Text vs Pattern quality

[dannirr]

Hey all,

I have, on 2 signs now, noticed a difference in quality between the text and patterns. Both sings used text about 5 inches tall, raised within a carve region (depth 0.25 in). The fonts used are not fancy, and have no real flourashes or small bits.

The patterns are set to the same or slightly less depth, height 100 and bit optimization to off.

In both signs, the patterns are wonderful - detailed, delicate, accurate - even in the very thin areas (leaf stem etc). The text, however, chips and is far poorer - even though it is far less delicate and much thicker.

One sign in Poplar and one in Pine.

Any ideas how to improve the text?

Danni

[JOHNB]

Hi Dannirr, Can You Lower The Height On The Text? It Seems The Lower You Go, The Smoother The Edges.

[Dirtydan]

Hey all,

One sign in Poplar and one in Pine.

Any ideas how to improve the text?

Danni

Danni,

Here's a couple of things to try...
- Reduce the depth of the cut (Depending on the Font, 0.125" works great)
- Increase the space between the letters (I always use 5 or more)
- If the text is in a carved area, you can reduce the height a little.

The trouble with those two woods is the clean-up after. Oak also has it's problems if you carve to deep or raise the letters to high.:cool:

[dannirr]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I have tried many of them in designing the signs already without success - but I will try lower the text height.

But, it begs a bigger question: if the patterns are good and the text poor, this should be correctable in the software design. Why is there no finer control over text quality?

Danni

[Jeff_Birt]

The problem is that the text has sharp edges. Patterns tend to have some slope from the top to bottom which helps to prevent this. With a sharp edge the cutting bit contacts the whole side of the letter over the entire depth (the pattern bit is angled). I created my Route 66 signs in ArtCAM and added a 7.5" draft (slight angle, narrow at surface) to the entire pattern. My first test was done in MDF, the letters had as small as a 1/8" stroke (at the top) and were about 0.2" tall. There was no chip out at all. I hope the CW will add an option to add slope to the entire project. It would greatly improve text.

[dannirr]

Jeff,

That makes perfect sense - thank you.

Yes, I hope they will add that too.

Danni