Text to cutting path

[Benson Shaw]

To create a vector path for cutting text (laser or waterjet), I usually trace each letter with tangent arc polyline. Cutting tool software seems to accept only Corner vertices and Arcs, no bez or spline. Required format is usually DWG or DXF, often an old version.

Wish 1: An option in Vectorworks for convert text to poly with arc points instead of bez. This means more vertices, so a deviation tolerance setting would also be appreciated. Note: Poly Smoothing, Arc command does not work well for this. Tracing is better option.

I now have a library of a several traced fonts. Need Century Gothic for first time, so thought I would see how the text converts in VWX 2015. Same as it ever was.

Key in the text, Convert Text to Polyline (yields Corner and Bez points), scale as nec, export to DWG, then check the results by Import DWG.

The imported shapes have very little deviation from the exported shapes (Good!)

Somewhere in there all the corner vertices double up and return as stacks. (Bad!)

Wish 2: Wish that stack didn't happen.

Note: My arc polyline traces do not yield stacked vertices in the dwg round trip.

-B

Edited February 2, 2015 by Benson Shaw

[PVA - Admin]

Would you please send me one or a few of those letters in the original VWX file as well as your results after the DWG export? (Not after DWG re-import)I can take a closer look.

I had someone with a similar case a few months ago but I didn't understand the exact issue then, this is a clearer explanation and may be the same problem.

[Benson Shaw]

Thanks, Jim

This is arcane!

Hopefully not petty.

I emailed vwx and dwg files to tech and referenced this thread.

I also discovered a corner vertex stack in the converted to poly "C" in the vwx file.

Only tested ABCDE and only found that one stack. G, J, Q, S might have stacks, too. I will look when I get a min.

It might be a double vertex in the font itself or the convert command might have created an extra point. Or something to do with Bold or . . .

-B

Edited February 2, 2015 by Benson Shaw

[PVA - Admin]

In this example it may seem a little simple or petty but it really isn't. If we are exporting DWGs with duplicate vertices its a problem for a lot of more complicated uses, like survey files and other types of contours. At a minimum it means there is extra geometry being generated which would compound as you went back and forth from VWX to DWG, so its something we'd want to solve regardless.

I was able to replicate it with some simple polys as well that had combinations of the various vertex types. Once exported to DWG, the top left or "start" point of the shape often seems to be the one affected. I've submitted it and will report back.