65 lines
2.4 KiB
ReStructuredText
65 lines
2.4 KiB
ReStructuredText
What is this?
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=============
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This is a small python library for generating drawings to be used with a laser
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cutter. It comes with a set of ready-to-use, fully parametrized generators:
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* Boxes in various shapes and with various lids
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* Boxes using flex cuts with rounded corners and living hinges
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* Type trays with and without outer walls and floors
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* Book covers with flex spine
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* Magazine files
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And a few one trick ponies:
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* A drill stand
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* A castle tower
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* A housing for a special kind of lamp
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* A cutlery stand
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Have a look into the examples/ directory to see how the results look like.
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Features
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========
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It generates SVG images that can be viewed directly in a web brower but also
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postscript and - with pstoedit as external helper - other vector formats
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including dxf, plt (aka hpgl) and gcode.
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Of course the library and the generators allow selecting the "thickness"
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of the material used and automatically adjusts lengths and width of
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joining fingers and other elements.
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The "burn" parameter compensates for the material removed by the laser. This
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allows fine tuning the gaps between joins up to the point where plywood
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can be press fitted even without any glue.
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Finger Joints are the work horse of the library. They allow 90° edges
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and T connections. Their size is scaled up with the material
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"thickness" to maintain the same appearance. The library also allows
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putting holes and slots for screws (bed bolts) into finger joints,
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although this is currently not supported for the included generators.
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Dovetail joints can be used to join pieces in the same plane.
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Flex cuts allows bending and stretching the material in one direction. This
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is used for rounded edges and living hinges.
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Usage
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=====
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There are multiple ways to use the available generators:
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* Try them out at <http://www.festi.info/boxes.py/index.html>
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* Execute the scripts/boxes tool and pass the name of the generator together with the measurements on the command line.
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* Run *scripts/boxesserver* which provides an web interface on port 8000.
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* Add a *WSGIScriptAlias* to *scripts/boxesserver* in your httpd config.
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You can also create your own generators using *boxes/generators/_template.py* or any of the generators in *boxes/generators* as a starting point.
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Documentation
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=============
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The module comes with Sphinx based documentation. The rendered version can be
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viewed at <http://florianfesti.github.io/boxes/html/index.html>.
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