Difference between revisions of "SketchChair Manual"

Revision as of 22:55, 1 May 2013

Design Interface

Tools Panel

	Brush	Produces a single stroke with an offset.
	Leg	Produces a leg shape. A single tapering line with its end always parallel the ground.
	Select	Selects and edits control points on paths.
	Path	Used to draw a path made from control points. Control points are able to be moved, added or removed and bezier curves can be added to the path.
	Offset Path	Produces a path with an offset. This path can then have beziers added to it or points added or removed. Offset amount is able to be varied at each point.
	Bezier Tool	Adds and manipulates bezier control points on a path.
	Measure	Can be used to measure your design. Size is relative to the current selected scale.
	Scale	Used to scale a design.
	Undo	Undo the last edit.

Layers Panel

	New Layer	Adds a new layer to the design. By default the new layer contains a copy of the sketch on the last layer.
	Delete Layer	Delete currently selected layers.
	Mirror	When selecting layers also select the opposite layer.
	Select All	Select all layers.
	Guide Layer	Sets the current selected layer as a guide layer. Guide layers do not appear in your final design but can be used to control the shape of slices.

Slices Panel

	Single Slice	Add a single slice to your design.
	Slice Group	Add a group of slices to your design. Slice groups are added with three clicks - the first two clicks will define the start point and end points, and the third the number of slices.
	Slat	Add a single slat to your design. Slats have start and end points and are connected to your design using finger joints. Slats are added with two clicks and can be positioned on an edge of a shape or on the center-line of a path.
	Slat Slice Group	Add a group of slats and slices to your design. This is the same as the slice group tool except slats are automatically added in between each slice.
	Rounded-Rec Cap	End the slice with a square end with rounded corners.
	Square Cap	End the slice with a square cap.
	Winged Cap	End the slice with a curve on one side and flat on the other.
	Cut-Off	End the slice flush with the last layer.
	Through All	Make the selected slice cut through all shapes instead of just the shape that it has been placed on.
	Flip Slots	Flip slice slots so that they go in the opposite direction.
	Smooth	Form slices with curves instead of straight lines. (BROKEN in current version)
	Flush Tops	Add extra edges to slices, forming flat facets across each layer.

Camera Controls

	Move Camera	Pan the camera view. (Right click)
	Rotate Camera	Rotate the camera view. (Middle click) (Spacebar returns camera to the side view)
	Zoom Camera	Zoom the camera view at the mouse position. (Mouse scroll)

Preview Panel

The Preview Panel allows you to change the size of the figure by clicking on the plus and minus buttons, and to toggle the figure on and off by clicking on the eye. You can also quickly select layers in your design by clicking on them in the preview. If the mirror option is selected in the layers panel, then opposite layers will be selected together.

Pattern Preview Panel

The Pattern Preview panel allows you to quickly preview your design's cutting pattern. Layers and Slices are also able to be selected by clicking on them in this panel.

Make It Interface

Tools Panel

The Make It screen is for outputting your design for cutting. Here you can set the material size and thickness along with the scale of your design and any other cutting details, for example dog-bones for CNC routing.

	Plot Design	Save the pattern to a craft-robo plotting file and then send to the plotter (BROKEN currently not complete)
	Print	Open the pattern in the native printing dialogue.
	Save to PDF	Save the pattern to a PDF.

Materials Panel

	Bevelled Slots	Add a bevel to the entrance of each slot to help with assembly.
	Add Dog-bones	Add dog-bones to slots. Removes the internal radius on slots left when CNC routing.
	Separate Slots	Separate slot paths from layer and slice paths.
	Autopack Pieces	Autopack pieces on the cutting sheet. This can take a minute or two.
	Add Labels	Add labels to the pattern.

Shortcut Keys