Automatically add tabs

Laser Cutting
1

Hi all,

I’m new to laser cutting but not to computer design, having been a broadcast animator for 25 years +.

Is there a way in any of the software you guys use that will automatically add tabs to stop the central islands falling out ? It sounds lazy (and is) but I don’t really want to have to trawl through my quite complex designs, spotting the bits that might fall out and adding tabs.

Obviously some bits are supposed to fall out, so I was thinking a mechanism which analyses the design and highlights the islands that will fall out, the user can then deselect the ones they want to fall out, then at the click of a button, the others are tabbed automatically.

Surely, someone must have been as lazy as me?

any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Matt

2

Not automatic like you’re asking:
You could create a custom dashed stroke style in Inkscape, and convert that stroke to separate paths. Would not be as tedious as drawing tabs.

3

Thanks for taking the time to respond Neil, interesting thought. I will have a look.