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Scale of imported curves


DMG
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Carlosan
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This is something which has bugged me for a while, and today I really needed a curve imported with precise dimensions.  So I sat down and figured out what is happening. I'm sharing it here for the benefit of other users, and also 'future me' because sooner or later, I'll be scratching my head over the exact same issue...

So a simple example of my problem is this:

* Say I have a 10mm square frame in Affinity designer, and I export it as an .eps.    

* When imported into 3DCoat as a curve, it is now a 28.346mm square.  Why the different size?  Why such a random amount? (And why can't I see a 'bounding box' size for a curve in 3DCoat so I can just tell it to be the right size?)

The answer lies in the fact that Affinity Designer (and probably plenty of other vector art programs) work internally in postscript points. 

72 postscript points makes up 1 inch.  It is also equal to 25.4mm.

If you divide 72 by 25.4 (to get the dimension of 1mm in points), you find that 1mm equals 2.8346 postscript points.  And that's the reason for the scale discrepancy, and the exact amount.

So to scale a curve correctly in 3DCoat, it just needs to be reduced to (1/2.8346) or 35.28%. 

I don't know if there is a need to have a feature request for an option to convert between points to mm when importing curves. It might save a bit of confusion.  But the easier solution by far if to work in points instead of mm in Affinity Designer, and 3DCoat will import points as the default unit measurement, and it'll work out right without having to endure any maths... 

 

I hope this is of use or interest to someone out there.

Regards, Derek     

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