Build custom software or Adobe plugin to create DXF files.

We are a playground marking company who cut thermoplastic markings using a water jet cutting machine. All of our markings are cut on our CNC machine in separate colours then pieced back together to create the marking. I have attached our website so you can see the type of markings we manufacture. We also often create bespoke markings and logos. http://fun-play.co.uk

We are looking for a company who can create and build a custom software application or Adobe Illustrator plugin that can scale our markings to full size as per our specifications and then divide these into separate colour AI and DXF files ready to be cut using our machine. We are hoping for a software or plugin that can fully automate this process for us so that the process is quicker and simpler to complete.

The software would need to follow strict specifications to ensure everything is created to match our current business standards. Please see the attached screen recording showing you so you can understand how we need the files to be produced. Below are the steps that are needed to complete this process that are shown in the screen recording:

1. The object is scaled to size needed. In this case, it’s 995mm wide.
2. The object is merged so it is all one flat layer which also separates the white from the purple.
3. We create a rectangle that is 5m short on either side as our material sheet size (1000mm x 600mm). Therefore, the rectangle is 595mm x 995mm. This 5m allowance ensures none of the objects rest on the edge of the sheet which could potentially be cut off by the machine.
4. We set the opacity of the rectangle to 50% and position it over the object to cut the object into two separate sections that will fit on a sheet. We press the merge button to cut the object where the rectangle overlays.
5. We delete the white overlay that was left by the rectangle and separate the pieces.
6. We copy each piece onto new artboards at 600mm x 1000mm (the size of our material sheets). Ensuring that any different colours are separated onto their own artboards.
7. We position each piece onto their artboard making sure no objects are overlapping.
8. We fill up each of the artboards with any objects that we cut often to ensure we don’t waste material. This is usually circles, squares, footprints, and any other objects we use a lot within our playground markings.
9. Finally, the file is saved as an .AI file format so we can edit this again in the future if we need to and then export at a .DXF file as this is the file format required by our cutting machine.

We are proposing a budget of between £8,000 - £10,000 for this project and are keen to receive quotes for this work to be completed. We are happy to have a conversation in more detail regarding what’s involved in the current process to further explain what we would need the software to do.

If you feel like this is something you can help us with and are interested in please reply with any questions you may have.

We are now on Christmas leave so will respond to any replies on our return from 2nd January. Please only apply through PeoplePerHour if you are interested and do not contact us via our website or social media.