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Contents
  • Introduction
  • Basics
    • User Interface
    • Drawing and System tabs
    • Rotating and panning
    • Selecting objects
    • Toolpaths and gcode
    • Drawing Units
    • File Menu
    • View Menu
    • Tools Menu
    • Simple Example
    • Keyboard Shortcuts
  • Machining (CAM)
    • Machining Basics
    • Profile
    • Pocket
    • Drill
    • Engrave
    • 3D Profile
    • Lathe
    • Creating GCode
    • Machining Options
    • Edit Gcode
    • CAM Part
    • CAM Styles
    • Lead Moves
    • Holding Tabs
    • Side Profiles
    • Post Processor
    • Back Plotting
    • Tool Libraries
    • Speeds and Feeds Calculator
  • Drawing (CAD)
    • Entities
    • Layers
    • Transformations
    • Operations
    • Edit Polyline
    • Edit Surface
    • Edit Points
    • Creating Surfaces
    • Region Fill
  • Tutorials
    • Profile
    • Pocketing
    • Drilling
    • Bitmap Heightmaps
    • Text Engraving
    • 3D Profile
    • 3D Profile - Back face
  • Automation
  • Configuration
  • Appendix
    • What's New?
Documentation for the latest CamBam release is available here...

Tutorial: Text Engraving

This tutorial describes inserting text into CamBam and generating an engraving operation from it.

Inserting Text

To insert text into a drawing, use the Draw - Text menu option or the Insert Text Tool tool bar icon.

A multi-line text editor will be displayed. Insert the text the press OK. You will then be prompted for the location of the text by clicking on the drawing.

Note: By default, after entering a text item, the draw text command will be repeated and the text entry screen shown again. Press the Cancel button to end the text entry commands. This behaviour can be turned off by setting the Repeat Commands option in system configuration to False.

Text can be modified at a later stage by double clicking the text object in the drawing tree, or by clicking the ellipsis [...] button to the right of the Text object's Text property.

Refer to the Text drawing section for details on the text drawing object.

Creating Engraving GCode

To create some engraving gcode, select the text then select the Machining - Engrave menu option or use the toolbar icon.

For shallow engraving (0.3mm), try these properties:
Depth Increment = 0.3
Tool Profile = V-Cutter

Note: The default CAM Style used an Auto setting for Target Depth. For engraving operations using a V-Cutter, the target depth is automatically calculated to be one depth increment below the stock surface.

Sample Engraving...

Not exactly high art, but the letters are quite small (3-6mm) and plywood isn't the best precision engraving material.

Single Stroke (Stick) Fonts

To create thin engraving, ideally a 'stick' font should be used, that is a font with no thickness. Unfortunately, True Type Fonts (TTF) do not support open shaped fonts so engraving results with TTF fonts can be hit and miss.

GeorgeRace has created some excellent 'Stick Fonts' and has made them available on the CamBam user forum here.

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