Thanks!!! I spent a fair bit of time in frustration doing this in a worse way before finding this video. My task was making slightly tapered text also wider at the base like your version for casting to 3d print colored text inlays.
Your FreeCAD videos are the best! Thank you for spending the time to walk us through operations like this. I would like to use the drafted letters created in this video to arrange beveled text in a semi-circle polar array, but instead of the letter drafting to the base, I would like to create the drafted letters into an engraving, so the letters draft inward from a large face to a small face on the Z axis. Can I use letters created in this video in the Lattice workbench for polar arrays?
Glad it's what you needed. I have my work pc at home and can understand the problems you may encounter with changing fonts on Windows. Mine is locked down by work and getting permission issues, so if you can't change the permissive one solution is to copy the contents of c:/Windows/fonts to a new directory (has to be new) into say your documents folder or somewhere you have full access. In this way you can point to the new directory. The otherway you have to change settings to not use the default font dialogue but you lose the benefit of viewing the font before you add it to your scene. I am looking to do a video on using fonts and installing new fonts on freecad with a few links to some resources. Many months ago I did a generic video for installing fonts on windows and inkscape as, again you hit permission issues. I forgot what a pain it can be sometimes.
@@MangoJellySolutions Thanks , Darren . Looking forward to that video when you get a chance . I would nominate you , FreeCad professor . kindest Regards Terry Lembke
This works okay for the example you provided however some letters won't take a chamfer at all due to complex angles. For example, using a gothic font, the capital M and N won't accept any chamfer. Do you have any advice for fixing them? I can do it with Curves WB multiloft if I manually scale and place the faces.
The problem for me is that the shape of the chamfered top faces of the text change the shape of the font enough that it can be undesirable. I am a total FC beginner so I would be lost there. It would be great if a guy could skip the chamfer operation and loft OUTWARD toward the lower face plane so the shape of the text on the top face is the unadulterated true shape of the font and the extra "meat" below it is just a supporting structure of whatever shape since anything below the top face is functional rather than visual. Thanks for the video. I always learn stuff.
Thanks for the comments. I see the challenge you have there. I have taken a similar approach with trying to scale but the scale is not in proportion and also 2D offset, but you get extra faces and twisting. But I do have another idea that may work. It's a serious work around but might get the results so bear with me.
@@MangoJellySolutions Yeah I was trying to think that through too. What I was picturing is distorting the lower plane details instead of the top face where the text is, i.e. extrude downward with draft. I dunno if that's even a thing, but that's the functional way for it to work since the lower face is just "support" for the upper plane details. If you figure it out, us beginners do a happy dance.
I have been going nuts trying to do this and the only way I have found is to use a drawing program (inkscape or coreldraw) to do the offset. Offset in draft is not very precise. The taper functions in both part and partdesign do not like bezier curves coming from an svg.
@@parandersson8655 I am glad you nudged me on this one as totally forgot about it sorry. I have had another look. I have had a bit more success with using a technique that I am currently doing a video for where a shape binders on the individual letters can be created, using the offset property enlarges one so a loft can be made between the two. I still don't think it's perfect but it opens up the options a bit more.
Apologies I should of added the reasons to the video why I had to go down this path. Me and another freecad user who has been using that option couldn't get deep enough angles without it erroring each time for the effect we wanted and some fonts just wouldn't take the draft at all. I know 0.20 have added some additional tweaks in this area including inner draft so fingers crossed for the future.
Excellent! I have been wondering how to do this since I started using Freecad to make patterns for casting in my home shop three years ago. I could have used it at least half a dozen times. As a work around I have been using very shallow lettering. Do you think it's possible to use the same technique to add pattern draft to letters on a slightly curved surface, such as lid with a slight dome? A challenge would be that the draft would need to not be in respect to the surface but would need to be in respect to perpendicular to the parting line of the pattern. Although if the curve was only slight, it could be compensated for by using a larger draft angle.
Glad this may be of use to you in the future. In regards to query I have just been going over it on paper. Parting line drafts should be possible by duplicating up the first face and lofting through 3 faces rather than 2 with the largest face in the middle followed by the chamfered face either side or the chamfered face in the middle followed by the base face either side (depending on what way you want to draft). It's when it comes to the domed surface that it gets a bit tricky. I do have an idea so bear with me as need to test (if I have understood the question)
Thanks!!! I spent a fair bit of time in frustration doing this in a worse way before finding this video. My task was making slightly tapered text also wider at the base like your version for casting to 3d print colored text inlays.
Glad it helped, and thanks for the share of what your using it for.
Thanks for this and your other videos, your narration is the best I have come across.
Wow, thank you!
Underrated channel. Thanks
Thank you 👍😁
Thanks!
Thank you so much 😁👍👍👍
Your FreeCAD videos are the best! Thank you for spending the time to walk us through operations like this. I would like to use the drafted letters created in this video to arrange beveled text in a semi-circle polar array, but instead of the letter drafting to the base, I would like to create the drafted letters into an engraving, so the letters draft inward from a large face to a small face on the Z axis. Can I use letters created in this video in the Lattice workbench for polar arrays?
Hi , Darren . Thank you for this video . Just what I need . Have a dream day my friend .
Stay safe
Terry
Glad it's what you needed. I have my work pc at home and can understand the problems you may encounter with changing fonts on Windows. Mine is locked down by work and getting permission issues, so if you can't change the permissive one solution is to copy the contents of c:/Windows/fonts to a new directory (has to be new) into say your documents folder or somewhere you have full access. In this way you can point to the new directory. The otherway you have to change settings to not use the default font dialogue but you lose the benefit of viewing the font before you add it to your scene. I am looking to do a video on using fonts and installing new fonts on freecad with a few links to some resources. Many months ago I did a generic video for installing fonts on windows and inkscape as, again you hit permission issues. I forgot what a pain it can be sometimes.
@@MangoJellySolutions Thanks , Darren . Looking forward to that video when you get a chance . I would nominate you , FreeCad professor .
kindest Regards
Terry Lembke
Great turorial. Thank you so much :)
Thank you, great to see your finding time to go through them. Hope you're enjoying and getting to know freecad
Excellent
That should say good day
I need to do a similar thing but with text coming together at a single line. In other words, all slope and no top face.
Couldn't it be done using variable length chamfer?
This works okay for the example you provided however some letters won't take a chamfer at all due to complex angles. For example, using a gothic font, the capital M and N won't accept any chamfer. Do you have any advice for fixing them? I can do it with Curves WB multiloft if I manually scale and place the faces.
Was just having the same issue. Glad to know it is font specific. Did you find a solution?
The problem for me is that the shape of the chamfered top faces of the text change the shape of the font enough that it can be undesirable. I am a total FC beginner so I would be lost there. It would be great if a guy could skip the chamfer operation and loft OUTWARD toward the lower face plane so the shape of the text on the top face is the unadulterated true shape of the font and the extra "meat" below it is just a supporting structure of whatever shape since anything below the top face is functional rather than visual.
Thanks for the video. I always learn stuff.
Thanks for the comments. I see the challenge you have there. I have taken a similar approach with trying to scale but the scale is not in proportion and also 2D offset, but you get extra faces and twisting. But I do have another idea that may work. It's a serious work around but might get the results so bear with me.
@@MangoJellySolutions Yeah I was trying to think that through too. What I was picturing is distorting the lower plane details instead of the top face where the text is, i.e. extrude downward with draft. I dunno if that's even a thing, but that's the functional way for it to work since the lower face is just "support" for the upper plane details. If you figure it out, us beginners do a happy dance.
I have been going nuts trying to do this and the only way I have found is to use a drawing program (inkscape or coreldraw) to do the offset. Offset in draft is not very precise. The taper functions in both part and partdesign do not like bezier curves coming from an svg.
@@MangoJellySolutions Did you find a sollution to this?
@@parandersson8655 I am glad you nudged me on this one as totally forgot about it sorry. I have had another look. I have had a bit more success with using a technique that I am currently doing a video for where a shape binders on the individual letters can be created, using the offset property enlarges one so a loft can be made between the two. I still don't think it's perfect but it opens up the options a bit more.
I'm still confused why u didn't use the draft options in the extrude tools ??
Apologies I should of added the reasons to the video why I had to go down this path. Me and another freecad user who has been using that option couldn't get deep enough angles without it erroring each time for the effect we wanted and some fonts just wouldn't take the draft at all. I know 0.20 have added some additional tweaks in this area including inner draft so fingers crossed for the future.
Excellent! I have been wondering how to do this since I started using Freecad to make patterns for casting in my home shop three years ago. I could have used it at least half a dozen times. As a work around I have been using very shallow lettering.
Do you think it's possible to use the same technique to add pattern draft to letters on a slightly curved surface, such as lid with a slight dome? A challenge would be that the draft would need to not be in respect to the surface but would need to be in respect to perpendicular to the parting line of the pattern. Although if the curve was only slight, it could be compensated for by using a larger draft angle.
Glad this may be of use to you in the future. In regards to query I have just been going over it on paper. Parting line drafts should be possible by duplicating up the first face and lofting through 3 faces rather than 2 with the largest face in the middle followed by the chamfered face either side or the chamfered face in the middle followed by the base face either side (depending on what way you want to draft). It's when it comes to the domed surface that it gets a bit tricky. I do have an idea so bear with me as need to test (if I have understood the question)