Shaper's Trace tool makes vector captures easy

Shaper contacted us to test their new tool "Shaper Trace". The idea behind this tool is to be able to capture vector drawings quickly, easily and with dimensional accuracy.

This task is often difficult to achieve when working with lasers or cnc machines. You usually have to capture images, tilt the image to adjust for distortion, align them in CAD and scale them to try and get the dimensionality correct, then manually draw over them. This current kickstarter from them hopes to reduce that to a few clicks. In my quick tests, it works just fine.

First you draw an image. In most cases, you would trace a part or possibly a logo. I went there with a sloppy smiley.

Then you place the provided frame around the image. You can see that it has fiducial markers, which allow the software to accurately assess the orientation and scale of the drawing.

Finally, you take the picture and within seconds you have a very nicely done vector plot. My results were quite impressive, in terms of quality.