hurt to call around.

Also, maybe ask an architect. I can ask my son tomorrow.

I have also done the print & piece together thing and it worked and took some work. Another way is a mix of new and old school: overlay a grid to scale on your cad drawing on the computer. Draw a grid on your big piece of blank paper. Transfer the design with eye and pencil.

Another way is tracing from an opaque projector or digital projector but a test with a grid might be needed to check for distortion from the optics (and set the scale).

JKJ

No problema

Clint Searl

My Epson printer will take 13" wide roll paper, so length is not an issue in your example. Big printers will take rolls up to 48" wider, maybe wider.

Kinko/FedEx nearby?

Tim Greif - West of Chicago

You need to plot the drawing full scale to a large format plotter, something that handles 24x36 plots. My preferred method is to configure the cad program to plot to a full size plotter, even though you don't have one. You just need to install a print driver for a large format plotter and then setup your CAD program to plot to it (instead of or in addition to your normal 8.5x11 printer).

Then, when you're ready to print, redirect the plot to a pdf file instead of the actual plotter port. I have Adobe Acrobat Pro, but most CAD programs have a built-in PDF converter. You now have a pdf file of a full size drawing. Take the pdf on a thumb drive to Kinko/FedEx and ask them to plot it 1:1 full scale to whatever plotter they have on site. Doesn't really matter that their plotter is different than the one you used for your CAD program, since the pdf file is now just a generic full size graphic of what you plotted. Probably will cost you about seven or eight bucks for a 24x36 plot. I've also done it alot with 11x17 plots using their self serve laserjets at about $0.28 a print. I have Autocad, but you should be able to do this with pretty much any good CAD routine.

They key to remember is setup your CAD program to use larger printers you don't own, then redirect the output to a pdf file which can be printed/plotted on any printer that handles the size print you created.

Hope this makes sense.

Re: A question for CAD practitioners *LINK*

Dick Coers

Sorry no personal experience, but seen it used in his videos. Will not run on a Mac


http://woodgears.ca/bigprint/

Re: A question for CAD practitioners

Yonak

Bill, if you don't wish to take your large format drawings to a place that can print it for you on a plotter, I have had luck printing sections of large (especially long and narrow but not necessarily so) drawings on a small format printer. The sections must overlap and registration marks are also helpful. Then tape together into one large image.

Re: Kinko/FedEx nearby?

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

No Kinko but we have an Office Depot that prints documents. I'll see what they can do.

Re: A question for CAD practitioners

Don Stephan

Printing to 8.5" x 11" sheets and assembling with the registration marks has always been sufficiently accurate for me. The other option I've used is to hand draw on a large enough sheet of paper and have copies made to roll paper at the local Staples.

UPS Stores Can Print 36x24 too. 

Re: A question for CAD practitioners

TomD

The old dot matrix printers were fun because they would just keep printing till the roll of paper ran out. so you could print a paddle or a table leg, or a 50 foot mast for a boat.

Most CAD programs come with options to print as many pieces of paper as is required to do the plot. These will have alignment guides on them so that the paper can be put together. I do the same kind of thing by running a straight line beside my drawing, and I put little 90 deg lines across it. I can align these very easily to get larger plots. Probably would be better to use the provided utility, but I already did it this way from way back. I am certainly in CAD dark ages.

This year the local library added a "Maker Space" that so far seems a bit vague as to purpose. But they bought a large printer, and they will do a 24 x 36" plot for peanuts. I think it could be a colour photographs, so the lines for a boat would run pretty fast. I have been waiting for full size plots for like 20 years. (cheap, that is).

Of course, I don't do everything with CAD. It works really well compared to alternatives, saving me from having a lot of drawing gear, though as with most things, I probably end up with both. But for simple lines and stuff, I probably won't bother with a drawing, I will just do it in the shop.

By the way, you can copy all kinds of existing things. Anything you can take a picture of can be developed into your own drawing in CAD. So anything that is on the net can be copied. Any plan produced in PDF, and so forth. There are rights issues, but any sensible person can work ethically around those, particularly for personal stuff.

---------------------------------------------------

My ultimate objective is to get a 48" x 96" CNC, then I can cut full size parts or patterns. Now that those are down to 500 dollars, if I can free up the space...

I doubt I will cut full size stuff on the CNC all that much, but if I can get it to run cuts to 1/8" depth I can take them outdoors and rough them with my sabre saw, then trim them with a trim bit. That will get the dust out of my shop, and and keep the running time on the CNC to reasonable levels. Yet I will have full accuracy direct from my drawings.

CNC also allows one to cut with a knife and mark with a pen. And that opens up all kinds of possibilities for patterns and products:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edivb-mzxIA