Vector Drawing For Decals and Templates

[bloxstompboxes]

Well I have finally done it. I downloaded inkscape and gimp years ago for whatever reason and never took the time to learn them. All this time building pedals, I have been using drilling templates barrowed from madbean or google and hacking them to fit whatever pedal I was working on. I also downloaded that pedal vector pack but never got around to using it. Around a year ago I made a PCB of the EM3207 Flanger and it never worked. As I am currently not working either, I decided to have another go at it. The original board is still under investigation but the 2nd one I worked up is flanging along nicely. Now, the issue of what to do for the enclosure design arises. I suck at art so I decided on a dedication/celebration of the original pedal, sort of anyway. I saw this as a chance to learn something new, so I loaded up inkscape and the vector pack and proceeded to bang my fist against my face every time I had to transfer measurements, deal with print scaling, etc. I suck at measuring too. Anyway, I have now decided to do my own templates from now on and will post the end result of this pedal for everyone. I know this is nothing new for most people, nor is it anything new for an enclosure design for this pedal. Googling them will show other people have done the same. However, it is new for me and that rocks!

What I wanted to express here in a nutshell was thanks to whoever made the vector pack, it will help me tremendously from now on, and with this pedal in particular. I highly recommend everyone who hasn't already done so, to learn a vector software like inkscape and use the vector pack!

[Kipper4]

I'm not sure if the coral draw formats will open in Inkscape.
Pm me Eric and I'll send you some.
If theres a common format that most vector programs will open. Shout up guys I'd be intrested to know what it is.

[stallik]

Most vector progs accept eps files. Watch your fonts though, eps does not embed them, just instructions on which one to use. If the font is not present on the system you send the file to, a replacement will be made. Converting the text to outlines is the common solution

Also try svg files

[Kipper4]

Inkscape will open my corel draw format (CDS) but it does change the dimensions.
and embeded bitmaps dont always translate.
I'll go experiment with SVG's
Thanks Kevin.

[Kipper4]

As I'm using Draw 8 (old version now) I dont have the option to save or export as an SVG format.
Dammed.............

[stallik]

And eps? One of the oldest vector formats- should be supported but what do I know? I stopped using Corel at version 5 in favour of Illustrator

[bloxstompboxes]

Even with the use of vector software, you can still screw up the names of the controls on a pedal. I am afraid to admit this is not the first time I have done so either... damn it. Rate and Color got swapped. Hopefully my wires are long enough I can just swap pots between holes. I don't really want to horizontally flip the board or replace the pot wires. I'll look into that tomorrow and then post pics. BTW, she works great in the box and no ticks.

[Fndr8875]

you could try adobe illustrator. Adobe has a new system of $50 a month for every software package they offer, and 30 day trials on any/ all programs.
So you could at least try illustrator for at least a month and i think if you only want 1 program its 10 bucks a month. Luckily i have a friend who has the 50 dollar package and added me as a guest user so ive got access to photoshop, illustrator, and Adobe Acrobat pro - which is a godsend for making pcbs since you can edit pdfs. I usually find a bunch of pcbs, and can cram a ton on one page. then go to staples and pay like 75 cents for their darkest toner print on thin photo paper. think ive got 100 ready to etch pcbs....sorry got off topic.

Here is a really good short tutorial on using the vector pack in illustrator i found on the guitarpcb forums. Im exactly where you are, i was scanning the web for drilling templates or transfers , trying to resize and dealing with scaling etc, and it was a BIOTCH!

Ive been on a quest for an awesome tremolo pedal, i order Dead Astros Tremshifter, I get my enclosure tommorow, it only has 3 onboard switches, 5 knobs, and 3 leds haha.....he provided a drilling template but im not sure if i want to use his or creates my own. I also wanna etch the enclosure, so ill prob be up all night trying to create some artwork for enclsoure for etch. Ive got a waterslide decal that ill prob try first that way if i screw it up the enclsoure isnt ruined and i still option of etching enclsoure. Hope this helps

[bloxstompboxes]

you could try adobe illustrator. Adobe has a new system of $50 a month for every software package they offer, and 30 day trials on any/ all programs.
So you could at least try illustrator for at least a month and i think if you only want 1 program its 10 bucks a month.

Thanks but no thanks. I am a big fan of free software. Not because I am cheap, but because I like public licenses and those that allow multiple people from around the world to contribute their part to make a easy to use good piece of software for all.

Good luck with your project! I hope iot turns out the way you want, which ever way you decide to go on the enclosure.

[bloxstompboxes]

Ok, here she is. My latest build, thomeeque's 9V MN3207 Electric Mistress flanger. My first enclosure done with inkscape. It is meant to celebrate the original but not copy it exactly. I managed to swap the rate and color controls by accident and had to flip the board horizontally to fix it. Therefore, no gut pics unless someone pays me, lol. Anyway, I'm quite happy with it. I rarely use 1590BB boxes but this one required it.

[robthequiet]

Here's a note for folks who might want to try inkscape based on this thread, like moi -- I'm running Windows 10 and inkscape apparently wants to run in Windows 8 compatibility mode. Also, you might find that the installation directory ends up read-only, which is easy enough to fix. Just throwing it out there in case someone runs into what I did. Art on!