Well I hope yall will be as excited as I am! Failing to find a puzzle generator online or anything reasonably priced, I decided to do what I should have done in the first place Make one.
This is not just an overlay, it generates the puzzle based on your input of size, pieces per row and selected tab shape. I made 6 tab styles to start with so I could get it going. I can easily add more tab styles as time permits. If yall have some good ideas on tabs, send them along to me as SVG or Corel (x7 or earlier) and I can probably add them. You will want to keep the node count low (8-12), remember its 4 of these tabs per side per piece!
You specify a few parameters and it will generate various output styles for you to use. It will generate cut lines (all horizontal at once, all vertical at once) for lasers. This way the laser can cut an entire path across the puzzle instead of individual pieces. That really cuts down on laser time. It will optionally generate grouped shapes as individual pieces. This would be useful as a graphics overlay use.
The output SVG is fully vector so its scaleable with no loss in quality.
I generated a 4x3 puzzle and cut it out of 3mm ply. It worked perfectly and the pieces fit just fine.
I would appreciate any feedback on it. I am always looking to improve how I do things. I have only tested this in FireFox. My IE is not allowed on the web (firewall). I don't think there should be an issue with other browsers though.
PuzzleScreenShot.jpg