Not sure if I have put this in the right thread.

I have been using Corel Draw to design and import the dxf file to Mach3. Very easy to do but one annoying thing is it traces both sides of a line of text.
Is there a way to make it have a single stroke letter? I have tried all sorts of fonts and get the same result.

Thanks

That's because there are no single stroke True Type fonts. When converted to vector, True Type fonts become outlines. Whenever this topic comes up, people usually refer you to DeskEngrave, which I believe only has one single stroke font. The best option is probably V-carving, if you want to spend $500. http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/vcw/vcw_index.htm

Thanks
Actually good to hear as I have spent many hours trying to overcome this. At least I know this is not the path to pursue any longer.
I like the look of Vcarve but $Aus700 is far too much for me for hobby software. It is a pity they don't market something for the hobiest in the Mach3 price category. I gladly paid for that software.

Try centerline option in Trace. It may not give you exactly what you want, but it will be close.

Thanks - I tried that but it didn't seem to be very accurate and the letters looked like hand written characters. It could have been the font I was using so I will give it another go.

I tried a few after I posted, and all of the ones I tried are like that. I assume that you have tried Mach3's text wizzard.

I made up a set of psuedo fonts, actually just single line letters and numbers and spaces can be copied and pasted, then resized or mirrored, whatever you desire.
It's actually easier to do than explain.
Check it out,let me know if you have any trouble.Jim

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12854

Yes I have tried the wizard in Mach3 but I would prefer to be able to design the total work in Corel Draw. I have found that the wizard fonts are segmented lines rather than curves and this is very obvious in large text. Actually I only tried one of these fonts so there might be others that are better.

Thanks for the file Jimini and I had a quick look in Turcocad. I will have a go tonight at constructing some text and resizing it. Shed time now as it is Sunday mid morning.

Do you have the same noise restrictions we have here? It is a pain having to wait around for an appropriate time to start work. I haven't had any complaints yet so I guess I am lucky to have good neighbours.

Here is a solution to the Corel Draw and Mach3 single stroke font.
Download for free DeskEngrave from www.Deskam.com. In the installation of this program it will put a single stroke true type font called Stick40 in your Windows fonts. (thanks Gerry for leading me to this site)

In Corel draw use this font as you would any other font but set the font properties to Hairline and no fill. Until you do this it will just have the infills of each character.

By the way after a quick look at DeskEngrave it looks easy to use and has a few features that look promising so I will go back and try the product some more.
Hope this helps somebody.

I have not tried these myself - but there are some fonts here that may work for you:
http://www.featurecam.com/support/Download/Machine%20Tool%20Fonts/Default.htm

If the link doesn't work goto www.featurecam.com
Support -> Downloads -> Engraving Fonts

If you try them and they work please let us know.

Henry

Henry
They certainly do work. I placed them in my Windows, Fonts directory and they pop up in Corel Draw. They are true type fonts so there shouldn't be a problem.
Thanks for sharing
cheers,
Rod

Not sure if I have put this in the right thread.

I have been using Corel Draw to design and import the dxf file to Mach3. Very easy to do but one annoying thing is it traces both sides of a line of text.
Is there a way to make it have a single stroke letter? I have tried all sorts of fonts and get the same result.

Thanks
As someone said, download DeskEngrave.Exe and install it.
Now the Stick40 font is installed in the system.

In Corel Draw:
Enter the text in Stick40 font.
You might not be able to see the actual text. Just funny outlines, etc.
(At one point in time, I attempted to use Stick40 and when I saw that,
I quit using it.)
Select all text.
Fill>None
Stroke>Hairline
Arrange>Break Artistic Text Apart
Now the text should be visible. Each word will be separate from the rest.
Select all of the text blocks.
Arrange>Group
Now they can be moved, etc. as a unit.

You might want to copy %WINDIR%\Fonts\STICK40.TTF to another location
for re-installation if you uninstall DeskEngrave or your disk crashes.

Emory