Single Pass Fonts

[bill south]

Wow, is this forum great!!!!! I've been trying to get a handle on engraving simple text and can't seem to obtain the quality I've been searching for. My engraved lines are too wide even when using a narrow engraving tool and a .0005 depth.

Now the magic of the internet!!!! Today, I opened the engraving forum and the very first post I read shed a whole new light on the problem. My problem??? Guess.
All my fonts generated to date were with deskengrave or bobcad which makes multiple passes for each letter!!! What I need is a single pass which would yield a nicer looking letter. Duhhhh.
That being said, is there a source of sample single pass font examples available???? I don't want to invest in the more expensive programs at this time since my engraving requirements are very simple. I've already purchased bobcad and deskengrave is a freebie (thanks). For engraving I have a sherline cnc'd with steppers, mach 3 (licensed) and a 10K spindle modificaiton. I'm using 30° engraving bits and sharpen them to a fine point. And, for now, a -0005 depth on engraving. I'm going to engrave 1911 handgun slides (carbon).
Any help will be appreciated!!!
Bill

[paulC]

Sorry I don't know of anything for free. But I would recommend you have a look at Vcarve. It does everything I want and more for a reasonable price. There is a demo available.
http://www.vectric.com/

Paul

[InspirationTool]

I've had good results with TurboCad. I think I used the "simplex" font.

Old versions can be had for very cheap.

-Jeff

[Greolt]

Have you looked at "Stick Font"

I don't know if this is what you're after but worth a look and free

Greg

http://www.ncplot.com/

[P Riedie]

Use the Write wizard inside Mach 3.
It has various stick fonts.

PR.

[bill south]

Thanks Guys;
I'll give the stick fonts and mach fonts a try. Regarding vcarve, nice program. I've followed the vcarve gallery thread for a while but alas, $500 is a bunch of money for what I need. Maybe later when I build a router, but I think it will be wasted on a small mill.
Thanks again.
Bill

[jimini]

Hi Bill I too was looking for single line fonts, what I eventually did (using Generic Cadd6) was make up a list of letters and numbers, put each one in a box(different layer) to facilitate formatting.
I loaded the alphabet and made components of each letter, then I place the components to make the word or sentence I want and scale it to size I want and explode.
It's a lot quicker than it sounds,once you get used to it.
I'll attach the alphabet.dxf
I can also send you all the characters as components, but I don't think the would work in anything but Generic cadd.Jim

[Egar Twins]

hey man.... a trick I learned engraving fine marbles.....import any text you want from correll draw into autocadd...you may or may not have to trace the fonts but create a template and copy accordingly once your alphabet is complete.....spin at the highest RPMs your tool and machine can handle with low feed rate....normally I say run the **** out of tools because it keeps them clean but with engraving I have learned to slow the feed.......high rpm ....low feed = clean text and art ( try some pictures/relief cuts too!)

[Bill Clark]

Bobcad has its own single line fonts. Just scroll down the font list you will come to Bobcad fonts. In fact thats originally what I bought it for.

[Kevin Taylor]

prof read your text First time i used the engraving in BCC I found I had to change the feed and the depth seatings or i got fuzzey leaters they have a lot of font's to pick from Good luck Kevin