Trying to chamfer some letters

[justCNCit]

And it doesn't work. used alot of CAD packages myself, both poly and solids. This hybrid system has me a bit frustrated, everytime I try chamfer letters it seems to turn them back into open surfaces and then does a rat ass job of chamfering them(leaving the front surface ontop of the chamfers regardless).

How do I go about chamfering letters? W/out going through an intensive poly editing session.

[ger21]

Create the text with the height being the total height minus the chamfer height. Then, extrude the top surface using Extrude surface>tapered with a negative draft angle to create the chamfer. I extruded a bit to far and got some overlapping on the R, which shows in the render.

[chmillman]

If you're using version 3, you can't "solid chamfer" - that tool doesn't exist. It does in V4 (in Beta, you can download it and test if you own V3)

Beware, letterforms taken from Truetype fonts and made into curves are often very poor - sometimes open, have loops or other problems - so you may be surprised at the results sometimes.

Gerry's method will probably work OK in many cases. --ch

[justCNCit]

Beautiful work Ger21 it worked after a few tries finding the correct menu option.

I've been considering using Rhino + Madcam to run my hobby CNC machine but still have doubts about its capabilities. I seem to have a hard time getting up and running with it as I am not used to dealing with surfaces so much as solids.

Can someone tell me, is it better to wait for version 4 to come out before purchasing Rhino? Since I'm in school right now I could purchase Rhino for $190 and use it commercially afterwards . . . sure beats using Mastercam for $15k or so. . .

[chmillman]

Rhino 4 is supposed to be out before the end of the year. Usually they offer a free upgrade if you have bought a previous version just shortly before a new version comes out. The period is generally two months. Since nobody knows when it's actually going to hit the market, I can't tell you exactly when that period begins.

If you buy Rhino 3 now, and it turns out you don't make it into the "amnesty period" it will cost around $95 additional for an upgrade to V4 (student version). But having the use of the program for the next couple of months and being able to learn it may well be worth the money for you. --ch

[justCNCit]

now, how do you fillet letters?

[ger21]

Originally Posted by justCNCit now, how do you fillet letters?

Create solid text. Then, under the solid menu, fillet edge.

[justCNCit]

which gives me this result

[ger21]

I got the same results. I'll have to play around and see what I can find.

[chmillman]

You're going to have a hard time in many cases. Letterforms, as I said before, are often poorly drawn. There are often non-tangency areas that mess up fillets. Also check that the fillet can indeed be made with the radius desired (it has to be able to get around all corners, if one is too tight, it will fail. Also, you will have a lot better chance to get it filleted in V4 than V3. I can post an example later. --ch

[chmillman]

Attached is a file done in V4 with FilletEdge - I had to do some manipulation on it though, the dot in the i and the h were somewhat recalcitrant. --ch

[turmite]

Originally Posted by chmillman Rhino 4 is supposed to be out before the end of the year. Usually they offer a free upgrade

According to the Rhino newsgroup postings by McNeel people there are no free upgrades. The basically said look at the posted prices from where ever you intend to buy to get a general idea of what the upgrade price will be.

Personally, if I were a student and could afford it, I would go ahead and buy
V3 now so I could have access to the beta. Do all your learning on the beta and you will be ahead of the game when release comes.

Mike