.PNG import

Making PCB Layouts, Manual routing, Auto-routing, Copper pouring, Updating from Schematic, Manufacturing Output
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SteveW
Posts: 21
Joined: 05 Oct 2019, 11:49

.PNG import

#1 Post by SteveW » 09 Apr 2022, 11:14

I was wondering if there have been any changes/improvements to how Diptrace imports graphic objects. I have written on this subject before a couple years ago but still have no working solution to what seems to me to be a very simple need.

Tom has described how to import a DXF into the Pattern Editor and make a user pattern from it. But.... My DXF image will not import correctly into Diptrace and fills areas that should be clear. This is very frustrating as the outline image presented looks perfect, but when I tell it to fill closed areas, it fills too much......every time. So then I have been trying to do it with a bitmap.

I have been able to import a high resolution .PNG and let Diptrace vectorize it. And I can get it placed on the top silk layer. And it appears OK. But after many hours of experimentation, I cannot figure out how to move/duplicate/copy/import the same image at a different size to the bottom copper layer. I do not want the image attached to any traces or pads, simply standalone on the copper layer. These are single sided board with copper ONLY on the bottom. Is there a way to import a bitmap image into the Pattern Editor? I don't understand. The vectorization capability is available in the PCB layout module, why not in the Pattern Editor. And once you do manage to get a vectorized image into a drawing, how do you change/copy an existing picture from one layer to the bottom copper?

Thanks. As a 20 year user of Autocad, Corel Draw and Illustrator, I don't know WHY this seems to be so difficult to me. In any of those programs, objects including bitmaps can be moved between layers with a click or two. Same thing with traced (vectorized) bitmaps. I guess I am just getting too old and stupid to learn new tricks (Diptrace).

Tomg
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Posts: 2028
Joined: 20 Jun 2015, 07:39

Re: .PNG import

#2 Post by Tomg » 10 Apr 2022, 01:51

(DipTrace 4.2.0.1)
...My DXF image will not import correctly into Diptrace and fills areas that should be clear...
Zoom in and check for gaps and overlaps between lines assumed to be connected to each other at their end points. If you enable the "[x]Fill closed areas" option and there are internal polygons, don't forget to enable the "[x]Embedded Polygons" option, also. Any line gaps or overlaps in an internal polygon will result in it being filled.
...I cannot figure out how to move/duplicate/copy/import the same image at a different size to the bottom copper layer...
1) Select the newly-imported picture, copy it to the clip board ("Ctrl" + "c") then paste it ("Ctrl" + "v") into an empty area of the PCB.
2) Right-click on the new copy and select "Properties..." in the context menu to bring up the "Picture Properties" dialog window.
3) In the "Picture Properties" dialog window select "Signal" in the "Type:" drop-list.
4) Select the bottom layer using the "Layer:" drop-list.
5) The "Picture Properties" dialog window also gives you the ability to change the size, proportions and angle of the selected picture if needed.
...Is there a way to import a bitmap image into the Pattern Editor?...
From what I can see, no. You might try importing it into a new/blank PCB instance, work on it there, export the result into a DXF file and import the new DXF file into the Pattern Editor. Don't forget to mind the "Units" settings during import/export.
Tom

SteveW
Posts: 21
Joined: 05 Oct 2019, 11:49

Re: .PNG import

#3 Post by SteveW » 10 Apr 2022, 07:23

Thank you, Tom, I have managed to get there through multiple incarnations and adjustments of my original logo and saving it as a PNG. I also have saved it as a mirrored image PNG because I was not sure if Diptrace would invert it for me. Now, do you happen to know if the Diptrace vectorization process "fattens" the image? In other words, does it add a fixed outline width to the image? It seems so to me as my logo seems to lose outside definition as I reduce its size to fit. Perhaps I need to go back and reduce the image in Corel first, to almost the size I will be using. And I suppose I can reduce the fatness of my image initially, by giving it a white outline in Corel. By adjusting the thickness of that outline, I essentially shrink the inside fill, and when exported as a PNG, the black fill is the only thing that goes out. Since Diptrace first vectorizes a bitmap and then allows you to move and scale it, I just don't understand why they won't do the same with a DXF vector. Or even better yet, a PDF. Sigh.

Tomg
Expert
Posts: 2028
Joined: 20 Jun 2015, 07:39

Re: .PNG import

#4 Post by Tomg » 10 Apr 2022, 07:59

...does it add a fixed outline width to the image?...
I haven't a clue. I guess that's a question best answered by the developers.
Tom

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