Making Signs

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Biotech1
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:04 am
Location: Topeka, KS USA

Making Signs

Post by Biotech1 »

Hello all New to the Family My name is patrick And i am officially a cnc attic I just built my first cnc machine which i think is awesome. then I was pointed to the Vcarve family to accomidated the CNC machine and i am using mach3 ...

My question is making projects using the lettering the single line fonts are giving me a hard time asking about all the vectors??? :?

Ignoring Unsuitible Vectors.....

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VCarve Pro.crv
this is what I'm trying to make
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CRFultz
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 1160
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2006 4:21 pm
Location: Longview, Texas

Post by CRFultz »

Hello Patrick, welcome to the Forum :D

Single line fonts are intended for engraving only.
You would need to select the profile icon and run a toolpath on the vectors.

If you would like to Vcarve a sign with text you would need to use a TT style font.
Any font that you can find on the internet most likely will be TTF and can be downloaded and installed in your windows font directory.

Hope that helps and let us know how you make out.

Chuck

wdenis
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Alberta Canada

Post by wdenis »

Hello Chuck and Patrick,

I hope it is OK to ask this question here since it relates to a question I have about fonts. That said, Patrick I didn't want to begin a new thread so forgive me if this appears to be a hijacking. My question relates to single-line fonts and are TT fonts all single line or are they something different. I am engraving large amounts of text (poems) and I notice that the engraving tool (I use a die grinder at 30,000 rpm) cuts the same letter at least twice. Does this mean that the font is not single-line as I assume? Are there specific fonts used exclusively for the engraving field since this "double" pass seems to waste a great deal of machine time and I find the lettering very often comes out with a definite crowded appearance. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Wayne
Always Give Thanks and Never Give Up!

CRFultz
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 1160
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2006 4:21 pm
Location: Longview, Texas

Post by CRFultz »

Wayne I've only done a couple jobs that required engraving.
I did learn on my machine a shallow cut in Rowmark made for a better, more readable, sign.

I made over 300 circuit breaker tags with a 30 degree cutter at .015 deep.
They turned out nice.



The Single lines have a 1L; 2L; 3L....I believe this has to do with how many lines each letter has.
I used the gothic because it was very quick.
Maybe when you see a cutter going over a letter twice, it is cutting another line that is in the letter.
Try a 1 liner versus a 3 and see if thats the case. For a multiple line letter maybe a very shallow cut
will allow you to see each pass.

I 've made a few projects that required the text to be very small. (.25).
Making the letters crisp and clear has alot to due with the type of material being cut.
The harder, more dense, the better the outcome.
Corian works very well. So does maple.
On wood I will sand down to the 220 with the final pass thru my performax drum sander
to get it flat has possible.
I'll then apply 3 light coats of spray poly, sanding between each coat.
After the job has been cut I will apply a dark stain, a little at a time wiping clean has I go.
Then a couple more coats of poly.

On corian, i use ink or shoe polish.

Maybe this is more info then you wanted, but i tend to ramble at times.

hope this helps in some way, I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Chuck

wdenis
Vectric Apprentice
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Alberta Canada

Fonts

Post by wdenis »

Chuck,
Great info thanks for the time. At this point I an engraving only on aluminum which I later palm sand to bring any burrs down to the face of the plate then I use a buffing wheel with jeweler's polish which gives the script a softer look. I am only using a ,015" depth since any more just raises more shoulder and takes more time for nothing. I like your idea of shoe polish because of all the colors but I was wondering is it would flake off of AL? Don't worry about rambling since any info is appreciated and I can use all I can get. I have posted a photo showing how VCP sees my last attempt. I haven't cut it yet since my last run created some motor slippage screwing up positioning and for engraving that is a disaster and the cut is ruined.....very frustrating but part of the learving process. Check out the photo. :D
Wayne
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Always Give Thanks and Never Give Up!

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