Trimming in Parts Wizard

[toml@starband.net]

One function that I am used to in Bobcad is the trim function. It makes joining and trimming the loose ends of lines quite easy.

How is that done in parts wizard? I have stumbled around a bit and managed to get a couple of entites joined and trimmed but I have not found a good system yet.

[frank]

Hi Tom,

If the entities you are trying to join are ungrouped there are a couple of ways to trim and join them. You can right click and insert a point
or use the "I" key. The "R" key removes spans. You can also click and drag the point to connect it to another line. Most of these functions
are available by right clicking.

If you are trying to repair fonts for v-carving, make certain that you are using one of the 10 fonts that work with Parts Wizard. They will be the fonts that are listed in red in the font drop down box.

[Mayo]

Parts Wizard? and where can I get details?

[gordon@shopbottools.com]

Tom,

To trim lines in Part Wizard you can use the editing tools that are available by: selecting an object, placing the cursor over a segment, and right clicking. From the pull down menu you have the option of changing the type of segment (line, bezier, arc), adding points, or deleting the segment.

To trim an object: click on the object to select it and move your cursor to the position on the object that you want to trim it to. Right click on this position or press "i" to insert a new point on the object. Now you can trim the segment past the point you inserted. To do this place the cursor over the segment of the object that you want to remove. When the cursor has a ~ next to it, press "r" to remove the segment. To trim to an intersection, place a point at the intersection and trim this side back. Now, you can grab the handle at the end of the other section and drag it to the new end point created in the last step. When the cursor changes to a crosshair you have the handle over another end point. By releasing it here the 2 end points will be connected.

The fonts that are available for v-carving were selected for both style and type, as well as, they worked well in most operating systems when placed into a Part Wizard drawing. Most fonts were not designed with machining in mind and may have gaps or overlaps in some of the characters. Some of the more poorly designed fonts will have problems in almost every character. Unfortunately, the results for almost every font are different from one operating system to another. In most cases it will only be necessary to edit the end points by: ungrouping the letter, clicking and dragging one of them to snap to the other, then regrouping the letter. This shouldn't be too many operations to restrict v-carving, but if it is please send me an email outlining the steps you took so that we can get some consideration made for these necessary steps.

There are other programs such as Fontographer that can be used to edit fonts, but before investing in them I would test a sample of one of the v-carvable fonts to make sure that they're still allowed to be v-carved.

[toml@starband.net]

Ron and Gordon

How about taking the ten fonts that PW cuts, edit them so that the do in fact cut and then offer them for sale to us guys that have PW? It sure would be worth $25 or so.

[dmdraper]

Gordon,

I seem to remember you saying at the Jamboree that if you fixed a font in Part Wizard, you only had to do it once and it would come in good the next time you used it. Is that correct or did I misunderstand?

Mayo,

Part Wizard is the new software (developed by ArtCam and ShopBot) that ships with new ShopBots (replaces Vector).


Dave D.

[debekker]

Is there a place we Can download this program. My shopbot is only 3 mos old. I would like to try this program... And I heard there is a windows version of the controller software is it available for owners of shopbots or only for new buyers.

[gordon@shopbottools.com]

Part Wizard is a NEW CAD\CAM program that we now offer with new tools and for sale to those that already have a ShopBot. There will be a new thread on it this afternoon with further information.

The new ShopBot Windows software is coming, but currently it is in the final development phase and in the next couple of months we'll have an Alpha version. It will be included with all new machines once it is out of Beta testing and will also be in available for most older ShopBot systems.

[danhamm@abccom.bc.ca]

Gordon
What 10 fonts are supported by your new program? and does it work with sizing..also does it support a wild card font that we could build and entity and make it a ttfont and have it cut?
Can more fonts be purchased to work with
this program or is that all it supports..

[dcg44@fairfieldglade.com]

I am just starting to use part wizard and am running into the same frustrating font problem. if i understand the methodology correctly, part wizard incorporates a problem with the fonts and when we go to fix the problem, we are penalized. also who exactly selected the wonderful list of useable fonts? i have never used/heard of curlz, juice and times new roman has got to be one of the worst fonts for engraving. finally, i just do not get much calls for items with greek lettering so the symbol font is almost useless.

i believe either ShopBot or Delcam needs to provide us a solution for the font problems. am i correct in understanding that currently the only solution to part wizard font problem is to go to the $3,500 artcam program?

don

[frank]

Don,

Gordon has been and currently is working with DelCam to address the issue with the fonts that will not readily V-carve in Part Wizard without editing. We understand your frustration and steps are being taken to come up with a solution that is workable for everyone; however, the time table for coming up with a fix will be more than a couple of days. A more realistic timetable is closer to 1 month. If you can bear with us for that long we should have something in place by that time.

[grant@shopbottools.com]

Don, Dan, Tom, and others; to follow up Frank's comments, what has happened here is some inconsistencies between computers. All of the fonts selected for v-carving were tested and functional before they were chosen. However, it seems that the same fonts, literally the same files copied from one computer to another, will in some cases have problems where previously there were none. As Frank mentioned, we are working as quickly as possible to remedy the situation. Regarding the availability of fonts: We are also hard at work trying to make the 10 v carveable fonts affordably available to all of our customers. If you need them TODAY and would rather not wait until we have the situation a bit more unraveled, I will list the manufacturers of the fonts so that you can contact them to purchase fonts individually. At present, they are about $40 each. This is much steeper than we would like it to be, but if you need a specific font now, the job you need it for should justify the expense. Once again, we must apologize for these growing pains and encourage you to bear with us while we get the finishing touches put on Parts Wizard. The fonts are:

Agfa Monotype Corporation www.agfamonotype.com

Symbol
Times New Roman
Brush Script MT Italic
Arial Black
Courier New Bold
Curlz MT

International Typeface www.itcfonts.com

Juice ITC

Bitstream Inc. www.bitstream.com

Monospace 821 BT
Copperplate Gothic Bold BT
English 111 Vivace BT

In response to Dan's question, these are all the 10 fonts that it supports, but if you do not have all of these you can add v-carve utility by getting them. If you are having problems with Parts Wizard or have questions about how to make it work for you better, please give us a call so we can address your concerns.

Grant Bailey
techsupport / development
ShopBot Tools Inc.
grant@shopbottools.com (mailto:grant@shopbottools.com)
(919)680-4800

[frank]

Just to clear up any confusion here, the 10 fonts that may require editing are fonts that you can V-carve. Part Wizard will carve any font that you have on your computer and you can use a v-bit and "machine along vectors" to do it. You will not get the pull ups and sharp corners that you get by having the bit pull up as it does when using the v-carving feature, but you will get a carved sign that looks quite good. V-carving is just a different effect, but feel free to machine along vectors with any font that you have access to. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding.

[edwardmc]

To save you some time. Partwizerd will only allow you a limetid amount of editing of fonts . Then it wont let you run a tool path. You may be ahead to do the part on the computer that is working for you.

[Keith Simmerer]

The problem is with the font not with Partwizard. It can't compute a centerline on a vector that overlaps or loops. When you take a close look at the vector quality of many fonts you will see that the designers were very sloppy. You may find several versions of the same font that don't have identical vector work, so Arial on one computer may not be the same set of vectors on another. If you have a better version on one computer, it would probably be unethical to remove the trash version, copy and paste the good one to a disc and install it on the other computer, so I won't suggest that. Also I have heard of this 'limited number of edits' with vcarvable fonts. I didn't try it with the original version of PartWizard but I did with the newest version (free upgrade in download section in case you didn't get the memo), and I don't find this to be true. In fact I can take a vcarvable character and edit it into any shape or size, add and remove nodes, shape it like a box, a star, a triangle, a frog, a tree, a rake, a furnace even a Yugo and it will still generate a vcarvable tool path. I can even take a non vcarvable letter and stretch the vcarvable version over top of it, delete the original and Vcarve a letter that I couldn't before. I used this technique to duplicate some architectural trim details (square rosettes) and it worked great. Yes you need to be able to node edit, no it's not slick, easy and user friendly like it is in ArtCamPro but it can be done, I think its pretty cool. Thank's Delcam.

PS
NEVER assume
ALWAYS what if

Keith