Autocad to Omega?

[bshertzer]

Hey all,

Is there anyway to somewhat painlessly take an Autocad file (dwg) into Omega? Everything i have tried seemed to fail miserably. I work in Autocad all day long doing architectural drafting, and now have added another feather under my hat.

The companies we use for signage use gerber, which is why we bought it. the guy that did our signs in house, then sent them to be cut, is no longer doing it for various reasons, and now i need to take that over.

I have never used gerber before, and only today removed it from his system, and installed it on mine.

I have tried things such as exporting as dwg, dxf, eps, wmf files from acad. opening dwg, dxf, wmf, eps files in Corel 12 and saving out to omega. the sign people tell me that there is "substantial" amounts of work involved in trying to "clean up" my files.... is there anything i can do with this, or is it just a matter of biting the bullet and learning omega?

current programs -
AutoCAD 2004
Corel Graphics Suite 12
Omega 1.56

Brian

 

[Rick]

Have you tried .pdf out of Autocad?

You may also have to get rid of unnecessary layers and lines.

I might also suggest designing your signage in Corel 9 (I do it in Illustrator) then importing it into AutoCad. That way you always have a usuable source file with less distortion for any signshop can use and gets rid of the Omega factor all together. The biggest reason is what happens if you have to get a sign shop that uses a different program? I would bite the bullet and learn Corel instead.

 

[Fred Weiss]

Rick's advice is good. Bear in mind the best universal exchange vector format that all signmaking applications can read is Illustrator AI or EPS. I tend to think your easiest path, if you are going to use Omega, is simply to design it there and bring it into AutoCad for your requirements there.

I've had my share of files created in AutoCad and always have a hard time with them. The best of the worst format, IMHO, that AutoCad will produce for import into Omega is DXF.

Once into Omega, the primary thing you must do is to look for open nodes and close them which is something AutoCad doesn't seem to be bothered by but Omega is.

In Omega, make sure the "Retain", under "Detail Edit" is checked. This is supposed to close all shapes. Select your shape(s) and type "H" to select the node move tool. Unconnected nodes will be shown as circles while closed nodes will be squares. Use the tool to move unconnected nodes over the nodes they should connect to and release them to connect them.

All shapes should be closed loops when you are done. Other issues may also be present. Post them here and we'll try to help. Screen shots illustrating the problem are recommended.

Hope this helps. Perhaps Tony Teveris of Gerber Scientific Products will have something to add.

 

[bshertzer]

when i tried the pdf out of autocad, the very first thing i did by the way, the signshop said that they needed to recreate the entire sign. When doing so, they managed to misspell one word, and made everything 15% smaller than it was supposed to be.

We currently use 2 sign shops, one for our outdoor "monument" type signs, and a local fastsigns shop for everything else, like our typical "Suite 201 - Brian's Cad Office" vinyl that we apply to suite entry doors or whatever. There is a 3rd shop i am looking at, that we used prior to me coming onboard with the company, that we may go back to. They all use Gerber, plus we already own the software, so its not like we would need to get that.

From the way i see it, things have been done this way for some time now, we do the legwork, and send it to them, they cut it, we pick up and install. I had even entertained the idea of maybe at one point purchasing a vinyl cutter and doing it inhouse ourselves... but that is down the road, way down the road.

Thanks

 

[Tony Teveris]

Omega / AutoCad

The best that Omega can do today is importing AutoCad DXF files. Now AutoCad updates and changes formats as often as most of us change our underwear. Omega's last update to the import filter was to support most to the DXF Version 2002. I have no idea what they are outputting today and would assume that you the user should be able to specify what version you need.

As for PDF, we'll just have to wait a little longer.

I would be happy to look at any DXF or even PDF files that you exported out of AutoCAD. we do not have AutoCAD to work with.

From bshertzer post I see that they are only at Omega 1.56, the above mentioned filter updates are included in the Omega 2.02 version only. If you can select the version you want from AutoCAD I would select no higher than version 12 DXF. I believe thats the last version Omega 1.56 supported.

 

[jimdes]

I know first hand that if you're going to import into Corel Draw from AutoCAD that you'll want to do that as a DXF file as well. Lines should be closed Plines with a line thickness set at 0. Line color should be white/black default of 0. Minimize the number of "grips" (nodes) after you open the drawing in Corel Draw, it's easier. If possible, create everything on layer 0 as well.

Corel Draw 11 and 12 now also open .dwg files but users have probloems because they create everything with lines and not plines and they spend a lot of time trying to figure the problem out. Just remember "Plines" and you'll be much better off.

 

[bshertzer]

I wanted to thank you guys for your thoughts on the matter. i appreciate it. I think i may have found the solution. LEARN OMEGA. I spent some time yesterday afternoon on my way back to the office at a local sign shop that i have been dealing with. Not only did i find someone willing to assist me with getting me up and running with some brief training, but actually got to SEE what would have been involved with converting my files. It was something i wouldnt have wished on anyone, and i can now see how problematic and time consuming it would have been.

In the meantime i am going to see about getting my omega upgraded to the 2.0, which if this is something that i am going to be getting more involved in, it cant hurt anything, plus it's under $400 anyways.

Some have suggested doing the layout in corel, i may look into that at one point as well, but for right now i will be doing things in omega once i get up on my feet. The reason i was doing my layouts in autocad was simple, i know autocad inside and out, i can manipulate things to get the proper output from my printers and plotters, and for me it seemed to be the easiest route at the time. only now do i wish i would have taken more time in the past to get acclimated with the program, so i wouldnt be in the pinch i am currently.

Thanks!!! Brian

 

[kemper]

Hey all,

Is there anyway to somewhat painlessly take an Autocad file (dwg) into Omega? Everything i have tried seemed to fail miserably. I work in Autocad all day long doing architectural drafting, and now have added another feather under my hat.

The companies we use for signage use gerber, which is why we bought it. the guy that did our signs in house, then sent them to be cut, is no longer doing it for various reasons, and now i need to take that over.

I have never used gerber before, and only today removed it from his system, and installed it on mine.

I have tried things such as exporting as dwg, dxf, eps, wmf files from acad. opening dwg, dxf, wmf, eps files in Corel 12 and saving out to omega. the sign people tell me that there is "substantial" amounts of work involved in trying to "clean up" my files.... is there anything i can do with this, or is it just a matter of biting the bullet and learning omega?

current programs -
AutoCAD 2004
Corel Graphics Suite 12
Omega 1.56

Brian

My cousin does autocad work and he sent me a 25' non-continuous barcode that he saved in autocad as a plt file. I had no problem opening it up and it came up and cut with a thousand's of an inch accuracy. I know he has a really recent version, so perhaps yours does not output plt?

 

[LittleSnakey]

When you save it as an DXF file make sure that you select VERSION 12-14 DXF

I use Autocad ALOT when I need exact dimensions and found that the earlier dxf formats work much better. Also make sure all polylines are closed. I import into Flexi though.

 

[Bob Gilliland]

I realize this is a bit dated and old, however, if you’re still reading this board (looks like last post was January 2008) and if still having issues or would be in need of some additional assistance or insight, drop me an email or call.

I use to work with Matt (Hoffer, and towards the end, Jim) while employed by Stoner Graphix doing some of the things you are probably directly involved with/responsible for now (or were back when this post originated). In fact, there were more then a few “after hours” sessions with Matt and myself tweaking things to be “optically just right”. He could be a real pain in the butt some times (and I back to him), but something that was always without question was a nice uniform look for all tenant spaces at the various Hoffer properties.

Anyway, would be happy to share what I can to help make your life a little easier. I imagine things got easier with your upgrade to 2.5.