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IndustryArena Forum > CAD Software > Autodesk > Exploding Text makes the letter faceted ( bunch of small flat lines instead of an arc
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  1. #1

    Exploding Text makes the letter faceted ( bunch of small flat lines instead of an arc

    Hello Everyone here,

    I have a question about smoothing the lines of a the letter B that I exploded in AutoCAD.

    This is to cut out with a CNC plasma machine and the lines of the round part of the B are made up of a bunch of flat lines that show on a 24" letter.

    Does anyone know of a fix for this to not have the faceted lines?

    Attached shows images of the drawing and the cutout as well as the dxf file after the letter was exploded.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    5717

    Re: Exploding Text makes the letter faceted ( bunch of small flat lines instead of an

    Is the unexploded drawing an arc rather than line segments? Does your CAM software require an exploded DXF to work?

    I played with the DXF you provided, and all of the arcs are line segments. What I did to eliminate the problem was to draw a 3 point arc using the original line segments as a guide, then just delete the line segments.

    The other option would be to just hit it with a disk sander and smooth the arc out.
    Jim Dawson
    Sandy, Oregon, USA

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    3110

    Re: Exploding Text makes the letter faceted ( bunch of small flat lines instead of an

    Look to the default settings on how it explodes fonts into lines, arcs, and/or splines.

    1st check to see if you actually need to convert the text/font. Many CADS may output a spline (or polyline), your machine could handle this output.

    There should be a tolerance feature that allows a maximum deviation from original shape... which in turn may control the length of the new lines / autosegmenting
    ... this deviation tolerance would allow a circle to convert to a similar looking circle (fine, very small deviation).. or end up looking like an octagon (coarse setting, large deviation)

    There could be an option to allow to fit arcs (instead of lines).
    This would also allow shorter run times, less jerky movements of the machine, better looking finished parts.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    5717

    Re: Exploding Text makes the letter faceted ( bunch of small flat lines instead of an

    An update:

    I played around with this again this morning and best I can tell your DXF file is just about useless. I was able to create a new ''B'' in Fusion 360, NanoCAD (an AutoCAD clone), and CamBam, and they all looked fine, including the DXF export from Fusion 360 that I opened in NanoCAD. .

    I think you're going to need to rebuild the original artwork. The font for the ''B'' is Baskerville Old Face, I didn't spend the time to figure out the font of the other text. Fusion 360 would make pretty quick work of this project if you use it. But it is easier to identify the font in CamBam just due to the way you can select the font, you can step through the fonts with the arrow keys and get an instant display update.

    I'll be looking for pictures of your finished project.
    Jim Dawson
    Sandy, Oregon, USA

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