Inkscape plugin vary z servo position by color

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  • #29541
    Andysfd
    Participant

    Is it possible to somehow vary the servo action with the inkscape plugin? I don’t want to stick to the up down / 0 – 1 vertical offset. Instead j would like to control the height of the pen gradually, has someone done this before? :)

    Cheers

    #29542
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    You can use different pen-down heights for different layers, but the AxiDraw is fundamentally a 2D pen plotter; there is only very limited support for controlling the third axis.

    #29585
    Andysfd
    Participant

    Hey Windell, i just hat a discussion with other axidraw users.

    Is there really no possibility to control the servo?
    Maybe by not using the inkscape plugin? Can i control the axidraw somehow else? I mean, physically every component is there :)

    PS: great to see the A1 axidraw come alive

    #29586
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    It is possible to some extent by using custom code, and people have done so.

    However, there is quite a bit of subtlety to the problem and our best understanding is that we cannot presently add a feature that would work reasonably well in a reasonable variety of cases. (If we did, we would have done so already, of course; it is a very common feature request.) As one starting point, consider that the Z stage cannot (in general) be moved in sync with X and Y for the simple reason that its speed does not (in general) match that of X and Y motion. As another, consider that there isn’t really straightforward graphical method for varying the color of a path within SVG.

    Obviously, if you’re working one particular use case, that’s an entirely different matter. It’s a fair bit of work even for a specialized case, and so we don’t generally advertise it as a capability.

    Finally, you might be aware that we *are* working towards a future solution for variable pen height. Our efforts on this topic are directed there, instead.

    #29590
    Andysfd
    Participant

    Thanks windell for the fast reply.

    I fully understand the limitations, especially using inkscape /svg’s as the basis framework. I look forward to any further solution, even it involves a new machine. I’m really happy with my axidraw!

    Since it its like you said for a particular case, within an artistic context i will play a bit with custom code.

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