[solved] Editing lettes for a plamsa table

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Solo318i
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[solved] Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by Solo318i » Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:07 pm

I'm struggling with editing letters to cut with my plasma table. I want to be able to bridge letter inserts(like the inside of an "A" or an "R"). As well as widen some of the letter bodies (the sharp curve of an "R" for instance) so that my lead-in will work. This all needs to happen before I generate the G-code.
I have already "exploded" the text, but I still haven't figured out how to alter the path that the "explosion" creates. I know I'm missing something obvious and any suggestions are welcome.
I have not purchased the full version, but I'm not inclined to if I cannot fix this issue.
I'm running the Qcad free version on windows 7 if it matters.
Thanks

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andrew
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by andrew » Tue Apr 13, 2021 5:20 pm

Could you please provide more information, attach the drawing file and indicate in a screenshot or sketch what exactly you are trying to achieve?

Generally speaking, you can drag and drop nodes, stretch, draw new geometry, break out segments automatically, etc. to achieve that. You can also explode twice to break up polylines into lines and arcs which you might find easier to handle.

Note that there are also many existing fonts that have these connections in place already (stencil fonts).

Solo318i
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by Solo318i » Tue Apr 13, 2021 6:12 pm

this is a link to the langmuir forum where I've been hatching this problem out. There is both a loink to the file I'm playing with and a "fixed" file. The fixed file was fixed in fusion, but I need to know how to fix it in Qcad
https://forum.langmuirsystems.com/t/tro ... ters/14272

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andrew
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by andrew » Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:09 pm

There are different ways to achieve this. I'd probably proceed as follows.

1. Draw the bridge you want to insert as two parallel lines with the desired distance:
Screenshot 2021-04-13 at 21.03.58.png
Screenshot 2021-04-13 at 21.03.58.png (34.19 KiB) Viewed 6311 times
2. Select and copy the bridge to the clipboard (Edit > Copy).

3. Paste and rotate (F5/F6) at the desired position(s):
Screenshot 2021-04-13 at 21.05.06.png
Screenshot 2021-04-13 at 21.05.06.png (44.5 KiB) Viewed 6311 times
4. Click away the undesired segments using Modify > Break out Segment:
Screenshot 2021-04-13 at 21.05.35.png
Screenshot 2021-04-13 at 21.05.35.png (36.65 KiB) Viewed 6311 times
You might want to create a single polyline from the resulting shapes by right-clicking on any of the shapes and choosing Auto Create Polyline or Auto Extend Polyline.

Solo318i
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by Solo318i » Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:51 pm

Do I do this before or after I explode the text? If I was doing it on a rounded font, could I use a circle and accomplish the same thing. Is it as simple as making the bridge a separate "item" and dropping that as a whole where I want to trim the letter?

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andrew
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by andrew » Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:55 pm

You'd have to explode the text first (possibly twice if it's a formatted text).

The shape of text glyphs cannot be changed without exploding the text outline to a vector geometry (polyline).

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andrew
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by andrew » Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:57 pm

The shape of the bridge does not really matter with this method as long as it consists of two elements that are long enough to bridge the width of the letters stroke.

Solo318i
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by Solo318i » Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:57 pm

I'm striking out. when I explode the letter it still treats the letter as a complete unit and I get a message when i try to remove any part of the that says( Entity is not a line, arc, circle or ellipse.) If I remove the segment it removes the whole letter. It's quite frustrating.
I've tried exploding the letter another time and it moves nodes all over the screen, but still wont let me remove a segment. It will remove a segment of the bridge, but anything else removes the whole letter.
I've been fighting with this for 2 weeks.

Solo318i
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by Solo318i » Wed Apr 14, 2021 2:18 am

OK so i have that problem solved. I needed to keep on exploding it. Now for the next problem. How do i clean up the nodes that exploded all over the screen? My OCD is going nuts!

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Husky
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by Husky » Wed Apr 14, 2021 2:46 am

Something doesn't add up here ...

You provided links to 4 files.

text test file.dxf
m.dxf
martins.dxf
CALVIN ON A LOG TAKE2.dxf

Your question is about text. None of those files contains text! Yes, it looks like text but technically it is built with lines, arcs and polylines. And the answer you got is regarding text ... nothing else.

Nevertheless. The provided solution from Andrew works in each single file. Without any modification on the drawing!
Solo318i wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:57 pm
I'm striking out. when I explode the letter it still treats the letter as a complete unit and I get a message when i try to remove any part of the that says( Entity is not a line, arc, circle or ellipse.) If I remove the segment it removes the whole letter. It's quite frustrating.
I can't reproduce that with the example files. I recommend to provide ONE file here in this forum. On that way we are looking at the same file and what ever we recommend it is then easy to test it step by step on your computer.
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CVH
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by CVH » Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:39 am

Totally agree with Husky.
As an engraver I see strange / uneven offset paths.
Text weighing as little as 1.5mm / 0.06" is best cut with a laser, EDM or engraved.

Under QCAD:
A single line of text only needs one explosion level to work with the text art.
2D Text should not scatter around when exploded. Is Z zero?

Center point references of individual arcs from curves may appear scattered.

Regards,
CVH

Solo318i
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by Solo318i » Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:18 pm

Thanks for your help guys. As I posted earlier, I wasn't exploding the text far enough I exploded the whole text into letters, then I exploded the letters, but it didn't explode the whole letter. The I had to explode the individual lines/ path of the letter I selected I(i.e. the inside triangle of the A) once I exploded both pieces of the a, then I was able to follow the directions listed above. I found out from lots of reading that the "random" nodes were actually markers of some sort that were important for the (now) polyline I was exploding. When I altered the polyline to change the letter, some of the nodes disappeared.
Does this sound like an accurate understanding of the process? I'm totally stoked to be able to put this problem away in search of another. (unless I'm still wrong and then I need more coffee) :)
In either case what I did last night seems repeatable. and with a little practice i could make it efficient.

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Husky
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Re: Editing lettes for a plamsa table

Post by Husky » Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:10 pm

Solo318i wrote:
Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:18 pm
In either case what I did last night seems repeatable. and with a little practice i could make it efficient.
Sounds like you are now on the right track. Skip the coffee - I'll mark this topic as solved. :wink:
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