Design flow for laser and CNC
Three official plugins share the work of preparing a design: Shape creator, SVG tools and Text for fabrication. This page explains what each one does, in what format it delivers the result and how it reaches the machine.
All three are interface only
None has a backend of its own. They use routes NOPAL already offers: uploading to the library and adding to the laser or CNC queue. They are installed from the Plugin gallery.
What each plugin does
| Plugin | What it is for | What it delivers |
|---|---|---|
| Shape creator | Draw with exact measurements: rectangles, circles, ellipses, polygons, lines and text. Imports DXF. Organizes the design in layers with material, power and speed | SVG (the design) and G-code (the outlines), with sending to the queue |
| SVG tools | Prepare an SVG you already have: sanitize, remove duplicates, join segments, simplify and order outlines to reduce idle travel. Compares the original with the optimized copy | Optimized SVG, with the -optimizado suffix |
| Text for fabrication | Turn text into paths with physical measurements in millimeters. Includes 20 local typefaces and lets you import TTF or OTF | SVG with the text as paths and G-code of the outline |
Where each file ends up
Each plugin saves to a folder of its own in the library:
| Plugin | SVG | G-code |
|---|---|---|
| Shape creator | 3D Printing, in the folder you choose when saving | Files, Creador de Formas folder (formas-<date>.gcode) |
| SVG tools | 3D Printing, Herramientas SVG folder | Does not generate G-code |
| Text for fabrication | 3D Printing, Biblioteca de tipografías folder | Files, Biblioteca de tipografías folder |
SVGs go to the 3D Printing section of the library because NOPAL treats them as models (it accepts .svg and .dxf among them). G-code goes to Files.
A typical flow
- Design: create the drawing in Shape creator, or type the text in Text for fabrication.
- Optimize (optional): open the SVG in SVG tools to clean it and reduce idle travel. Save the optimized copy.
- Generate the G-code: Shape creator and Text for fabrication generate it from the outline.
- Send to the machine:
- From Shape creator, Send to queue uploads the G-code and adds it directly to the laser or CNC queue, depending on the target machine you choose.
- From Text for fabrication, the G-code is left in Files. From there, in the library, click Send to laser to add it to the queue. See Laser and CNC.
- Run the job from the machine's section and, on a laser, use Frame job if you want to check where it will land.
Limits worth knowing
- An SVG does not cut by itself. NOPAL does not convert an SVG into G-code. The plugins on this page generate G-code only from their own design (Shape creator and Text for fabrication). For an SVG from elsewhere you need an external G-code tool.
- Outlines only. The G-code they generate follows the outlines. Raster-fill engraving is not implemented.
- SVG tools simplifies simple strokes only. It converts single-subpath paths to line segments; those with several subpaths are kept as they are, so independent outlines are not joined by accident.
- "Add to project" (Text for fabrication) depends on a hook that NOPAL's core does not implement yet: today the button shows success but the data is not saved anywhere.
- Image to drawing (CNC in plotter mode) is another path: it converts a line-art image into G-code without going through these plugins. See Laser and CNC.