Small Text, custom art

[PCent]

Hello everyone -

I purchased an old compucarve this week with less than 1 hour on it (lucky!) I have an application where i have several small blocks made from cheap stud wood that I had hoped to carve lettering into, some being very small (1/2"). Some of the blocks are painted, and I hoped to carve directly into the painted blocks.

I was very unhappy with the look that the 1/16" bit gave me (attached). This example was done using the "draft" setting...but the "normal" and "optimal" were no better. The word "TAKE" is about 1/2" tall, and as you can see, there is no definition in the lettering. It looks nothing like it is rendered in the designer software.

I have been reading about the 60/90 bits and centerline, but I have a few questions.

• I hoped to create my artwork in Adobe Illustrator and bring it in. Can centerline be used with imported art?
• If not, is there control of specific letters? I'm a design/type nerd, and some letter spacing needs to be manually adjusted. This will happen regularly (why i had hoped to typeset and lay everything out in illustrator)
• In addition, I will be putting many of these in a jig at one time. I had hoped to create one large illustrator file that i could import into the designer software and do it all at once.

Any additional tips on how i can get the best small type carved given my scenario?

THANK YOU! This seems like a great community.

[edzbaker]

I once purchased a used machine from a guy on e-bay, that was not satisfied with the carving results. His problem was the same as yours. The 1/8 "Cutting" bit is not made for carving and will give POOR results. Raster carvings always need the 1/16 Ballnose bit.

I hope this helps.

[PCent]

Another thing to note: illustrator creates vector art. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

[rcdages]

PCent,

On raster make sure to use the 1/16" carving bit.

The 1/8" cutting bit was not designed to carve with. As you know how that turns out.

[PCent]

Sorry guys, typo. used 1/16th. that's what the example is carved from.

[rcdages]

Would be good if we had an MPC to view.

[mtylerfl]

Yes, please post the MPC. One thing to keep in mind about lettering done as a raster carve...you have to be "reasonable" in your expectations. If lettering is too small, too high, too thin, too tall, it will chip and/or just not look good. Over time (not long), you will gain an understanding of what works well when machining wood and what won't. Looking at the photo, it appears the lettering layout needs help. Your MPC will reveal possible actions to take for improvement.

I use CorelDRAW a lot for creating vector designs. Then I'll import those vectors using CarveWright's DXF Importer add-on. Of course, you can do the same thing with Illustrator (I own that as well, but prefer CorelDRAW because I'm faster with it).

So, let's see an MPC or two and we will try to offer some helpful suggestions.

EDIT: for small lettering, Centerline is going to give you the best quality appearance

[PCent]

Hi -

So the mpc is over at my father's house, but I attached a very similar one (the one my fathers was based on). Here were the settings:

• Serff font, similar to cambria
• .025 depth
• 1/16th bit
• invert pattern
• best optimization

test2.mpc

[TerryT]

It looks to me that the patterns you used were low resolution and a little jagged. Also the wood you use will play a role in the quality of the carve. The best results in small text would come from a harder wood like walnut or cherry. Softer woods usually are more fuzzy.

[rcdages]

PCent,

You have two of the best helping you Michael T and Terry T.

I can not view your mpc, do to me being at work, I will view it tonight just so I can learn something.
By this evening you will have an answer from the great help you will receive from the forum family.