.SHX vector text - how to in DesignCAD

[WingNut]

I've been using DesignCAD 3D Max, ver. 25 for about a year.  It is the only CAD I've every used. Recently, I've been making a drawing of balsa sheet patterns to be laser cut.  One of the laser company's specifications for file submission was that text to be etched on the surface instead of the cutting, should be in .SHX format, which is suppose to be a vector format.  When I setup the text box there was a choice for "true type" font or "vector" font.  I chose the vector font.  But when the laser company did the work, they told me they went ahead and changed the "raster" text to the .SHX vector text before doing the cut.  The laser company used TurboCAD and apparently that supports .SHX text format.  The laser company did suggest that they believe there is a work-around in DesignCAD to use the .SHX format.  Does anyone know of or heard of this work-around as I plan to make more laser cutting drawings.

Thanks!

[Lar]

I know nothing about laser cutting but maybe the workaround is vector converting the text so it becomes lines (Edit menu> Selection Edit> Convert...> Vector Convert).


Lar

[WingNut]

Hi Lar,

Thanks for your input!  I don't know much about laser cutting either.  I just have to submit a DWG file of the patterns I want to cut to the laser cutting service I am starting to use.  They must use the software that comes with the laser to convert the DWG file to a usable format for the laser, I am assuming.

I'm told by the laser cutting service that TurboCAD writes vector text which is editable and they call it the SHX format.  I have no idea if there is even a file extension  on the vector text created by DesignCAD.  The vector text created using the method you suggest does in fact result in vector text but it is in-editable.  I was hoping that, since TurboCAD is also a product of ISMI, there would be a workaround or method to make my text into an editable vector format.

WingNut

[Lar]

What I would do is put the editable text on its own layer. When I'm ready to send to the cutters I would select all the editable text and duplicate them to an empty layer (ctrl+right click anywhere in the drawing area and click 'duplicate to layer' from the pop up menu). I would then turn off the layer of the original text, select the duplicated text and vector convert them. I would then Select All and Export to DWG with the 'save selected only' option. This way the editable text gets left out of the DWG file.


When I last used autocad many, many years ago SHX was the default text so just exporting from Dcad to DXF or DWG converted all my text to SHX automatically. I hated this because this made my drawings look crummy, not to mention the aspect ratio of shx text was always longer so my text was always running over into the drawing.


At least with vectorized text nothing gets lost in the conversion so the final outcome looks like how you created it.


Lar

[Rob S]

Further to the above, in case you did not find this already, designcad's vector font files are *.vfn extensions in the fonts folder located in the designcad program folder.

If you have drawn using .vfn fonts, and export to autocad, I do not know what corresponding fonts are used in the autocad file.  Next rainy day, I might have time to experiment if you are still interested.