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Moving from FreeCAD to ViaCAD, but not yet! - Can ViaCAD do what I require.

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leeA7		#1 Posted : Tuesday, October 13, 2020 1:32:53 PM(UTC)
Rank: Guest Joined: 10/13/2020(UTC) Posts: 9 Location: Cornwall Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 1 time(s) in 1 post(s)		I have been using FreeCAD for over a year. I also had the student version of Solidworks, but the license has expired and I don't want to renew. I am often amazed at what FreeCAD can do, and often dismayed by what it can't. (Fairly sure it's FreeCAD's fault and not mine). I am building a half scale working model of a 1930 Austin Seven engine. I design the parts in FreeCAD, 3D print them and then cast them in aluminium. In the meantime I was asked if I could produce an oval nameplate 75mm wide by 50mm tall with extruded lettering with draft. I couldn't do it in FreeCAD but I easily did it in Solidworks. The top lettering was shaped to the same curve as the top of the oval, the bottom lettering to the same curve as the bottom and the middle lettering was straight. I only want to buy the cheapest version of ViaCAD, about $199 at the time of posting. I think the pro version can do this, I had it on trial for a week, not long enough to see what it can do. I also need a cad programme that crashes a bit less often than dear ol' FreeCAD! Can the cheaper version of ViacAD produce such a nameplate? is there a way to rotate each letter around an axis? Lee


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lightbulbjim		#2 Posted : Thursday, October 15, 2020 3:25:36 AM(UTC)
Rank: Member Joined: 2/26/2020(UTC) Posts: 49 Thanks: 9 times Was thanked: 16 time(s) in 13 post(s)		I made this as an experiment. I'm using Shark, but I only used very basic 2D tools so it should be possible in ViaCAD too. You should probably ask somebody who knows before spending your money though. It's pretty crude but you get the idea. 1. Create ellipse. 2. Create control point splines for the top and bottom text paths. I just tweaked it by eye but you could use constraints if you want to match the path of the ellipse perfectly (and make it parametric). 3. The top and bottom text rows use the "text along path" tool. It's associative so moving the splines around moves the text. 4. Middle row is just plain text. Once you get to that point it should be trivial to extrude whichever bits you want. Not sure if it's possible to taper the text or anything fancy like that. Worst case you could probably create an SVG of the lettering somewhere else and import it.

1 user thanked lightbulbjim for this useful post.		leeA7 on 10/15/2020(UTC)
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jlm		#3 Posted : Thursday, October 15, 2020 4:05:34 AM(UTC)
Rank: Senior Member Joined: 2/18/2007(UTC) Posts: 1,253 Location: Paris & Frankfurt Thanks: 217 times Was thanked: 169 time(s) in 102 post(s)		Originally Posted by: leeA7 I was asked if I could produce an oval nameplate 75mm wide by 50mm tall with extruded lettering with draft. I couldn't do it in FreeCAD but I easily did it in Solidworks. The top lettering was shaped to the same curve as the top of the oval, the bottom lettering to the same curve as the bottom and the middle lettering was straight. I only want to buy the cheapest version of ViaCAD, about $199 at the time of posting. I think the pro version can do this, is there a way to rotate each letter around an axis? Lee Hello, I'm sorry I only use SharkCad but maybe the same can be done with Viacad because it is basic tools existing since many years : Draw a curve parallel (offset) to the oval Use text along curve. Adjust the size of text. to match curve length Extrude text with draft... Some fonts works OK (when letters have a simple outline) Complex letters (fancy fonts) sometimes need simplification letter by letter in order to accept draft... Regards,
		WWW

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leeA7		#4 Posted : Thursday, October 15, 2020 1:57:50 PM(UTC)
Rank: Guest Joined: 10/13/2020(UTC) Posts: 9 Location: Cornwall Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 1 time(s) in 1 post(s)		Thanks Jim and jlm, but I think the 'budget' version of ViaCAD doesn't have a text to path feature. Lee


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