Depends on the cad system. I use NX at work and what little I’ve done in this type of job I would use the sketch function and draft it. It has a spline function that would cover free form curves. Then export as a dxf.
Basically trace it.
Hm. So sketch curves using the imported raster image as a guide?
Those are pretty simple shapes; I would just trace manually in a vector illustration or CAD app.
You don’t need a special scanner for this; you could lay a sheet of acrylic over the plans to reduce the distortion from the folds and take pictures with your phone, including all four corners of each sheet. Then all you have to do is stretch those four corners to a canvas matching the height and width of the original sheet, and you should have a fairly accurate digital representation to use as a guide. If you notice any curvature on the edges of the sheet, you can use a lens distortion removal tool to remove it.
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I have a similar project in that I want to scan some large documents. I found a project a guy did where he stripped an inexpensive used flatbed scanner down so that the document glass is the top surface.
He then placed that face down on the document hewasnted to scan, using a guide to let him move it in between scans.
Then he stiched them together.
Actually found the link:
https://mpetroff.net/2013/09/scanner-modifications-to-scan-large-documents/
I haven’t modded my scanner yet. Other projects have needed attention first.
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CA annex next to computer on desk. Has flat bed scanner, maybe a little larger than legal size.
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I think @TLAR has a large format scanner. You might see what his business, Premier Gallery, would charge for doing the scan for you.
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I don’t have a large format scanner - just a large format 12 color fine art printer.
Thomas Printworks does wide format scanning in monochrome and color and from what a recent customer said, they charge $10 per square foot. I’d suggest checking with the location nearest you for a price check for accuracy though.
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adobe capture (mobile app) works to turn small drawings into vectors - maybe you could do several shots and stitch them together…
In one of Kee’s Fusion 360 classes we took a picture of an item. Imported jpg to canvas. Created CAD drawing by tracing desired parts of pict using CAD drawing tools. Turn off canvas and add dimensions. You’re basically using the canvas pict as a guide to create the CAD drawing.
If you can’t be bothered to do all the photo stitching then I second @TLAR s suggestion. At least then you have a reliably sized image to trace into a vector.
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First of all, congratulations. It looks like you found the woodworking plans you were seeking for the chairs.
If you were to use this scanner, then you would have to use Photoshop or Illustrator to reposition the pieces to make one full-sized drawing. Good luck getting a commercial shop to scan it for you unless the copyright legend on the plans clearly allow this.
If you go the photograph route, make sure you have squares or rectangles drawn on your plans. I would use those as an orthogonal reference so you can remove any keystone or skew in your image. It’s nearly impossible to photograph perfectly straight-on to get orthogonal plans; it will likely require some manipulation to get it square.
Anyway, assuming you have a non-vector file like a .jpg, you can use image trace in illustrator.
- Import
- Hit image trace dropdown in the top toolbar (there are a variety of settings)
- Then hit the expand button to create the vectors.
- You can double click the image to go into isolation mode and delete the white pieces to remove the background.
- Or use direct select tool then choose select - same - fill color.
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Take a picture. Import into Fusion 360. Trace. Add dimensions. Extrude out parts. Arrange parts for cutting on CNC. Create tool paths. Cut it out on CNC. Assemble it. Too easy.
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it is important to keep the angle of the camera flat/parallel to the drawing. If angled it may cause a stretch of the lines. but an excellent way to do it.
Very good point. The auto focus of some cameras have multiple focus points across the frame. Turn on all focus points and watch for points in focus in the view finder. The more points in focus across the frame, the closer the film/sensor will be parallel to the subject surface. This a technique I use when shooting hand held and the subject is mostly flat surface.
Also some/all of the distortions can be fixed when tracing the pict.
Focus points won’t eliminate parallax, will make image sharper. That’s why Chris mentioned the grid squares. You can correct for parallax extremely accurately if you have known reference points as well as accurately scale. Software can adjust and make things parallel.
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This stuff is mostly Greek to me. I think the simplest thing might be to scan on the flatbed in sections, stitch the images together and then trace.
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I would take a photo perfectly perpendicular to the plans. Maybe on a large wall? Then use a known good lens profile to undistort the image. Adobe Camera Raw can do this or any good raw photo software. Then take that image into whatever CAD or illustration software to create the vector image. It’ll be a lot of manual work to get a precise vector version. I have a 50MP camera and I’d be happy to take a photo of the plans at DMS if you want to do the other preparation.
You might also reach out directly to the creator of the plans and ask for a vector version or offer to pay for a vector version. That would save a lot of time and effort.
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That is what I would do, but if these are the plans, Need Old Issue of Today's Woodworker , “good luck with that.”
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Yeah it was from 1992 and the magazine has since gone under/been acquired and they have nothing. I was able to get some clean scans of the plans tonight and once our Photoshop licenses are fixed I’ll try to stitch the images and trace.
