Cheap/Free software to "thicken" dxf files

Have questions or comments about Simplify3D, Slic3r, Cura, Reptier, etc? Or wondering about which CAD software to use...discuss it here...
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jcspball13
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Cheap/Free software to "thicken" dxf files

Post by jcspball13 » Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:15 pm

My daughter is 14 years old, and an amazing artist

I have taught here how to make dxf files from here sketches, etc, but then I have to thicken them for her to print (I use Solidworks)

Is there a free or cheap program I can get for her, that she could use to make here own 3d prints?

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Jules
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Re: Cheap/Free software to "thicken" dxf files

Post by Jules » Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:54 pm

Fusion 360. Jin put me onto that - it's free for hobby/enthusiast use, (although you have to re-register it once a year), and it works just as well as Rhino after learning to use it. Lots of Youtube vids as well.

jsc
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Re: Cheap/Free software to "thicken" dxf files

Post by jsc » Fri Sep 30, 2016 10:54 am

OpenSCAD will import DXF files. From there, it's a very short script away from getting a linear extruded model. It might be more suitable, as it is light weight, free and open, and scriptable.

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ednisley
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Re: Cheap/Free software to "thicken" dxf files

Post by ednisley » Fri Sep 30, 2016 1:34 pm

jsc wrote:OpenSCAD will import DXF files.
For simple values of DXF, anyhow. Lines, as opposed to polylines and arcs, seem to be the favored primitives. Recent OpenSCAD versions have improved DXF capabilities: you want the latest build you can get.

The doc tucks hints and suggestions in places you might not expect:

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_ ... at_mean.3F

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_ ... _Extrusion

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_ ... 2D_formats

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