Support (Admin)
03-31-1999, 05:32 PM
THREAD FROM ARCHIVE
Ed: This thread may be a bit outdated by more recent
postings, but the discussion may be of interest to
some.
================================================== =
From: Scott Smith Date: 07 Jan 1999
Thanks to everyone who replied to my post and who contacted me by e-mail. Just wanted to give an update. For background info: my ultimate goal is to have a set of fonts I can use in CorelDraw that can be easily scaled and manipulated. I have locked myself in to CorelDraw since I have the most experience with it and I can get what I need from it (so far). I had bought one of those 3000-font CDs and scoured it for single-line fonts. Some looked pretty close, but none are true single-line. From what I've learned so far, there are two parts to a true type font: the outline and the fill. We see the fill on the screen and the page, but SB cuts the outline (after the outline is converted to curves). A true single-line font does not appear to be practical for everyone except us, since there would be no "fill" area and therefore would not be visible.
I originally tried to trace a letter's centerline and save only the line as a true type character, but this was not allowed. Apparently, all true type characters must be a closed path - lines are not possible.
I have worked around this by tracing a letter's centerline, copying the centerline, and pasting it directly over the original. I "combine" the original & copy into one object, then join the nodes wherever a line ends. This creates a closed path, but appears as a single line. When I type the font in CorelDraw, it appears invisible on-screen at first; I have to highlight it and change the outline from transparent to black.
I tested the single-line font created with CorelDraw last night, and it did fine. I just need to tweak the size of the space character. I will start creating a second font set soon; probably a script font.
The big challenge will be creating fonts that have 3D movement to produce the carved profiles needed with Roman and Blackletter (Old English). This one may force me to learn a CAD program, maybe even a 3D CAD program. Has anyone pondered this one?
From: Fred Smith Date: 09 Jan 1999
Bob Tyrell has a picture on his web site of the "Carved Font" IMService close to the bottom of the page. http://members.aol.com/BTYRELL/shopbot.html He cut this with his Shopbot. using the .SBP File from the IMService web site. On our website there is a screen shot of the Vector-Cam drawing, and the .SBP file. This drawing was constructed using Vector functions on True-Type fonts. http://www.imsrv.com click Vector, click Shopbotter link . imserv@imsrv.com
From: Arthur Ross Date: 07 Jan 1999
To get true 3D letter carving, you should look at ScanVec Enroute software. You import text (from CorelDraw or other design sw), and it will output G-Code for centerline cutting, with the complex 3D motions necessary for "carved look" corners and edges. Works great! I'm not sure if there's a specific postprocessor to output Shopbot files. Arthur Ross fognozzle@worldnet.att.net
From: Richard Bouchard Date: 15 Jan 1999
Shopbot does not wok with Casemate, or any other profesional sign making programs. I have tried for almost a year and have given up. It cannot support DXF lines and arcs. This has been a sore spot with me as I own a sign company and bought the SB to do 3D carving.
From: David Fisk Date: 15 Jan 1999
Richard, Gordon at ShopBot has been working some of the bugs out of the dxf converter. When I was there he was working on a sign that was done with Casmate. What the SB could do was really impressive. The file he was working with did 3d plunged lettering. It did the plunges and then went over them to clean up the edges. It was much like watching an artist paint. You might want to check with Gordon and find out where he is at in the debugging. The sign I saw only had a few gliches left in it so he may be done with the fixes.
------------------------------------------
Editorial Comment from ShopBot:
To be fair, we did have trouble cutting Richard's Casmate sign. Unlike Vector CAD and SignLab (other programs mentioned in this thread) Casmate did not at the time export in ShopBot format. ShopBot's initial dxf converter only handled lines, circles and arcs. Casmate exports two dxf formats, a straight line, arc, circle format and a format that includes polyline-arcs. The straight dxf output from Casmate for large files like Richards, invariably included glitches (extra random moves) that messed up the sign when translated by ShopBot and there was no way for Richard to identify where the glitches would be in the file. The dxf output format that used the polyline-arcs, was clean, but we could not convert it. To deal with this problem, Gordon created a new dxf converter that handles polyline arcs. With it signs such as these that use 3D techniques now cut well (use the Version 2 software and the converter that comes with it). As well, we're hoping to see a ShopBot driver for Casmate soon. Note that these 3D fonts that use centerline trace techniques to achieve a chiseled look are very impressive ... and we are looking for new ways to make such capabilities available to ShopBotters.
------------------------------------------
From: Ron V Date: 21 Jan 1999
I do 3d lettering with casmate pro, nothing to it, and as far as shopbot trying to get it to work , they just got the program and have not had time to figure it out (-: but when you know how to program life is much better, and just think when a driver is made to work with shopbot?.
PS: there is 7 steps to doing 3d text.
OOPPPS i lied it takes 8 steps.
We did a sign last year and this is what we did, the sign said TEXAS 98.
1. on a new page, and under MIS choose the DEFINE MATERIAL and set it up.
2. Choose a font and type your text.
3. select the text.
4.under GROUP select CONVERT TO CURVES.
5. under HYPERGROUP select ENGRAVE 3D.
6. pick what bit you are going to use, we had to design the 1 we used in the ADD.
7. now set your HATCH and ISLAND settings.
8. click OPTIONS before you hit ok and tell it what you want to do.
Make sure you set your ENGRAVING DEPTH right or you will see CHINA.
I did not know much about Casmate till I spent a day playing with it and trying diffrent thing and reading the book on it helps to..lol but it did work. I am not sure if you have to put a offset on it or not, i only cut 4 of them 3d and it worked.
From: Ron V Date: 05 Jan 1999
I do fonts with Fontographer and Coreldraw but there is another way with Turbocad.
1. In turbocad and with a page set-up right click on the A with the mouse (THE TEXT ICON).
2. Choose a font and select the OUTLINE.
3. Type what you want then select all.
4. Now EXPLODE it 4 times and choose the select tool again.
5. Now all you have to do is delete the inside lines and maybe add a few with the MULTILINE TOOL.
With Fontographer.
1. Open a font and delete the inside lines and maybe add a few then save, then in turbocad choose outline in the text menu and type.
Ed: This thread may be a bit outdated by more recent
postings, but the discussion may be of interest to
some.
================================================== =
From: Scott Smith Date: 07 Jan 1999
Thanks to everyone who replied to my post and who contacted me by e-mail. Just wanted to give an update. For background info: my ultimate goal is to have a set of fonts I can use in CorelDraw that can be easily scaled and manipulated. I have locked myself in to CorelDraw since I have the most experience with it and I can get what I need from it (so far). I had bought one of those 3000-font CDs and scoured it for single-line fonts. Some looked pretty close, but none are true single-line. From what I've learned so far, there are two parts to a true type font: the outline and the fill. We see the fill on the screen and the page, but SB cuts the outline (after the outline is converted to curves). A true single-line font does not appear to be practical for everyone except us, since there would be no "fill" area and therefore would not be visible.
I originally tried to trace a letter's centerline and save only the line as a true type character, but this was not allowed. Apparently, all true type characters must be a closed path - lines are not possible.
I have worked around this by tracing a letter's centerline, copying the centerline, and pasting it directly over the original. I "combine" the original & copy into one object, then join the nodes wherever a line ends. This creates a closed path, but appears as a single line. When I type the font in CorelDraw, it appears invisible on-screen at first; I have to highlight it and change the outline from transparent to black.
I tested the single-line font created with CorelDraw last night, and it did fine. I just need to tweak the size of the space character. I will start creating a second font set soon; probably a script font.
The big challenge will be creating fonts that have 3D movement to produce the carved profiles needed with Roman and Blackletter (Old English). This one may force me to learn a CAD program, maybe even a 3D CAD program. Has anyone pondered this one?
From: Fred Smith Date: 09 Jan 1999
Bob Tyrell has a picture on his web site of the "Carved Font" IMService close to the bottom of the page. http://members.aol.com/BTYRELL/shopbot.html He cut this with his Shopbot. using the .SBP File from the IMService web site. On our website there is a screen shot of the Vector-Cam drawing, and the .SBP file. This drawing was constructed using Vector functions on True-Type fonts. http://www.imsrv.com click Vector, click Shopbotter link . imserv@imsrv.com
From: Arthur Ross Date: 07 Jan 1999
To get true 3D letter carving, you should look at ScanVec Enroute software. You import text (from CorelDraw or other design sw), and it will output G-Code for centerline cutting, with the complex 3D motions necessary for "carved look" corners and edges. Works great! I'm not sure if there's a specific postprocessor to output Shopbot files. Arthur Ross fognozzle@worldnet.att.net
From: Richard Bouchard Date: 15 Jan 1999
Shopbot does not wok with Casemate, or any other profesional sign making programs. I have tried for almost a year and have given up. It cannot support DXF lines and arcs. This has been a sore spot with me as I own a sign company and bought the SB to do 3D carving.
From: David Fisk Date: 15 Jan 1999
Richard, Gordon at ShopBot has been working some of the bugs out of the dxf converter. When I was there he was working on a sign that was done with Casmate. What the SB could do was really impressive. The file he was working with did 3d plunged lettering. It did the plunges and then went over them to clean up the edges. It was much like watching an artist paint. You might want to check with Gordon and find out where he is at in the debugging. The sign I saw only had a few gliches left in it so he may be done with the fixes.
------------------------------------------
Editorial Comment from ShopBot:
To be fair, we did have trouble cutting Richard's Casmate sign. Unlike Vector CAD and SignLab (other programs mentioned in this thread) Casmate did not at the time export in ShopBot format. ShopBot's initial dxf converter only handled lines, circles and arcs. Casmate exports two dxf formats, a straight line, arc, circle format and a format that includes polyline-arcs. The straight dxf output from Casmate for large files like Richards, invariably included glitches (extra random moves) that messed up the sign when translated by ShopBot and there was no way for Richard to identify where the glitches would be in the file. The dxf output format that used the polyline-arcs, was clean, but we could not convert it. To deal with this problem, Gordon created a new dxf converter that handles polyline arcs. With it signs such as these that use 3D techniques now cut well (use the Version 2 software and the converter that comes with it). As well, we're hoping to see a ShopBot driver for Casmate soon. Note that these 3D fonts that use centerline trace techniques to achieve a chiseled look are very impressive ... and we are looking for new ways to make such capabilities available to ShopBotters.
------------------------------------------
From: Ron V Date: 21 Jan 1999
I do 3d lettering with casmate pro, nothing to it, and as far as shopbot trying to get it to work , they just got the program and have not had time to figure it out (-: but when you know how to program life is much better, and just think when a driver is made to work with shopbot?.
PS: there is 7 steps to doing 3d text.
OOPPPS i lied it takes 8 steps.
We did a sign last year and this is what we did, the sign said TEXAS 98.
1. on a new page, and under MIS choose the DEFINE MATERIAL and set it up.
2. Choose a font and type your text.
3. select the text.
4.under GROUP select CONVERT TO CURVES.
5. under HYPERGROUP select ENGRAVE 3D.
6. pick what bit you are going to use, we had to design the 1 we used in the ADD.
7. now set your HATCH and ISLAND settings.
8. click OPTIONS before you hit ok and tell it what you want to do.
Make sure you set your ENGRAVING DEPTH right or you will see CHINA.
I did not know much about Casmate till I spent a day playing with it and trying diffrent thing and reading the book on it helps to..lol but it did work. I am not sure if you have to put a offset on it or not, i only cut 4 of them 3d and it worked.
From: Ron V Date: 05 Jan 1999
I do fonts with Fontographer and Coreldraw but there is another way with Turbocad.
1. In turbocad and with a page set-up right click on the A with the mouse (THE TEXT ICON).
2. Choose a font and select the OUTLINE.
3. Type what you want then select all.
4. Now EXPLODE it 4 times and choose the select tool again.
5. Now all you have to do is delete the inside lines and maybe add a few with the MULTILINE TOOL.
With Fontographer.
1. Open a font and delete the inside lines and maybe add a few then save, then in turbocad choose outline in the text menu and type.