Inkscape

Length and angle control in line draw

Asked by mostlycold

(This may be very similar to the Trapezium question) I am a new user of Inkscape and have the following question:

I wish to draw a 2D 4 sided object with the following control:

I know the top line dimensions - I know the side dimensions - I know the angle (in degrees) at the top connection for both sides.

Example - the top is 2 7/8" long - the sides are 11/16" long - and the angle (where the two sides meet the top) are 30 degrees each. Knowing these coords, the bottom line length and the bottom connection angles are not important. The four sided object is wider at the top than at the bottom and eventually, if the sides were long enough, the object would become a triangle.

I am a woodworker, these are the dimensions for the segments needed in a wooden ring (ex, 12 pieces at the 30 degree angle above make a full ring (circle) - changing the top angle varies the number of pieces needed to make the ring - eg., 22.5 degrees (at the top)would make a 16 segment ring. Multiple rings at different diameters are glued together to make a blank which is then finished on a lathe to make a bowl or vase.

If someone could show me how to draw these segments with the precise angle and length control I need, I would be very appreciative. Once drawn, the 2D file will be exported to my cnc machine sotware which will cut the segments automatically, saving me a huge amount of time over doing each segment manually, as I do now.

Thanx,
Dan

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Guillermo Espertino (Gez)
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mostlycold (mostlycold) said : 		#1

Jsut to correct my math in the example I used, the 30 degree angle on ach side of the top woudl create a 6 piece ring - not a 12 piece ring.

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Best Guillermo Espertino (Gez) (gespertino-gmail) said : 		#2

The bottom part of the inkscape window shows status messages. When you draw with the bezier tool, for instance, you get lenght and angle of the lines in that message. Using CTRL key you can constrain angles in 15 degrees steps (that angle can be modified in the preferences).
It seems pretty easy to achieve what you want to do using Bezier Tool with CTRL and watching the status message.
Just keep in mind that you have to create the file first, change the default units to inches (in the document settings dialog), save the file and re-open it to get every unit selector in the desired units.
In that dialog you can set snapping too, wich may be helpful for precision tasks.

HTH,
Gez.

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mostlycold (mostlycold) said : 		#3

Thanks Guillermo Espertino (Gez), that solved my question.