Homebrew PCBs

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "gus_452000" <angus@...> wrote:
>
> Hi I have a nice simple homebrew PCB mill and it works very well, the 
> problem is at present I scan the artwork onto my PC and redarw this 
> with a CAD package (by hand!) save as a DXF file and then run it 
> through ACEconverter which generates the G codes needed by the milling 
> machine.
> Does anyone know a simpler method of changing the artwork/layout say 
> out of a book/magazine into the G codes?
> I have tried WinTopo but this does not do it correctly as the machine 
> simly does not follow the traces it simply goes back and forth doing a 
> dot here and there until the whole artwork is done but in a very large 
> amount of time.
> So anyone know how to tyake simple artwork, scan change from BMP to 
> DXF, to G codes in a better way than redrawing by hand?
> many thanks 
> regards
> Gus M0IKB
>

A while ago I looked for a good bitmap to vector conversion program
but did not find anything that worked for me in the open source world.
 My search was not exhaustive and I may have missed something.  

In the end it seemed worthwhile to upgrade an old copy of the Corel
Draw Suite I owned just to get the Corel Trace module.  The graphics
software world is very competitive so Corel's upgrade terms were very
liberal (my old package was *ancient*).  I got all the other vector
drawing, bitmap editor, lots of format conversion possibilities, etc.
in the deal.

While I really prefer to use (& support) open source and small
shareware vendors whenever possible, sometimes there is no really good
alternative.

-- Dave