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techniques for inlaid text for 3d printing

kyle_altendorfkyle_altendorf Member Posts: 12

I have been trying to figure out a good technique for handling 'inlaid' text for exporting to 3d printing slicing software. I am saying inlaid as opposed to embossed or raised because I don't just want the text to be an adjustment to the surface but to be a separate entity that i have full form control over and will be printed using a different filament. I have made an example where I was exploring. I don't know the details of sharing a version but the intent was to look at V1.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/001d337cbd5640e047bfb094/v/ce90cc85d23c71ea2d8d9548/e/ad113db06ac34bb0ca248583?renderMode=0&uiState=67939821d8a82b5f4a9f20b9

This works. I have full control over all the parts, the depth of the text, any modifications like drafts, etc. The hassle is that every disjoint piece of the text is a separate part. This means that I have to relatively manually select them and update that selection anytime I modify the text etc. So, in a sense, the issue comes down to one of selection techniques, though I have been thinking about it in terms of the lack of multi-body/disjoint/non-contiguous parts. I started with Pro/E around 25 years ago so I am very used to parts being able to have disjoint volumes. :]

Is there a better path forward than what I've done above? Perhaps I need to learn featurescript and it will provide an opportunity to create some selection logic for 'all parts created by extrude X' or such?

Thanks for any techniques you can offer.

Cheers,

-kyle

Answers

  • MDesignMDesign Member Posts: 415 ✭✭✭

    What edits are you trying/wanting to do that the separate pieces cause heart ache? Just trying to grasp context.

  • wayne_sauderwayne_sauder Member, csevp Posts: 568 PRO

    @kyle_altendorf

    If I understand what you are trying to do, you should try this feature by @jnewth_onshape.

    It should do everything you are looking for.

  • eric_pestyeric_pesty Member Posts: 1,984 PRO

    I think what you are looking for is the composite part…
    To avoid having to select each part of the text manually (and update if you change the text), you could use the "Composite selected" FS

  • kyle_altendorfkyle_altendorf Member Posts: 12

    The two concrete points in this contrived example of a nameplate are the boolean subtract of the text from the plate and then the export of all the parts to a .step for printing. This also propagates the multi-part aspect to the slicer software. Though, that may or may not be an independent aspect. I'll acknowledge that in this particular case it's not a huge deal. But, when I stick a few 'labels' in a few places on a 'real' part, the manual work and likelihood of error will grow rapidly.

    Thank you for the fs suggestions. I'll take a look at those when I get a few minutes and see how they work.

  • MDesignMDesign Member Posts: 415 ✭✭✭

    Unfortunately I still don't fully comprehend what you are asking for. Forgive me for being dense. Perhaps the native composite part tool is enough for you? You can combine all the text parts into one object for exporting. Also if needed you can apply a single fillet feature to all of the text and not have to do each letter as a new fillet feature if that's what your asking for… in that way if you need to change the fillet size you just change that one feature. if the text is changing characters that may present downstream challenges that might require the use of a feature script to help automate.

  • kyle_altendorfkyle_altendorf Member Posts: 12

    I also made two additional responses yesterday that aren't showing… :| Maybe as a new user I'm being moderated.

    Anyways, the biggest problem I've noticed so far with composite parts is that the boolean operations can't use them. But, looking at the linked featurescripts was enough to get me to finally bother getting started with scripts myself. I made a simple inlay feature at https://cad.onshape.com/documents/27a4db84118b371f72db9738/v/a7d9eb4bf20054deca7bc730/e/a36b92571ba5d79ce6f641a6 as my first learning experiment. Note the 'exploded view' in the assembly. It does end up creating a composite part and before that applies the boolean to a query for all parts created by the selected features (or parts themselves). I'm sure I'll find some way in which this isn't a great or general solution, but it seems useful for the moment and also got me started coding with featurescript.

    Don't think you're being dense. :] I've been known to explain my desires poorly and to be envisioning issues that may or may not come up. Just in case, I'll try one more example. Let's say I am designing a control panel face. Imagine it housing some knobs and buttons etc. Each one ought to be labeled. This would result in possibly hundreds of parts that would need to be kept track of. The suggested featurescripts are useful for condensing the part count. They don't work with using the text to 'cut away' from the base part since composite parts don't work with the boolean op.

  • wayne_sauderwayne_sauder Member, csevp Posts: 568 PRO

    @kyle_altendorf

    I do not follow what you are saying about Boolean operations not being able to use composite parts. Could you share a bit more?

  • MDesignMDesign Member Posts: 415 ✭✭✭

    when you go to create the file for printing the text just marquee select all of them in the graphics area or do a shift select in the part tree and export as needed being sure to turn off export as separate files. This will give you one file for all the text as modeled. Which you can print in a different filament from the part that has the text cut out of it. I think that’s ultimately what you’re trying to do. You don’t need to make all the text one object to get it to export as one object.

  • kyle_altendorfkyle_altendorf Member Posts: 12

    Hmm, I do now see that I can indeed click in the rendered area and select individual parts from the composite part. This is even worse than selecting them all in the part list on the left without a composite part. If I try to click on the left on the Composite part 1 to select it as a tool, nothing happens.

    https://cad.onshape.com/documents/001d337cbd5640e047bfb094/w/828cc1e53be7f3fa5aa40629/e/ad113db06ac34bb0ca248583

  • EvanReeseEvanReese Member, Mentor Posts: 2,222 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @GregBrown made a version of Boolean called Auto Boolean that takes features as inputs, which means you can choose whatever feature made the text as an input and it will get all of the letters even if they change. Does that do what you're after? Here's an example.

    Evan Reese
  • MDesignMDesign Member Posts: 415 ✭✭✭

    I am now seeing your dilemma….hmmm. This is surprising that I cannot select/deselect in a way that I thought would have been natural based on most other selections method by nearly every other software I've ever used. My thought an prayers are with your dead clicker finger. lol. Now I need to articulate this conundrum into text somehow or learn something new that I don't yet know about it.

  • MDesignMDesign Member Posts: 415 ✭✭✭

    Found this unanswered post that explains it a little… I will expand on that thread since it went unanswered when I get a chance and have searched for an existing improvement request

  • kyle_altendorfkyle_altendorf Member Posts: 12

    It depends. If I'm going to print the text separately and glue it in then yes, separate would be ok. Sometimes I'll probably want that. In this case I was thinking about printing in place so I would want it to be with the part it is inlaid into.

    That brings up another difficulty I intend to look into today. Dealing with, for example, an assembly of various 'parts' with 'multiple colors' and exporting it to print where the multiple color pieces of a 'part' stay 'together' in the slicer but the separate parts can easily be moved and auto arranged. I think there are limits in both OnShape and the slicers and maybe even the formats between so I need to do some research. Separate topic though, the next layer.

  • MDesignMDesign Member Posts: 415 ✭✭✭

    Ah so your are printing multicolor in place. Beyond my experience there for now.

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