Good point, the file went from 2.9mb as a dxf to 800 kb when it was zipped. In fact, DXF’s generally are fairly large drawing files in comparison to program specific files like DWG.
I’ll update the above posts to use a ZIP file instead
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Any chance you could share a DXF with the top-mount holes too?
Thanks!
Sure, I isolated the holes for the top mount linkage for you. I remember from our PM conversation you had talked about mounting the linkage with 10-24 bolts, so I modified the holes as I did with the 45 linkage kit. If you or anyone else wants to use the 1/4"-20 bolts provided with the kit make sure you enlarge the holes! Otherwise you will have to drill them out after cutting the part. Also note that the dimensions are in cm as well. I could scale it to mm if that’s what people want, but I figure so long as you know what the drawing dimensions are you can work around it.
Top Mount File: TopMountLinkageSled.zip (831.3 KB)
Probably should include these in the Github community garden and add a wiki page quickly detailing them.
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Thanks!
123456789101112131415…
I have merged all the DXF files I posted here with the Community Garden repo in GitHub.
I actually widened the top mount’s holes to 1/4" to use the hardware provided in @dlang’s kit. If you have the top mount kit, I highly recommend downloading the DXF from GitHub, because the one I posted above was designed specifically for @mfpiechowski’s machine.
Bonus goodies are step files of both linkage systems, and a step file of the baseline sled I’ll be using to test the triangular kinematics.
https://github.com/MaslowCNC/CommunityGarden/tree/master/Sleds
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I use Adobe Illistrator almost exclusively. I regularly make things with a laser that require accuracy in the .001" range and I’ve never had an issue. With the Full Spectrum laser the laser software works like a print driver so I actually “print” directly from AI. With the Chinese laser (same laser tube, 1/5th the price!) it uses their own plug-in that only works in Corel Draw. I can not stand Corel, I’ve given it a college try and I dislike it very very much, this is most likely due to me using Illustrator every day for the last 10-15 years - switching is not easy. So instead I still design in Illustrator and import into Corel for sending to the laser.
I’ve designed some pretty complicated 3D things in Illustrator but I’m really excited to learn Fusion 360! Parametric modeling is difficult (but not impossible) in Illustrator, so the ability to model in 3D and have scalable plans is really exciting to me!
I’ve used Inkscape a little bit and it’s not bad. The best part is that it’s free!!
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I’m having a lot of trouble getting these files to be the right size. I’ve tried bringing the 45LinkageSled.DXF into InkScape, QCAD (trial), and even OnShape. When I measure the Diameter of the sled, it shows 50. (I’m not sure what unit… but if it’s 50 inches, that’s too big, and if it’s 50mm, that’s too small).
What would be your preferred method for converting this DXF into an SVG of the correct size that I could then load in Easel or MakerCAM to do the CAM setup?
That’s because it’s 50cm… I had a feeling this might cause some confusion. If you scale it by 10 it will be in mm, or 0.393701 to get it to inches.
I probably should post a version that’s just mm to avoid any future confusion.
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Well now I’m going to have to figure out how to scale a drawing 
! Total CAD/CAM newb here.
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I scaled up both the dxf’s for you. I will have to update the files in the community garden as well.
Out of curiousity, which CAD package do you use?
SledDxfs.zip (1.7 MB)
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That’s the problem, I’m not sure! I find Easel very easy to use, so that’s what I’ve been using for CAM for cutting out frame parts and have even done some of my own basic drawings. Easel doesn’t let you import DXF directly, so it’s not useful for most downloaded projects. For converting to SVG, I’ve tried https://convertio.co/dxf-svg/ and Inkscape, both with mixed success. I know I want to jump up to a program that can deal with DXF’s natively. Both OnShape and Fusion 360 feel very overwhelming so I’m definitely looking for some nice intermediate. Which do you use?
There are so many options, and it can be quite overwhelming. I use Fusion360 mostly myself for both the modeling and CAM in one convenient package. I also model in Creo, and Solidworks, and use AutoCAD for 2D drawings. I’ve been looking into Onshape, and it seems like a very powerful program, so it may become my preferred program. Problem is, I’ve already drawn a lot of parametric cabinets and other furniture in Fusion and those features tend to get lost in translation.
Onshape, Fusion, Creo, Solidworks all have quite a bit of a learning curve, but they’re amazing programs if you get the hang of them. I learned almost everything from either YouTube or Google searches, so it’s entirely possible to self-teach yourself.
That’s annoying that Easel doesn’t handle DXF’s natively. For 2D drawings, it’s a pretty standard file format. I guess the open source community prefers SVG? I should probably make SVG versions of the sleds as well. It’s a pity that AutoCAD doesn’t support SVG 
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It also seems like it’s the preferred program around this forum! I’d like to use it as well, but have to say I’ve found much better tutorials for Fusion360. You open OnShape and all of the buttons are just images with no text. Very intimidating!
Absolutely! I wish they did. Converting isn’t hard, but out of the several times I’ve tried it, things have gotten lost and sizing has gotten messed up.
Yes, AutoDesk has been very good about pushing Fusion. I actually started using it for work just before I dove in with the Maslow Team. They were doing a big promotional event and invited the engineering department where I work to go through the program and take a tour of their Makerspace in Boston. I found it pretty intuitive, but I also had been drafting primarily in Creo at that point, so I was already pretty comfortable modeling.
I’ve also found that the Fusion community is pretty large, so a lot of individuals have made good tutorials as well.
If you hover your cursor over the icons the help text will at the very least tell you what the command is and what it’s hotkey is. Of course, if you’re not already familiar with modeling you may not know what the command does.
When I joined Onshape (just to open a file from this forum, I use Autodesk products normally) they started sending me emails with training materials. I haven’t really looked at them to see if they are any good, though
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My free advice is, when laying out files for cutting parts they always be done (default) to Metric.
Thank you
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good advice. although I still layout all my manual cutting files in imperial… I really need to buy myself a metric tape measure
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Forgot to reply to this as well. That is one of the scarier things about translating files between different platforms. It’s very easy for things to get skewed/scaled/broken. When I imported the SVG files for the frame, they were all scaled wrong and I had to enlarge them using known dimensions.
Yes, it makes life very easy when you do your layout in the same measurement system as your machine. This is probably more reason for me to update the community garden models to use mm.
Or get a bilingual tape! 
Almost all of my tapes have both Imperial and Metric on them so it’s easy to switch between them. Even though I grew up with feet and inches, I prefer metric. It just makes the math so much easier. Once you can remember what the basic measurements are, it’s much easier to think in metric. I.E. 1/4" = 6.35mm, 1/2" = 12.7mm, 3/4" = 19.05mm, 1" = 25.4mm, 6" ~ 150mm, 12" ~ 300mm, and so on.
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FWW - I know a pro CAD guy. If he gets imperial files from a Client, he converts the file to Metric, does his Edits and converts it back to send to the Client.
Thank you
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Yeah, I can remember the conversions, but I still have to convert every dimension in my head. I have really been trying to internalize metric units so I can think in them. Not there yet, though.
Yes, that