Halftone
Now we get to the meat of the project. Creating the G-Code. Again, I am going to use Halftoner v1.5 for this example.
Metric Metric Metric!!!
I cannot tell you what a headache it was to work in inches when everything (including the X-Carve itself) is laid out in millimeters. That aside, there seems to be an error in Halftoner that will not convert from inches to millimeters when writing the G-Code (or maybe the sender needs to know that the data is inches). Save yourself some frustration and heed this advice!
DXF Halftone 2.1. – Also a decent software but generates more complicated g-code ( IMHO ) and the software is difficult to find. I could not find a regularly available download site for this software so I am hosting it here click link. Halftone Image Generator. It's a great application to convert photos into traditional halftone effect drawings. Create beautiful halftone effects online by using this halftone maker that is customizable and very easy to use. Download 18,974 halftone free vectors. Choose from over a million free vectors, clipart graphics, vector art images, design templates, and illustrations created by artists worldwide! Revit lets you control the line weight and pattern used for underlays, and the brightness of halftone elements. When printing views or sheets, you can specify that halftones print as thin lines to retain print fidelity. To define Halftone/Underlay settings Click Manage tabSettings panelAdditional Settings drop-down (Halftone/Underlay). In the Halftone/Underlay dialog, under Underlay, define.
Generator
This tab allows you to define the specifications of the halftone itself. Most of it is self explanatory. My experience thus far is to make a halftone that is at least 400mm in one direction. Anything smaller and you have to make too small of holes or too few to get it to fit and the result doesn’t have enough detail. I think spacing needs to be at least or slightly smaller than the max size and the measurement is from origin to origin of each hole. This means that if do not change the spacing but change the max size, the number of holes will not change, they will just get grouped closer together as you increase the size. You can experiment with the other setting and see what will happen in the preview. The screen shot shows the settings I used for this example.
Toolpath
Since I am using a Dewalt 611 router that is not controllable in speed by the software, the only settings that mean anything are Safe Z, Feed and Tool Angle.
- Safe Z – This is the minimum height your bit will be raised above the surface of your material prior to movement to the next location. Essentially the rule is, the higher it has to go before moving, the longer it will take to finish your project. Even a slight adjustment to this will have substantial effects to this time. So long as the bit clears the material anything above that minimal clearance is a waste of time.
- Feed – This controls how quickly your CNC machine actually moves up and down. I don’t have any experience with changing this setting so I will update this part as I get more time to experiment.
- Tool angle – This is the slap your head cuz you’re a moron setting. I don’t know how long I had been trying to get good results using a 90 degree bit and setting this to 45 degrees. I mean it’s 45 degrees. Right? It looks like it. No it doesn’t even look like it you idiot! lol. Ok, after setting this correctly things started pulling together. A 90 degree bit will cut shallower holes than a 60 degree bit. Makes sense, right? But be aware that, as in my case, some material is quite thin. So I used a 90. If you use 3/4 ply or some other thick material, a 60 degree bit is more forgiving for a less smooth surface.
Side note
The author of this software, Jason Dorie, actually responded a few times to emails when I was trying to find all the right settings. For this reason alone, I highly recommend the software and to donate to his cause (PayPal link in his web page). Thanks Jason!
Inspired by the rich, irregular halftone dots from screenprinted posters, comic books & punk rock photocopies
…we created the Tint Pack. With Halftone Illustrator, Photoshop & InDesign Tint Packs, you can achieve ink-like halftone tints while working faster than ever.
What’s a Halftone Tint Pack?
…and other nagging questions, like “What's a Ben-Day dot?”
All vectors!
20 seamlessly-tiled Illustrator repeat swatches
10 densities (5–90%)
Halftone Printing
28 LPI (lines per inch) at 0-degrees (Rotate and scale them to your heart’s desire, with no loss in quality.)
5.7 MB download
300 DPI grayscale
40 TIFF files
10 densities (5–90%)
four screen angles
(0, 15, 45 & 75°)
28 LPI (lines per inch)
3600x3600 pixels
88.9 MB download Saints row 1 pc download.
600 DPI bitmap
40 TIFF files
10 densities (5–90%)
four screen angles
(0, 15, 45 & 75°)
Halftone Illustrator
28 LPI (lines per inch)
7200x7200 pixels Chronicles of narnia lesson activities for stella.
53.6 MB download
Featured Articles from the Halftone Blog:
The Halftone Tint Pack has a nice blurb in Uppercase Magazine, Issue 37. Uppercase publishes books and magazines for the creative and curious — publications that spark the imagination and inspire creativity. Here's how Publisher Janine Vangool describes this issue: 'Although every issue of UPPERCASE could be described as a celebration of ink on paper, in this particular edition we’re diving into the substance of what makes a colourful publication like this one possible—that very special combination of tiny cyan, magenta, yellow and black dots that work together to create everything you see printed on this page. (Get a magnifying glass and get in real close! Enjoy that inky smell, too! The vegetable-based inks really smell great on our … Read More about Halftone Tint Pack Featured in Uppercase Magazine