Mat Cutter HP-GL Files
A mount written for a computerised mat cutter as an HP-GL plot file, each kind of cut drawn with a pen of its own,
for cutter software that imports plot files (Gunnar's GMC imports PLT, with a mapping of pens to tools). Write it with
File › Export › Export…, choosing Mat Cutter HP-GL Plot Files (.plt).
It sorts the mount's lines just as Mat Cutter DXF does, and writes them in the same cutting order: pen lines, V-grooves, the windows, then the outside.
| Kind of cut | Pen |
|---|---|
| Straight (the outside) | 1 |
| Bevel (the windows) | 2 |
| V-groove | 3 |
| Pen (the bevel lines, if asked for) | 4 |
What it writes
Plain HP-GL, as HP's HP-GL/2 reference gives the commands every plot file reader knows: IN to start, SP to pick
each kind's pen, PU to move to the start of a shape with the pen up, PD along its sides with the pen down, AA for
an arc (when Arcs is on), and SP0 at the end. Positions are in plotter units, 40 to the millimetre (0.025 mm,
the HP standard) whatever the drawing's units, measured from the board's bottom left corner unless you choose the
drawing's origin.
Options
| Option | Does |
|---|---|
| Plotter units per millimetre | 40, the HP standard; set what your cutter's import expects if it is another. |
| Pen, for each kind of cut | The pen it is drawn with. |
| The outside, Bevel lines with the pen, Origin, Mirrored, Shapes cut | As for Mat Cutter DXF. |
| Arcs | Arcs and ovals as AA arcs; off, as short straight lines, which every plot file import reads. |
On the machine
Import the PLT file in the cutter's software and, once, map each pen to its tool: pen 1 the straight head, pen 2 the bevel head, pen 3 the V-groove, pen 4 the pen. The Gunnar CMC (PLT for GMC) machine profile writes it with these pens and arcs as lines.
See also: Mat Cutter DXF, HP-GL, Picture framing.