Rotate

[KWiK]

When I bring in a DXF I often want to rotate it in order to make one edge either perfectly horizontal or vertical. I know I do an angle measurement, and rotate by that amount, but it seems likely the rounding of decimal places could make it off. I am just wondering if there is a trick or some function I don't know about to in order to get a sketch line either vertical or horizontal .

Thanks

[FixitMike]

The only "trick" I know of is to set one end of the line in question on the end of a horizontal or vertical line, then select and rotate the desired parts about that point until the lines are on top of each other. You can zoom in as you rotate and get the lines together within about .0001", which should be good enough.

[KWiK]

Thanks Mike.

I just figured out another way Node edit, and check the location of one node, and go to the opposite end of the line and input that value. I was kind of surprised that it rotated it, I was thinking it would move the whole set of vectors rather than rotate.

[Adrian]

If you changed the co-ordinates of the node then only that node will have moved.

[sailfl]

You can also create a box in your drawing program the size of the material. Draw what you want to cut inside that box. When you bring you drawing into VCarve you can use the material box.

[KWiK]

If you changed the co-ordinates of the node then only that node will have moved.

Of course.... I should have known that.

[FixitMike]

I would suggest grouping all of the vectors before rotating them. Then you will be sure that everything is aligned. You can ungroup them when they are where you want them. Unfortunately, the node trick doesn't work with grouped vectors.

[tomgardiner]

My method is to draw a line of known length along the imported drawing that is intended to be the horizontal / vertical reference. Now draw a line the same length vertical or horizontal starting at the end point of the previously drawn line. Select all except the vertical/horizontal line and drag the rotation center to the common end point. Now you can rotate the drawing by pulling on the end point of line first drawn until it snaps to second line.

[FixitMike]

Now you can rotate the drawing by pulling on the end point of line first drawn until it snaps to second line.

When I do that, the vectors move up and down or sideways, no rotation. Even if I have moved the center of rotation to the common point. What is your secret?

[KWiK]

My method is to draw a line of known length along the imported drawing that is intended to be the horizontal / vertical reference. Now draw a line the same length vertical or horizontal starting at the end point of the previously drawn line. Select all except the vertical/horizontal line and drag the rotation center to the common end point. Now you can rotate the drawing by pulling on the end point of line first drawn until it snaps to second line.

Hi Tom,

I guess I am not getting it. Wouldn't you have to know the exact angle of the imported drawing's line in order to draw over the top of it, or am I just completely missing it.

[tomgardiner]

Not really. Just choose what you think you want as your final axis, such as a border or centers of objects etc as snap points for the ref line.
I work with mechanical drawings or architectural drawings most of the time and usually there are points of reference. Vector art I see would present a problem.

[KWiK]

I work with parametric's most the time, and really miss the ability to define a line as horizontal, or vertical, or parallel etc, and know that won't change. Tangent is another big one I miss. Vcarve is great at 99% of what I need to do though, and I am not trying to put it down, I think parametric's is beyond what most people would need or even want.

I did eventually get a line perfectly vertical (at least as far as the node properties are concerned.), by drawing a line from one vertex straight up, aproximately the same length as the one I wanted to rotate. Then setting the rotation axis at the bottom vertex and zooming in as close as I could to the top of the two lines, and rotating by .001 until they looked like they were the same.

Basically I am just trying to get as good a edge as possible and I figure if the machine doesn't jog in the x at all as it is cutting in the y the edge will be as good as possible and take less prep for gluing.

Thanks everyone for your input.

[Adrian]

You could take that method a stage further by using the Dimensions tool to show the angle between the reference line and the shape using the pivot point. You can then enter that figure directly into the Rotate tool. One thing to bear in mind is actual cutting resolution of the machine. I used to spend ages zoomed right in getting things exactly lined up only to realise that what looked like a huge gap on the screen was actually two times smaller than the resolution of my CNC.

[tomgardiner]

Mike, I am not at my machine today so I can't be sure what I do because I stumbled onto this method. Maybe I was pulling on the rotation square which makes it awkward to keep an eye on the reference lines if the drawing is much larger than the ref line. I should never answer questions without being at my computer. Sorry for the confusion.

[tomgardiner]

KWIK, I posted a way of making lines tangent to a curve a couple of months ago in Tips and Tricks. It is title lines perpendicular to a curve. Fix it Mike pointed out that the same method I mentioned can do tangent and perpendicular lines on a curve.
Initially I was frustrated that some of the line drawing functions were missing from V-carve that were present in my pure CAD program but now I have found most of what I need day to day within V-carve and I am happy to work in one package.