I would be interested in testing your fonts. I can cut some samples in scrap and send pictures. If you want to continue this off forum you can contact me via myxpykalix@hotmail.com
Onelinefonts.com provider of Single line engraving fonts (testers needed)
I’d like to announce the opening of Onelinefonts.com where we offer Single line (stick) fonts that work well for engraving & CNC work. We currently offer 3 families, each of which contains 4 fonts (regular, bold, italic, bold italic). Each of these fonts has over 250 glyphs (letters, symbols, accents, etc.) to meet the needs of most Roman based languages. Two fonts are based on Times New Roman, one is with Seraphs, the other is Sans Seraph. The 3rd Font family, called ‘Modern’ is based on Din regular, a simple geometric font. Here are some sample images of what they look like followed by one that represents the glyphs contained in each font. I do plan on designing additional fonts with a script/cursive font being next in line.
I already know that these fonts work well with Camworks, but I would like to request the assistance of people on this forum to confirm the effectiveness of these fonts with other CNC software platforms. I will provide you with an entire font family for free (OLF Roman Seraph, OLF Roman Sans, or OLF Modern), a $50 value, individual fonts are sold for $20ea. I prefer that the OLF Roman Seraph font be tested since it is the more complex of the fonts (if it works I know the others will). I understand you may prefer to have one of the other styles, so as an incentive I will offer any other font families to the testers for $30. You will of course abide by the terms of the End User License agreement (not to share, copy, sell, reverse engineer, or modify my fonts, etc.). What I ask in return is that you run a couple of tests outlined and the end of this post. If you are interested in helping me with this pm me and include in the title of the pm the title/s of the programs you can test the fonts with and include an e-mail address in your message. The first people to pm me about each program will be the ones selected to run the test. I will put a list at the end of this post that contain the programs that already have someone arranged to do the test.
Some feedback I would appreciate from the everyone is in regards to the font implementation itself. Many of you know the reason that there are not many TTF single line fonts out there, that being that True type/open type fonts are meant to be closed loop. So arcs, like those in the letter ‘S’ become half moons. I avoid this by making the curved forms with lines. I feel I’ve found a size of line that makes the curves look like curves, but they’re not so small that manufacturing is super slow. I did this so you can simply type in the text and machine it. No more inbetween steps with AutoCAD, exploding text, etc. However if people like my designs, but don’t mind the extra steps in order to have true curves I could potentially provide them as a DXF or DWG file where the letters are simply lines and curves, you then copy and paste them as needed to create the text you need. The cost for such files would probably be the same as the fonts though. I just started a poll on our facebook page, please let me know via that poll if this would be beneficial, or not. I especially want feedback from people that purchase & use the fonts regarding this question.
Thanks I appreciate your help and value your opinions. I want to be sure that your needs are being met.
Confirmed Programs:
Camworks
To be Confirmed Programs (I will put the username next to the program when someone is signed up to test it):
Artcam Pro-- myxpykalix
BobCad-Cam-- Shred
CamBam-
Dolphin CADCAM-
EdgeCam-
Enroute-
Esprit-
FeatureCAM
GibbsCAM-
MadCAM-
Mastercam-- jamlab
PTC Pro
Sheetcam-
Solidcam-
SprutCAM-
Surfcam-
TurboCAD-
UG NX-
Vectric-- agds850
Visual Mill-
Font test steps (please complete the following within 1 week):
1. Import the fonts to your font folder. Use the Word file to copy and paste all of the letterforms into your CNC programs text screen (that way you don’t have to figure out all of the special key combinations for the more unique glyphs). Run simulations, mainly keeping an eye on where the tool is lifting (you may want to run a portion of the glyphs, not all of them at the same time). I want to be sure it’s not lifting at places it shouldn’t be (anywhere midline or mid curve).
2. Check the Kerning. Some programs recognize kerning (customized spacing for certain letter combinations, while others don’t. I’d like to know which programs do & which don’t. Put a Capital A next to a Capital V, AV. If the top leg of the V extends over the lower leg of the A, then it’s kerning. If the AV do not overlap vertically (lots of white space between them), then kerning is not being recognized. If kerning is not working, check and see if a setting can be adjusted in the software so kerning will work, before reporting it as a negative.
3. I would like you to use the font on some scrap you may have around. What material is used is not important. I would like to see 5 lines of text one above the other like the images above. Use the one that matches the font family you are testing. Use the appropriate style (regular, italic, bold, or bold italic) to match the text.
The fonts have been designed at 1/4” in height using a .032” diameter tool for the regular weights, while the bolds are at the same height using .064”. If you go up or down in height, scale the tool size accordingly. Send me a photo of the completed work and give me your opinion on the length of time the text took to machine, was it efficient and quick, slow and cumbersome, or a happy medium? Any other photos of text that has been engraved would be great! Let me know how the letters look in your opinion? Can you even notice that it uses small lines? if so how noticeable?
4. Feel free to run other tests that you feel is appropriate and provide me with any other feedback.
Thanks I appreciate your help and value your opinions. I want to be sure that your needs are being met. Be aware, those that do the tests, that I may share your results and feedback publicly.
Similar Threads:
Last edited by onelinefonts; 01-18-2012 at 10:15 AM. Reason: signee
I would be interested in testing your fonts. I can cut some samples in scrap and send pictures. If you want to continue this off forum you can contact me via myxpykalix@hotmail.com
Thanks for your willingness to lend your assistance. E-mail sent. If it doesn't show up in your inbox, check the junkmail.
OK, at the risk of submitting the dumbest question of the day I have to ask: why would in NOT work in a particular CAM software if these are standard TTF fonts? If the kerning doesn't look right, my first reaction is to blame the software that renders the fonts and not the fonts themselves, at least not when I see them on the screen rendered fine. Additionally, the resolution of the machine also plays a role, but what can go wrong with the font itself? What am I missing?
Were you just trying to avoid simply trading a font file for an engraved piece picture (which I totally understand)? Or is there really something to watch out for when using just any one-liner TTF font out there?
Not a dumb question. I'm confident that they should work with most of the CNC programs out there since they are TTF, I just want to confirm it (I know of one CAD program they do not show up in). This also serves the purpose of getting the fonts in the hands of some people that can put them to use and give me additional feedback, as well as help spread the word.
Yes, in regards to kerning it is a matter of whether the software is set up for it or not. I do design the fonts with kerning, though as most typographers do, I design the fonts to be spaced as well as possible without kerning. I just need to know which programs recognize it which don't so down the road when clients ask, "why does the 'To' in the word 'Top' look too far apart?" I can answer with certainty, "It's because program A doesn't recognize kerning." or "Check this setting...."
Last edited by onelinefonts; 01-17-2012 at 03:01 PM.
Well, for example we found last night that BobCAD isn't very happy using these fonts (through the miracle of the beta process the problem is already understood and fixes may be available at some point). They render and look nice, but BCC introduces a massive number of Z moves that make them run very slowly. Engraving the entire character set would take about 4 hours on my mill.Originally Posted by scriptster
Last edited by shred; 01-18-2012 at 11:45 PM.
I'd like to thank those that have been helping me test the fonts. Yes, we did find a bit of a surprise that these fonts behaved very differently in other programs in comparison to how they act in Camworks (which is the mill cuts the path once with very few lifts). To keep a long story short, they seem to get rather ugly in other programs. As a result I have redesigned my fonts to behave better universally.
The new font design can now use curved shapes, rather than just lines. I have also designed each letter to have as few lifts as makes sense (most letters only have 1, some 2, even less have 3 Z movements). However, most machines will follow the letter path twice, this is due to the nature of how Truetype fonts are created. My previous design was a workaround of this issue, but so far only works in Camworks.
So now when you purchase a font you will receive 2 font files. One is the curved format that should work universally with all CNC programs, while the other (will contain SP, for single path, in the name) is the format that works well in Camworks. If you choose to use these fonts in a Graphic or Wordprocessing program the 'SP' format is also best. I have not doubled or even upped the prices, since I still want to be affordable for machine shops of all sizes.
The Script font is finally done!!
I can't seem to edit the first post anymore so I'll mention that pricing has decreased to be $15 for individual fonts, while full font families (4 fonts) are $40.
Last edited by onelinefonts; 02-09-2012 at 08:37 PM.
I just wanted to announce that the handwriting font is done. I studied several handwriting fonts along with people's handwriting to create a good looking, legible handwritten look, that also keeps lifts to a minimum. A stencil font is in the works and I should hopefully have it ready in a few weeks.
I'm pleased to announce the completion of a Stencil font for engraving. While designing the single line font I designed a 'conventional' version. It's also pictured because it gives you a good idea of how the engraved version will look. Both are offered at onelinefonts.com.
I'm now unsure of what font style to work on next, so if there are any requests let me know. Thanks
I see on your site you still have not verified function with Surfcam. We use that in our shop and are looking for fonts to use in it for engraving. I have to talk to the machinist but I am sure we could run a test for you in exchange for a set of fonts. If you are interested send me a PM and I will send you my email address so we can continue the discussion. Based on your site Simple Sans appears to be the font we would use but we can test whatever needs testing. We can also test it out in SolidWorks but since it works in CamWorks I kind of expect it would work. Anyway I know I am very late to this thread but since I saw you still had holes in the testing I figured I would offer. Thanks.
Leland
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