Seeking paper tape punch

[steven at malikoff.com]

John said
> At 08:24 PM 2/21/2022, Steve Malikoff via cctalk wrote:
>>Consumer-grade CNC stencil cutters are fine at cutting plastic sheet and should be ok with film stock.
>>My ptap2dxf (latest version 1.3) will produce output to cut tapes for ...
>
> Meaning the Cricut kind of device?  Clever!  So it works for
> short sections?
>
> Has anyone ever made a Cricut style cutter that has a continuous feed
> of tape?
>
> Why did you pick AutoCAD DXF as compared to Adobe Illustrator?

Exactly. Cricut-type devices, although I have not tested it on a Cricut as I have a 2016 Silhouette unit. Its
driver software must be capable of importing DXFs though.

The tape length is not limited by the ptap2dxf but the cutting device. So there is an option SEGMENT to split
the output pieces into whatever height the cutter can handle on its sticky cutting mat, and a further option
PERDXF to specify how many widths of the selected tape to put onto one mat before starting a new DXF, ie. carry
across batches of cutting mat size. The sprocket hole can be placed at any position if wanted. The pieces are
stuck together after lifting from the mat and 'weeding' the chads, but I've found most chads remain on the
sticky mat. It's a slow process, and hundreds of times slower than a real punch, but hey.
The accompanying pdf manual on github illustrates how these things are done.

(Actually I just noticed I haven't updated the manual for the Whirlwind and other new options - will do so!)

My machine generally uses a 12"x12" mat but can take a 12"x24" one. It can also dispense with the mat altogether and
run any continuous length of material but it has to be sufficiently sturdy enough for the gripping rollers to do
that, and paper tape is too flexible to be cut without a sticky mat.

DXF is the most basic Lingua Franca of the CAD world, is well understood and is very simple. My CNC cutter sofware
(Silhouette Studio) imports DXFs from which the cut is done immediately with no further manipulation. I use the free
InkScape to view the DXF's generated.

As I've not updated the doc just yet, here are the latest options in version 1.3:
Usage:
ptap2dxf [inputfilename.ptap]                      (Input ASCII file to be punched. Same as --INPUT="/path/to/inputfile")
         [--ASCII]                                 (Show ASCII character representation for row on console output)
         [--BANNERFILE=/path/to/bannerfile]        (Generate uppercase punched banner in 8x8 font from ASCII file contents)
         [--BANNERTEXT="YOUR TEXT"]                (Generate uppercase punched banner in 8x8 font from string)
         [--BAUDOT]                                (convert ASCII characters to ITA2 Baudot. Forces 5-level output)
         [--CABLECODE]                             (Generate 2-level Morse tape with Cable Code coding (15/32 inch wide))
         [--CHADLESS]                              (Half-punch Teletype Corp chadless holes (circa 1975))
         [--CONTROL-CHARS]                         (Show control characters on console output)
         [--DRYRUN]                                (Run everything but do not generate DXF file(s))
         [--FLIP]                                  (Invert bit pattern. Logical NOT)
         [--GAP=n]                                 (Inter-segment gap in mm between each paper segment on CNC cutting mat. Default is 0, ie. shared edges with no gap)
         [--HELP]                                  (or ? prints this help)
         [--INPUT=/path/to/inputfile]              (.ptap or any binary or ASCII input file. Optional switch, does not need to be given with filename)
         [--JOINER]                                (Make adhesive joiners for paper segments)
         [--LEADER=n]                              (Prefix output with blank sprocket punch tape in 1/10 inch increments eg. 240 is 2 feet. aka /HEADER=)
         [--LEVEL=n]                               (The number of data bits in a row of holes. Default is 8 for byte-width ASCII 8-level. Use 5 for 5-level)
         [--MARK=c]                                (Console output character to represent a mark (data bit = 1). Default is 'O'
         [--MIRROR]                                (Reverse the output mark/space bit pattern to right-left)
         [--NUMBER=BANNER|LEADER|CODE|TRAILER|ALL] (NOTE: --N defaults to number the code lines only)
         [--OUTPUT=/path/to/outputfile.dxf]        (output DXF file)
         [--PARITY=NONE|EVEN|ODD]                  (Parity, if desired. Uses MSB ie. leftmost hole. {NONE, EVEN, ODD}. Default is NONE)
         [--PERDXF=n]                              (Fill CNC cutting mat with this number of 1 inch wide (for 8-level) segment strips across before starting another. 5-level = 11/16 inch)
         [--QUIET]                                 (do not write any console output)
         [--RANGE=n,[L [-p] [+-z]]                 (Start generation at byte n and run for following length L or previous p or prefix/suffix z bytes)
         [--SEGMENT=n]                             (Length in 0.1 inch increments for one vertical-cut paper strip before generating adjacent segment)
         [--SPACE=c]                               (Console output character to represent a space (data bit = 0). Default is ' '
         [--SPROCKET=n]                            (Sprocket feed hole position. Default is 3 for between 3rd and 4th data bit holes starting from right)
         [--TEXT="YOUR TEXT"]                      (Input text string to be punched, taken from the command line)
         [--TRAILER=n]                             (Suffix output with blank sprocket punch tape in 1/10 inch increments eg. 120 is 1 foot)
         [--VERSION]                               (Version number)
         [--WAIT]                                  (Pause for Enter on console after running)
         [--WHEATSTONE]                            (Generate 2-level Morse tape with USN Wheatstone coding (15/32 inch wide))
         [--WHIRLWIND]                             (Generate 7-level MIT Whirlwind (7/8 inch wide))


Steve.