Vector Artwork Imports With Extra Lines

When importing vector artwork into LightBurn, sometimes files open with a large number of extra lines and shapes that aren't visible in the output from other graphics editing software, as shown in the example below.

This happens when artwork is created by stacking shapes on top of each other and/or using masks to hide parts of shapes. This method works fine for digital artwork, but leads to extra shapes like those shown above when loaded into LightBurn, which is designed to work with all the paths in your file.

Fixing Extra Lines and Shapes

Depending on the artwork and what you want to do with it, there are multiple approaches to correcting these files.

Rasterize for Engravings

If you're engraving the design and don't need the actual paths, you may want to save the design as a raster image, such as a .png file, import the new file, and engrave it as an image.

Rasterize and Trace

For some artwork, you may be able to use LightBurn's Image Tracing to recreate simplified paths that you can cut along.

1. Save the design as a raster image, such as a .png file.
2. Import the new image file into LightBurn.
3. Trace the image to recreate the paths.

Clean Up Original Paths

You may be best served by cleaning up the original paths. This can be time-consuming, but gives you the most control over your finished result. The exact method will vary from file to file, but in general:

1. Select the shapes you want to keep and move them onto a layer of your choice.
2. If shapes extend further than wanted — as with the teeth in the sample image above — you may need to use LightBurn's editing tools to modify the shapes to produce the end result you want.
   • Use Boolean and Weld tools to combine, cut, or intersect shapes.
   • Use Cut Shapes to divide shapes using another closed shape as a tool.
   • Use Trim Shapes to trim line segments back to their nearest intersections.
   • Use Edit Nodes to directly edit vector shapes.
3. Delete or turn off the Show and Output switches for layers containing unwanted shapes.

Other Problems

When you move objects onto the same layer, you may find that graphics set to Fill Mode don't appear filled, or you may end up with results like below, where shapes flip back and forth between filled and unfilled. In both cases, the likely culprit is duplicated or overlapping shapes.

• Duplicated shapes negate each other and can cause closed shapes set to Fill Mode to appear unfilled and fail to engrave, or to cut/engrave multiple times in Line Mode. Use Delete Duplicates to eliminate shapes that are perfectly identical in size, shape, and position.

  Filled vs. Wireframe View Style

  Graphics set to Fill Mode are only rendered as solid objects in your Workspace when you are using a Filled View Style mode. You can change your View Style in the Window Menu, or by pressing Alt/Option+Shift+W.

  See View Style for more information.

• The sample image above shows overlapping shapes on the same layer that aren't exact duplicates. The checkerboard effect comes from the shapes negating each other where they intersect. See Fill Mode and How to Invert a Vector Engraving for more information on these concepts.

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For more help using LightBurn, please visit our forum to talk with LightBurn staff and users, or email support.

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