text on curved surface

[cso]

I am trying to place text on a curved surface (pencil dwg). From previous post suggestions I tried TXTEXP, and then extrude to create a 3d solid of the text. This didn't work; it didn't explode all the text and the text that it did explode and extrude was a surface extrusion, not a 3d solid. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[scj]

Have a look at

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25492

Good luck

Jochen

[cso]

Thanks Jochen. It mentions a custom script. This is only my second cad class, so it is a little beyond what we are doing. Did you have to make the letters individually using polylines, or is there a text command that creates them this way?

[ReMark]

After exploding the text and cleaning up any duplicate lines or errant lines Region it then use Press/Pull to create you solid.

[JD Mather]

Some fonts will not txtexp properly. Try Arial Bold.

[cso]

I am almost there. The Ariel font suggestion worked, and I was able to explode it and create a 3d solid. I also was able to engrave it into the surface with the subtract command. Although this left an uneven depth of the text imprint, depending on where it fit along the cylinder (pencil). And, it is not what I am looking for (cool though!).

 

What I really want to do is just imprint the name on the pencil. The text is not wrapping around the cylinder. When I use the imprint command it only imprints the part of the text that is actually touching the cylinder, which makes sense to me. And if I move the text closer to the cylinder, then some of the imprinted text gets lost into the 3d cylinder. Does this make sense? Any more suggestions. Thanks

[ReMark]

I'm looking at my CVS No. 2 pencil and the text is on the flat obviously because it is a six-sided polygon. Your mechanical pencil is round so what you said makes sense.

[ska67can]

Create your 3d text. Subtract a copy of the pen body from the back of the text. Explode the 3d text and delete all surfaces except for the curved ones created by the pen body. Imprint these surfaces to your original pen body.

[cso]

That sounds like a plan. The problem I am having now is that I am sitting in class trying to do this and the TXTEXP command is not working. It is saying it is an unknown command. At school we have the student version of autocad arch 2010, and at home I have 2009 Civil. Does anyone know why this command is not working on this version? I hope they didn't get rid of this command in 2010. And I did try putting it is many times, so I know my spelling isn't off.

[SEANT]

It may not be necessary to explode the Text Solids. The IMPRINT command can use a second set of solids to imprint an intersection onto the target solid.

 

I demoed the process in this thread.

 

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?t=23171

 

Here is some text outline geometry if it helps.

pm.dwg

[JD Mather]

I hope they didn't get rid of this command in 2010.

 

txtexp is a "Express Tool" and must be installed. If you want the text to follow the curve of the pencil you could use a cylindrical surface body to Slice with Surface option or Imprint and then Move Face.

 

There are some tutorials in my signature.

 

Students can download AutoCAD 2011 for free from http://www.autodesk.com/edcommunity

[cso]

Thanks SEANT! I was able to make it work using your attached file by extruding the text first and then imprinting it. I guess I will have to wait until I get home to make my text into a region since I can't use TXTEXP in class.

 

1. Did you make your regioned text a different way?

 

2. How did you make the text a solid color? Mine is wrapped around the curved surface, but it has a ghostly image with the edges of the text showing white (text) against a red backgound of my cylinder.

[SEANT]

The geometry was created with an add-on routine, but could just as easily have been created with Express Tools’ TXTEXP command.

 

The imprinted faces (shown in that linked thread) had their color modified by a subsequent use of the SolidEdit-Face-Color command.

[cso]

Thanks again everyone. I was able to get it to work and look good.

[ReMark]

Can we see the end result?

[KennyJ]

Sorry if I am too late, or maybe this has been mentioned already I haven't read the entire thread. But this thread helped me the most for your problem.

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?t=43598&highlight=imprint

[cso]

Thanks, That is also helpful.

 

Now here is my final drawing! The file was too big to attach as a .dwg; it really looks much better that way!

 

Now, this probably requires a different thread...

 

I did not union my drawing as I went along, and when I did union it at the end it unioned all the colors together into one ugly grey pencil.

[ReMark]

Since it is a 3D object you can apply materials to it and make it pretty again.