Hello,
I hope someone can help. I use CorelDraw for setting up my CAD files for my laser cutter.
I would like to 'fill' some closed objects for laser engraving, but no matter what I do, I cannot seem to fill the required parts.
I think I have uploaded the file with this post, if I have, could someone please look and tell me if it is possible? The parts I want filled are coloured black. It is driving me made not being able to do this!
Thank you,
Chris
The objects must be closed in order to be filled.Most likely your objects are either built up from separate segments (files imported from CAD programs usually are), or they are simply not properly closed.1. Try to select an object and check the Status Bar. If it says "Curve" it is a single object and you can then see whether the "Close curve" icon is open or closed in Property Bar. Closing it should in most cases fix the problem.2. But if the object is built up from several segments that are combined but not connected to each other, this won't work.You can then try the Join Curves docker instead, with the Extend option and maybe a suitable Gap tolerance value.Doing this with the Pick tool selected should fix all unconnected ends in one shot.With the Shape tool, you must select the end nodes first.3. If Status Bar says "x selected objects" or "Group", there is a risk that your object is in fact a bunch of individual segments.Also in this case you should be able to use Join Curves to create a single, closed object.Hope you find a solution.Would be interesting to see what you have to work with so please upload a file so we can have a look.
1mm prototype parts.zipHi, Thank you for your reply. The parts are all drawn in CAD, saved in DWG format and then opened in CorelDraw. I did try the Hatch command in CAD, but is never quite seems to get the curves right. I cannot really draw these shapes in CorelDraw, as I am not so used to the program, which I use mainly for putting my laser cut files together.
What I wanted to do was to engrave the black objects, which are shown as separate entities on the file, but are moved to the drawing in red (red and green is full laser cut and black is engraving).
I just assumed to could select the black coloured patterns and then fill - but clearly this is not so simple..
As Ronny points out, a curve should normally be closed if you want to fill it.
When I open your drawing, the black outlined content is a single Curve shape consisting of 142 subpaths. Visually, it looks as though the intent would be for that to be 16 or 17 closed subpaths. So, there are many places where nodes need to be joined to get from what you have to what you need to have.
Selecting the curve and using the "Join Curves" command (Ctrl+Shift+J) with a tolerance of 0, it turns into 25 subpaths. You could instead use the Join Curves docker.
Applying a fill to the curve makes it easy to see which of the subpaths are still "open", because they don't show the fill.
I "broke apart" the curve to turn it into 25 independent shapes to make it easier to work with.
I examined the open curves and did curve editing as necessary to get them all closed. In some cases, that involved moving nodes where a "gap" existed, then joining them.
This is a typical case 2. described in my first post, and the Join Curves docker should easily take care of it.There is one subcurve (bottom row, second from left) that only consists of two nodes, start and end, and it can not be closed or filled.
Just a thought. Inkscape has an extension called inkscape-chain-paths. It can take what you would think should be a closed path but is really a bunch of discombobulated line segments, and make a closed path in one go. Love Draw, but like to explorer time to time.
David Bevins said:Inkscape has an extension called inkscape-chain-paths. It can take what you would think should be a closed path but is really a bunch of discombobulated line segments, and make a closed path in one go.
Thanks for sharing, David.
Looking at the description of that extension, what it's intended to do sounds very similar to what I would do in CorelDRAW with any of these:
Each of those can, in a single operation, combine curves and join nodes.
If one wishes to deal with "gaps" in particular ways, then I think the Join Curves docker might be the best from the standpoint of being able to specify the method by which those are to be resolved.