Trace Lesson Five: Free-Floating V-Groove

Design an Unenclosed V-Groove
This lesson shows how to make a free-floating unenclosed V-Groove.

Design Opening in FrameShop
Place a three layer 4 x 5 #906 Rectangle Key template on the FrameShop Design Editor. Click on Properties. Click on Parameters. Change the Distance to 1.5".
Click on the Key tab. Change the second layer's Key Reveal to .5” (1/2"). This reveal will be the distance from the name plate to the V-Groove.

Place V-Groove
Click on the Openings tab. With the opening still selected, click the Add V-Groove button. Enter 1.25" for the Distance to offset V-Groove field. Click OK.
The V-Groove is placed.
Click on the V-Groove to resize it.
Pull down the bottom end of the V-Groove and drag it down to the middle of the key opening. Make sure you are pulling the V-Groove down and not just moving the V-Groove. Release the mouse to place it.

Bring Design into Trace
Bring the design into Trace via the Right-Click Menu* or from the Cut Preview Screen. If you use the right-click method, hold down the CTRL key and select both the opening and the V-Groove before selecting Convert to CutArt*.

Break Intersection
Stay on the Trace and Draw tab. Hold down the CTRL key and click on the V-Groove and the outside line of the nameplate. Click the Break button.
The intersections are now broken where the lines crossed over each other.

Delete Object
Hold down the CTRL key and click on the horizontal line inside the nameplate, the outside lines of the nameplate, and the outside layer of the opening. Click the Delete button.
The lines are deleted.

Trace the Design

Because this design contains no arcs, there is no need to tangify it or convert into arcs.
Click the Set Bevels tab.
Select the top layer which is displayed at the top of the layer list regardless of the actual layer number.
We're converting the opening that was on this layer into a V-Groove, so we no longer need this layer. Click the Remove button.

NOTE: V-Groove/Pen/Deboss items do not have to be enclosed objects to be traced.

Save and Cut
Save the CutArt. Load the CutArt. Cut the CutArt. Optionally, you can also bring the CutArt straight to the Cut Preview from Trace. The free-floating V-Groove design is completed.

Comparison
You can see how much we changed the design when you compare it to the original version.