Problem engraving text!

[nevRotico]

Hello, sorry for my bad english.
I have a problem engraving numbers or text. I will explain you.

I have some font link ISO, ROMANS and so on, that used on autocad make only one line.
If i try to insert text in cambam, using this fonts, the software will return fonts writed with border.
Engraving this, the cnc will make the font 2 time to complete this. There are some method that i can use, to write a simply numbers or font with cnc in only one step??

Plz, don't tell me that i must write text in autocad, explode this in polylines, export in cambam and make engraving....i must make 200 numbers.....

I hope that you will understand the problem. Thx!

[c.sitas]

Hello Nevrotico
   I am not very smart with the cam bam yet, but I do know you van make your text right in the cam bam. Up on the left upper corner you'll see the file  and insert and cam . All you have to do is single click on insert and and then select , text. another list will drop down about half way down on the left side. There you can select any font you want , type in whatever you want , also you'll see different numbers there . They are for the size and so on. Your tool size is there also , and so is the way you want to cut them. After you get that done go back up on the top and enter cam, pick how you want to cut them .By the why you sound I'd say you want to engrave. You play around with this section and I'm sure you 'll be happy It'll take a while to come to grips with it ,Just stick with it . I, not ot savy but I have done a bunch of this Text work. Are you awhere about polylines and such . If not come back Ill try to help. c.sitas

[Bertram]

It sounds like you are looking for single line fonts.

Try this link http://www.ncplot.com/stickfont/stickfont.htm for an example.

[c.sitas]

Hi again, Ifound the old web site. Go there and there are lessons on this subject and more.I don't know how  to link but here is the address www. brusselsprout.org/cambam/tutorials

[nevRotico]

It sounds like you are looking for single line fonts.

Try this link http://www.ncplot.com/stickfont/stickfont.htm for an example.

Yes, thank you. I just need single line fonts.

There are some methods to write single line fonts in cambam without use another software?

Tnx in advance!!

[nevRotico]

I have just found a single line font that i will attach on this post. I hope that it will be usefull to someone.

[Bertram]

Thanks for that!

It appears, however, that the lower case p and q are missing.

[Arie kabaalstra]

The "ISO"  fonts are stickfonts, as far as i'm aware of.. Why not try these first?..

[10bulls]

It appears, however, that the lower case p and q are missing.

Mum always said you should mind your p's and q's.

[10bulls]

In response to this cnczone post
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?p=429565#post429565

I have found and fixed a bug which was causing problems with some stick fonts, resulting in missing characters.

I will be putting out a bug fix release in the next day or so which will include this fix.

[hatcat]

I realise that this is an old thread, but I'm having exactly the same problem now. I don't think any of the posters replying above actually understood the problem.

If you choose Draw -> Text from the menu (or use the T button) to put text in a drawing, and then choose any font (yes - including all the 'stick' fonts), CamBam draws a closed polyline around each letter, and then proceeds to follow that polyline when making an Engrave MOP. It is as if when drawing the letter, CamBam actually draws a profile to cut out around the letter to create it as an island. It does NOT just draw a line as I would expect from these fonts. That is to say, it does not do what AutoCAD et al would do. The issue may not be obvious at first glance, but zoom in to see it.

This is understandable and appropriate behaviour for fatter letters, but for single line letters it creates problems. Apart from the OP's problem that it takes twice as long to engrave each letter, this also means that it makes the cut 'lines' twice as thick as they should be and when one is trying to do small letters (say 3mm high), they tend to merge into a blob with the ones next door.

Does anyone have any ideas about how to make it just draw the line of the original font? Perhaps I am going about it in the wrong manner? Thanks.

[pixelmaker]

hello hatcat,
at first, there are no single line or stick fonts under wndows!
Also the "stick fonts" of George are no real single lines, because a font in windows have to be a closed line. The trick of the stick fonts is that the lines are laying on to the other. You can see this when you look at this fonts in a grafic software, there you can drag the overlapping lines beside. This is the base, why you can´t import single line text from autocad. You can convert the text to polylines in Autocad, then you can import also the text to CamBam, but it is no text. Also a dxf don´t transport the font information.

A profile mop always cuts beside a line, inside or outside. If you want cut with a profile mop onto the polyline, you can do this with using the half of the tool diameter using in a negativ RoughingClearence. I.e if you use a tool from 4mm you work with a outside profile and a RoughingClearence of 2mm. Then it cuts on the line.

A engraving mop cuts on to a line without manipulating

When you import a text from ACAD you only have to doubleclick it. Then, in the text edit window of CamBam you choose the right font, i.e. your stick font, and then you can engrave it with a engraving MOP.

I hope I understand what you mean.

ralf

[lloydsp]

Here's something Davek wrote over in the "Try my Stick Fonts" thread (in this section).
He was using George's stick fonts as uploaded here a few weeks ago:

-----------
<quothdavek>
OK, so I just used a trick I've used before on your fonts. I used "remove overlaps" on them. A quick look at the G code file and it seems to not be going over them twice.

It would be really sweet if someone wrote a script to automate that.

Highlight text
convert to polylines
Make a new layer and make it active
remove overlaps
delete text on original layer (or just delete original layer maybe)

Then you could just type away and run the script and have a single pass stick font.

</quothdavek>

--------------------------------------

LLoyd

[Jeff_Birt]

Also the "stick fonts" of George are no real single lines, because a font in windows have to be a closed line.

This is not a 'Windows' issue, it is a requirement of the font format (same on every OS that uses TTF).

It would be really sweet if someone wrote a script to automate that.

That would be nice. The only problem would be when you needed to change the text. Might be somethign that coudl be done with a custom MOP type (Single Line Engrave).

[pixelmaker]

Where I can found a tutorial, how to make a script?

You can copy the text layer and edit the new one. Then you have the editable text on the first one.

ralf