Recently I have been finding that I am doing things in Autodesk Inventor that would be easier for me to do in other tools or that I am recreating something that already exists. This is how to take something from an image file to Autodesk Inventor. Then you can send it to your desired CNC device. I am using the 3D Printer.

Step 1: Import Image to Corel Draw

First we will import the file into Corel Draw. I chose a simple 2 color file to get the best result

Choose the Bitmaps menu and then Resample the image and pump up the pixels. I changed it to 600 to get more accuracy out of my image after we transform it

I went back to the Bitmaps menu and changed the image to black and white to get nice solid lines

Click Trace Bitmap and then Quick Trace, now that we are converting the bitmap to vectors we need to Reduce bitmap

I chose line Art for conversion method because it gave the sharpest result

Now I can Export my image as a DXF to open in Autodesk Inventor

Step 2: Import the DXF to Inventor

Create a new part in Inventor and then Create a 2D Sketch (remember that in inventor the positive Z is toward the front but when printing it will be the top)

Click the ACAD button to import the AutoCAD drawing

Be sure to select all layers and click Next

Under Import Destination Options be sure to click AutoCAD blocks to Inventor blocks

Now we can finish the sketch and then extrude the drawing

Export this as an STL file (for best results under options choose Units = mm)

Step 3: Generate G-code With Replicator G or Makerware

Open your STL file in Replicator G, check to be sure it is the size you want and then generate your gcode

If you have your computer connected to your printer you can just print from here.