Fiber Lasers and Fonts

[John Lifer]

Well, I've never really had an issue with my text and my CO2 laser. Engraves just fine.
But when I've imported text from Corel into EZCad to use with my Fiber, I kept having sections of fonts not hatch.
Random Letters. They would outline, but not hatch inside. I could adjust the directions, size and shape of letters and it Might help, but in most part it would not.
Couldn't figure it out! I started using only truetype but that didn't always work either. OK, so maybe I'm stupid sometimes.

Looked at the section I was having issues with closer. Oh, there is overlap! But that couldn't be the issue could it? not every, or even most of the overlaps were not hatching.

Well, let's try this!
Convert to Curves and Weld the text together.

Son of a Gun! Perfect Hatching!

Just thought I'd pass on for anyone having issues with hatching and Fonts!

[Gary Hair]

You can also use EZCad text and it works much better, plus it's editable!

Edit: you can also export from Corel as an AI file, works perfectly every time.

[John Lifer]

I've been using as DXF from Corel, need to try AI. I have had issue with a couple of EZcad fonts also, not limited to imports.

[John Lifer]

Well Gary, Nope, AI doesn't help. I tried every combination of the export vor version 8 of AI and still have blanks where overlapping text. So, back to welding text If I want to be certain.

[Gary Hair]

Does it do that will all fonts or just a few in particular? I have to admit I only use 4 or 5 fonts on the fiber so maybe I got lucky and picked the ones that happen to work.

[Kev Williams]

Everything I've ever exported to EZcad has been in DXF or PLT form. No way to export or import text as text into EZcad that I can see---?

That said, one problem, and this is the same with Gravostyle, is if you export text to dxf text that's FILLED, AND OUTLINED, EZcad and GS simply consider them everything as 2 separate letters, and IN MOST CASES will invert the fill, so you end up with everything normally filled as outlined and normally outlined holes will fill. EZcad is particularly hard to work with because of how it seems to chose what it will group and/or combine and what it won't, and I'm not really sure how it deals with thickened outlines...

So for me the fix is, in Corel, I unpaint everything and make sure I'm exporting only hairlines...

[John Kleiber]

I have a couple fonts that have issues. This is an example of "Acclamationltal"

There is a slight loop where the font outline crosses in the below letter "N" example. When hatched the loop leaves a blank area.
font_issue_2.jpgfont_issue_1.jpg

[Bill George]

John doesn't the weld function in CD take care of that and then Export as a DXF? Here I used Bella Script and it had a lap over, Weld and Exported as DXF.

Result in EZCAD a cr@py Hatch job but fine to engrave. But I see you already posted the selection but this is here just in case others need to see what we are talking about.

[Jeff Body]

I have that problem when I increase the stroke of a font. It causes this overlap.

Welding it isn't an easy fix. Most of the time I have to node edit it to fix it.

[John Lifer]

A çouple of points, yes, I only xport as dxf so i can import as vector I ezcad. Makes it a pain as I build in CD, and save in CDR format, export as dxf and then I save as a ezcad til also, so i end up with 3 files.

I use several different fonts trying to match up some CO2 work. And maybe insuring things are unfilled might help, but notice a lot of overlaps in a number of different words in different fonts. Looks like it is much easier to just well things up prior to export. Yes Bill, the is what I'm attempting to explain. Should have posted screen shots thank you!

[John Lifer]

Jeff, at least in my CD experience, welding is easier than node editing... But that may just be me!

[Kev Williams]

Welding is a crap shoot, and the dice are usually loaded---

I did a simple test for fun, and it showed, me anyway, just how useless "weld" can be...

All I did was type "Brush" using Brush Script.

First pic, the wireframe in Corel. Note the 's' and 'u' have double overlaps...
brush1.jpg

This is what Corel's weld did--
brush5.jpg
--FAIL! The S doesn't surprise me but why is the bottom of the B filled?

Next I sent a DXF to Gravostyle and just painted it un-grouped as-is, and got this, with all the expected holes-
brush6.jpg

And this is how it painted after grouping--
brush2.jpg
--FAIL! - and it's exactly as Corel painted it. But notice GS still shows all the outlines in red.
But once I actually welded it, it was exactly the same minus the red outlines.

So then I imported the DXF version in EZcad...
With no editing I just went with a 45-135 fill, blue and black...
brush3.jpg
--FAIL! The S is a total fubar, but the B is fine? and the r-u didn't leave a bare spot, yet the s-h did..?

So I tried EZcad's weld function--
brush4.jpg
--FAIL! It DID make the bottom of the B correct that none of the others could do,
but I couldn't keep the hole in the S for love nor money...

But I do have a program that DID weld this up correctly...
brush7.jpgbrush8.jpg
--my 25 year old DOS version of Casmate... import, 2 clicks, done...
Without it, I'd be node editing!

[John Lifer]

brush.jpg
Kevin,
I'm exporting as written in top line, I welded in second, I converted to curves in third and in bottom converted to curves and welded.

All imported into EZcad, weld worked ok and convert to curves and weld worked also (extra step that looks like not needed)

Using Corel Draw X7, Export as DXF, I DO use AutoCad 2004 selection, text as Curves, as BMP and as Unfilled.
For some reason I used that Autocad selection, don't remember if it was by trial and error, or by recommendation.

[Scott Anders]

You're all going about it the wrong way. you don't convert it to curves. Select the text you want to weld in corel and go to arrange>shaping>weld OR go in and create a shortcut button for weld, like W for instance, select text and hit W. Try it

[John Lifer]

That is whatat I've ultimately determined Scott, I'd converts to curves and wasted that time. Yep, need to use shortcut! Heck I still don't know 5 percent of coreldraw!