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Engrave Single Line fonts

Engrave Single Line fonts

Like the title, it would be great to be able to engrave single line fonts. I see it working with the new engrave statergy or trace statergy.

32 Comments

I would be trace or projection(Not sure if this is available in fusion at the moment).

Since the engrave needs a boundary to be in.

 

What is the problem with this in fusion? No fonts or not being able to select the sketch?

 

ericjedwards
Contributor

Not sure on the fonts, I have serveral installed on my system that I use with other software. When you use a single line font, as you suggested you can not select it once in cam mode. I tried to project the sketch in modeling mode and that does not work either.

HughesTooling
Consultant

After creating the text while still in sketch mode left click to select the text then right click will bring up a menu with the option to Explode Text, this will convert the text to curves.

Capture.PNG

 

If you're using stick font some lines will probably be missing but it's not difficult to add back in.

 

Mark

ericjedwards
Contributor

I tried to explode the text and it just gives an error, Could not retrieve the profiles of the selected text. This is using the HSMWorks font.2015-12-09.png

HughesTooling
Consultant

Here's a link to some more stick fonts, they all explode to curves but some end up with lines missing.

 

Stick Fonts.

 

Mark

ericjedwards
Contributor

I tried with the linked fonts. It does make something that you can kind of apply a trace tool path to but the tool path leaves a lot to be desired and leaves out sections.

al.whatmough
Alumni
Status changed to: オートデスク審査落選
 
ericjedwards
Contributor

Thanks, for accepting this. Will this feature also make its way to Inventor HSM as well?

kyle
Observer
nealJTUJS
Observer

This is an absolute must for me.  Hoping this will be added to Fusion in the near future.  Simple text engraving is a nightmare currently.  

 

Any update on this?

temperli
Contributor

I tried to add small instructional text to my laser cuttings to be engraved, but gave up. There is no viable option so far.
I played around with engrave, but it doesnt output acceptable laser files.
Please add a way to machine/laser single stroke letters so i can engrave text on my designs.
Tho what works, is the layers in the DXF, so i can select each layer and color it differently for the final file.

CGPM
Collaborator

What does accepted mean???  All I engrave is single line fonts making parts on my CNC mill, both production and one off.  Yeah there are workarounds that take 20-40 times longer than they should and are wonky as hell taking even more time to manually clean up the code if doing production.

bryan5
Advocate

Can we get a single line font. Ideal for etching and for a tool path.

Tags (2)
randyT9V9C
Collaborator

We definitely need single line fonts. Even a simple single line font would be nice.

 

I have been in contact with One Line Fonts http://www.onelinefonts.com/ with the hope of making their fonts work but according to their last email some changes will need to be made in F360 for single line fonts to work. I can make them work by exploding them but exploding the single lines fonts is WAY TOO MUCH HASSLE to be useful and once exploded they are not easily modified.

 

It would be awesome if I could use any of the One Line Fonts that are optimized for CNC milling.

 

At present I'm still using my macro based font rather than doing my fonts in Fusion.

randyT9V9C
Collaborator

I have been in contact with One Line Fonts http://www.onelinefonts.com/ with the hope of making them work with Fusion 360. After some testing back and forth it was proven that some changes would be required in Fusion 360 for the fonts to work. The last sample they sent did explode properly but selecting all the small segments for milling is a pain. Modifying text once exploded is a pain also. It would be great if the one line fonts could work as all of their fonts have been optimized for milling.

HughesTooling
Consultant

@randyT9V9C Did you try selecting the text without exploding? It should work but single line fonts don't work as well as standard fonts.

 

Mark

randyT9V9C
Collaborator

Mark,

 

Yes, and it didn't work. Un-exploded the font  doesn't appear in Model except the text frame. It was selectable in Cam but didn't trace correctly. It did trace some segments. After exploding the font in Model it appeared and I could select the segments in Cam.

 

In addition to the One Line Fonts I've also tried all the true type fonts listed on this page without success.

http://imajeenyus.com/computer/20150110_single_line_fonts/index.shtml

 

 

Do you know of a single line font that works?

 

This is the macro based font I've been using:

http://www.sharpcam.co.uk/fanuc-macros/Standard-Engraving.aspx

 

I made a php version if you want to see the g-code it generates.

http://home.lewiscounty.com/~forhire/text2gcode.php

 

HughesTooling
Consultant

@randyT9V9C For simple engraving I use the simplex font. It is an outline so the cutter makes a pass all the way around the letters not a single pass like with the single line fonts but I find on soft metals it reduces the burr. Although it takes a bit longer to cut it is quick to setting up in Fusion as you don't need to explode the text, so edits are easy.

 

A couple more free options

 

Deskengrave, it can export a DXF file you can use in Fusion and also has the option of text on arcs. Note. Might not work with Win10

QCad, just explode the text then export as a DXF

 

I've tried a couple of the single line CAMBam fonts in the programs above and they seemed to work OK.

 

Here's a screencast showing how to convert with QCad.

 

Mark

randyT9V9C
Collaborator

Mark,

 

I installed the Simplex font but on the Mac is doesn't work properly. It appears correct in the Font Book but it appears as Arial in Fusion 360. Likely a Mac issue. I'll have to try it on the PC. The two pass isn't really an issue if there is less of a burr to clean up. 😉

 

Thanks for the options, I have Deskengrave and Qcad on my PC. At the end of the day all of these options require processing outside Fusion 360. 

 

I wrote the web based tool for my students to produce quick text as the computer lab is mac based. When the students designed their cribbage boards I had them v-carve (engrave in Fusion 360) the text because I wanted them to do all the work. It worked OK but wasn't really the look we were going for the small font.

 

At work my software does single line fonts just dandy. I'd like something similar in Fusion 360. 😉

 

This is the list of programs that use the One Line Fonts from their website. It appears some of them license them for their customers use.

 

List of confirmed programs:
 

Camworks
  CAMid*
 

FeatureCAM 2014- contact me if you have an earlier version
 

Homag/WoodWOP 2014*
 

Hundegger*
 

Impact
 

Make The Cut
 

Rhino
 

SolidWorks 2014*
 

Text Sketcher* (for use in Catia)
 

Enroute 6*
 

Solid Edge ST9*
 

SolidCam
 

MasterCam
 

VisualMill & VisualCAD
 

Dr. Engrave
 

Cameo
 

Illustrator
 

Photoshop
 

InDesign
 

Corel 
 

Word
 

Excel


*Software provider has license to provide it's clients with OneLineFonts.com font files.

kmcgheeCMFPG
Advocate

So many of us using Fusion need single stroke/line fonts, one of which is for us that engrave parts in tight places where normal fonts just won't do. In my search for fonts I had an email conversation with Justin D. from onelinefonts.com who says he wants to work with Fusion making a single line font (hopefully one that does not have cam trace twice) but has not had much luck contacting them yet. As a user of Fusion I would encourage Autodesk to contact him, maybe the collaboration would make it possible. His email is accounts@onelinefonts.com

 

 

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