Best BMP, JPG, or TIFF to DXF or DWG conversion tool?

[QUICK-BURN]

Can anyone recommend the best software for converting a BMP, JPG, or TIFF file formats to a usable DXF, or DWG??

[Brady Watson]

PartWorks/VCarvePro/Aspire, CorelDraw, ArtCAM etc all have similar bitmap to vector conversion tools. However, the *best* results come from manually tracing out the BMP with vectors by hand.

-B

[myxpykalix]

You can try Inkscape, it's free! www.inkscape.org

[QUICK-BURN]

Does any of the above mentioned softwares do a better job at manual tracing than the others?

[Brady Watson]

YOU do the manual tracing...All programs that do 'automatic' tracing about the same & leave a bit to be desired. The Vectric one is probably one of the best.

Vector quality will not be as good with any 'automatic' software routine. Clean vectors with minimal nodes can only be achieved by manual digitizing. Clean vectors give rise to clean machining. Noisy, jagged vectors give rise to poor edge quality. If you are not up to manual tracing, you can pay someone to do it for you.

-B

[QUICK-BURN]

I am capable once I learn how to, I am a UG and Catia designer by trade, but I am new to both ShopBot tools and the PartWorks software from Vectric. I have also been contemplating upgrading to Aspire.We purchased a desktop machine to do some smaller parts but are already seeing ourselves purchasing an alpha in the near future.

[adrianm]

I do a lot of bitmap to vector conversions and I tend to use three main programs. Unless it's a really complex picture I prefer to manually trace though.

The convertor I try to use as much as possible is the one in Partworks/VCarve/Aspire as there is a lot less work needed on the vectors created with that but it doesn't work as well on heavily aliased images as some others.

The next one I use a lot is the desktop version of Vector Magic, not cheap, but it's batch conversion features have saved me hours of time.

Finally, if I require centreline tracing then I turn to Elgorithms Magic Tracer. Can be tricky to get the hang of but it's great for centreline work.