GIFs are a popular file format, commonly used to exchange simple web graphics—you’ve probably received or sent a funny GIF or two to people you know at some point or another. They’re easy to send and they come with wide support….
Tips and Advice for Users
CAD Answers: Meet the Experts — Mostafa
A few weeks ago, we introduced the world to CAD Answers. On CAD Answers, you can ask any CAD- or CNC-related question—no matter how big or small—and our team of experts will help you find the answer. But who exactly are those…
Slideshow: 10 Keyboard Shortcuts Every Scan2CAD User Should Know
Creating a CAD drawing can be time-consuming. It can take an age to master each different piece of CAD software; even simple CAD projects require experience with lots of different tools. Choosing Scan2CAD is just one way to help speed up…
DIY: How to Reverse Engineer a Part from a 2D Scan
We often get asked if it’s possible to scan a physical part or component and recreate it with a CNC machine. The answer is yes, you can! Many of our users have reverse-engineered simple parts, like gaskets and seals, with Scan2CAD. Though the process can…
How to Automatically Trace an Image
If you want to produce a vector representation of a raster image, you need to use a technique called image tracing. This involves drawing over the outline of your raster image with vector entities such as lines, polygons, bezier curves and many other vector entities. There…
Raster File Types — Everything You Need To Know (and a bit more)
At some point, all of us have laughed at a hilarious animated GIF or shared a beautiful JPEG photo. These are just a couple of examples of raster file types. Everyone who uses a laptop, tablet, cellphone or digital camera will come into contact with raster…
Tracing: Manual or Automatic? Everything You Need to Know
Whilst raster and vector files both display images, they do so in completely different ways. Raster images make use of thousands of individual pixels, displayed on a rectangular grid, to convey color information. Vector images, meanwhile, are made up of mathematically-defined paths, which act…
Explained: Bitmap vs Vector Graphics
All computer graphic files fall into either one of two categories: bitmap graphics or vector graphics. The former is made out of pixels, the latter is made out of lines and shapes. These two types of graphics are also used for different…
Explained: Raster versus Vector
There are two types of computer graphics: raster images and vector images. Whilst they perform similar roles, the way that they work is completely different. Whether you’re a computer graphics expert or a complete newcomer, there’s always more to learn about rasters and…
Keep Your CAD Files Secure With These Simple Tips
In this day and age, security is a pressing issue for multinational companies and individuals alike. Security issues are, sadly, ubiquitous nowadays, and virtually everyone will know someone who has had to deal with viruses, malware, and even fraud (if they haven’t gone…
Which Vector File Type Should I Choose?
The reasons to convert from raster to vector are obvious. Vector graphics are editable and scalable, and won’t lose quality. Once you’ve converted, however, there’s another choice to make: which vector file type should you choose? Though there are many vector graphics formats available, CAD…
How to Reduce Your CAD File Size
One of the advantages of choosing vector file types is that they typically are much smaller than their raster equivalents. This is because of the way that raster and vector files store information. A raster image stores color information for every…
Converting Photos to CAD: What Is (and Isn’t) Possible
Converting from raster to vector is a pretty complex process. Whilst both types of file display graphical data, they operate entirely differently. Raster images are like paintings; composed of thousands of tiny, individually-colored pixels. Vector images, meanwhile, are more like a…
Scan2CAD Supports 33 File Types – Everything You Need to Know About Each
Regular users of Scan2CAD will know that one of the strengths of the software is the large number of file types it supports. In fact, Scan2CAD supports no fewer than 33 different file types. What are the differences between these file types, and…
How Will The Cloud Impact on CAD?
The CAD sector has been making use of cloud storage services for many years now. These services have been used primarily for storage and file sharing, whilst the CAD software itself remains locally-stored on company servers. Recent years, however, have seen a…
5 CAD File Management Tips
One of the key difficulties with CAD files, whether you’re a part of a large-scale company or just a CAD-hobbyist, is managing them. If you don’t have control over your CAD file management, it can lead to situations where files can be lost…
How to View CAD Files on Mobile
Nowadays, most programmes or functions requiring a PC can now be accessed via mobiles, and Computer-Aided Design software is no different. Leading companies in this field have made it their priority to create apps that allow you to view, edit and even…
Guide to CAD for CNC: What is G-code?
If you’re venturing into the world of CNC and CAM manufacturing, or are just looking into beginners CNC kits, you may well have heard of the term “G-code”. G-code is a programming language for computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines. In this…
8 Tips to Take your Ideas from Design to CNC Fabrication
Scan2CAD is used throughout the CNC process — from sketch, to CAD design and finally, fabricated in CNC! This document walks you through the most common design approaches. Our experts also share 8 top tips that you should take note of…
Top 10 Raster Effects to Optimize Your Vector Conversion
It’s easy to see why people want to convert from raster to vector. Vectorization means your image becomes easily editable at any scale. Raster-to-vector conversion is often billed as the easiest CAD process to learn – just upload the file, click…