StickFont™ v2.50 User Manual
Contents
1. This tool is also activated by pressing the Z key when the viewport is active Sets the view center and zoom size to fit the entire project in the viewport This tool is also activated by pressing the X key when the viewport is active Enlarges the view size while keeping the current view center This tool is also activated by pressing the C key when the viewport is active 17 StickFont Manual Zoom Out Pan Reduces the view size while keeping the current view center This tool is also activated by pressing the V key when the viewport is active After selecting this tool use either mouse button to drag the viewport to the desired view center Show Grid This menu item is a toggle selection that turns on or off each time it is clicked when it is on a check mark appears next to it on the menu Enabling this item causes the snap grid to be displayed in the graphics preview window See also Snap To Grid The StickFont preferences window contains settings that determine where the grid points are see StickFont preferences Snap To Grid This menu item is a toggle selection that turns on or off each time it is clicked when it is on a check mark appears next to it on the menu Enabling this item causes the text location to snap to the nearest grid point whenever text is dragged with the mouse This is handy for creating text that is aligned either horizontally or vertically The StickFont preferen2. E mone En an ee 35 Ke Si AA ap wow ew Ke a n amp No Mirror Text Alignment C Mirror X C Mirror Y d 2 D a The Text Settings Every text object that is added to your project has its own settings When you click any text on the preview graphic its color changes to show that it is selected At the same time the text settings update to show the settings for the selected text The settings are not in either inch or metric but simply units If you want the text to be in inches enter your settings in inch values Likewise if you want the text to be in millimeters then enter your settings in millimeter values Getting Started Text Settings Font DEFAULT CHR DI Text Height 1 0 Text X Location 0 0 Text Y Location 000 0 0 Text At Angle 0 0 Text On Arc Arc Radius 1 0 Character Spacing 50 Width Scaling 50 u Line Spacing 50 ff No Mirror Text Alignment C Mirror X a Q E een A e ir Ac The settings are Font the font used to draw the text Text Height the height that you want the text to be Text X Location the X coordinate of the text alignment point see below When Text On Arc is selected this setting will change to Text X Center Text Y Location the Y coordinate of the text alignment point see below When Text On Arc is selected this setting will change to Text
3. G Code Footer Decimal Places for G Code Output 4 D Three axis G Code output Two axis G Code output Absolute coordinate output G90 7 Incremental coordinate output G91 Cutting start code Absolute 1 1 arc center output Incremental 1 1 arc center output Output R instead of 1 J IV Create multiple Z passes Z Retract 2 0000 Z Approach 0 2000 Z Top of Material 0 0000 Cutting end code Z Step Amount Z Final Depth Plunge Feedrate This window is made up of 3 tabs Output Settings G Code Header and G Code Footer The header and footer tabs contain text boxes where you can enter G Code commands that will be output before and after the project text respectively These commands should be any code that is required by your CNC control for things such as spindle and coolant control etc After the appropriate settings have been made click Ok to save your project as a G Code file or click Cancel to close the window The Output Settings tab contains these settings Decimal places for G Code output determines how many decimal places will be in the output coordinates You can select between 1 and 5 decimal places 12 Menus Absolute or Incremental coordinate output you can select the type of coordinate output your machine requires Arc center coordinate output you can select between absolute or incremental J arc center output as well as R radius output If R output is selected a
4. The File menu also contains a tool that allows you to convert any True Type font on your system to a CHR font that is usable by StickFont This tool first prompts you for a font to convert then for a name and location to save the new font file 16 Font Location Manager C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Available Fonts C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 default chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Avant chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts AvantB chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts AvantBL chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Avantl chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Broken chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Carre chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts CarreL chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Din chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts DinLchr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Dxf chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts DxfLchr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Font68 chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Font681 chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Freehand chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Hand4 chr C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 00 Fonts Iso chr View Menu Zoom Window Menus Using the left mouse button drag a box around the desired view area Zoom Extents
5. news or if you can t find what you need in this help file please check the online forums at www ncplot com We can also be contacted directly at Email scottmartinez ncplot com Registering StickFont When StickFont is first installed you are given a 15 day trial period During this time the software is fully functional allowing you to evaluate it s suitability for your needs After the trial period has expired StickFont will no longer run without a registration key These may be purchased from the online ordering page at http www ncplot com The web site contains current pricing and ordering information To register StickFont enter your registration name and product key into the splash window This window is displayed every time StickFont starts but may also be accessed from the menu Help About Note that the splash window is not displayed at startup after the software has been successfully registered Getting Started Getting Started On startup you are greeted with the following screen If you have not registered the software a window displays your remaining trial period time e You may click Ok to continue unregistered e You may enter your name and product key then click Register to register the software e lf there is a license manager on your network you may click Check for License Server to search for and obtain a license from the manager r E StickFont v2 50 Untitled Fon
6. options This allows for controlling StickFont from another application to automate the conversion process The command line format is StickFont exe quietconvert PathToProjectFile PathToOutputFile PathToSettingsFile e The project file can have any extension but must be in StickFont project file format e The output file will be the saved G Code If the output file path is omitted it will be saved to the project file path with the extension changed to NC e The G Code settings file is a file with extension STG that contains the desired settings for the G Code conversion These settings can be saved from the File Save As G Code dialog If the settings file path is omitted then StickFont will use the settings most recently set via the dialog When launched with this command line option StickFont will open the specified project file save it as the specified output file then quit No user interface is shown To use StickFont from your application these are the basic steps to follow 1 Write a project file containing the appropriate text settings The project file a simple text file containing one or more text objects 2 If desired write a G Code settings file containing the appropriate conversion settings This file is also a simple text file 3 Launch StickFont with the quietconvert command line option and path names for the project and settings files The project will be converted to G Code and saved as the specifi
7. AC13 0 13 5 5 14 0 14 21 113 21 Ac13 11 13 16 14 11 Starting from the beginning of the line NCHR_42 The first five characters NCHR_ should always be the same and are what tells StickFont that this is a version 2 character The next two characters are the characters ASCII code in hexadecimal 21 000 The remaining values are all in decimal The first value after the character code is the characters width followed by a semicolon This value should include any padding space before and after the character 513 11 The S character designates this as the beginning of a move sequence The coordinate pair after the S is the start point AC13 0 The AC characters indicate that this is a clockwise arc move The coordinate pair indicates the end point of the arc AW13 0 The characters AW would indicate that this is a counter clockwise arc move The coordinate pair indicates the end point of the arc 13 5 5 The coordinate pair that follows an arc command is the center location of the arc StickFont File Formats 14 0 The L character designates this as a line segment endpoint coordinate The space character normally does not contain any coordinate pairs it is simply the character code and its width NCHR_20 13 Characters 0x00 through OxFF are allowed any characters outside this range will be ignored by StickFont Project File Format This is a sample StickFont project file StickFont Project File Text O
8. ND OF PROGRAM M M NN NN Decimal Places numeric setting from 1 to 5 Enable Z Step Three Axis Output Incremental Output Arc IJ Absolute Arc R Output these are true false settings represented by 0 for false and 1 for true StickFont File Formats Cutting End Code Cutting Start Code G Code Header G Code Footer These can be multi line settings by inserting the characters M to represent the character combination CR LF 25
9. StickFont v2 50 User Manual Copyright 2014 NCPlot Software LLC StickFont Manual Table of Contents ocios 1 3 Registering EEEn eet 5 Ca Getting Started a A E 5 EE 6 Adding text to your 6 Wile TeX Selecting and editing RE 8 Moving br EE 8 ptions susi ill li 9 Command MENUS addon 11 ee 11 NEW Pro je EE 11 Open PONS CE EE 11 aaaea ae aA E E NNA 11 Import Save el EE 11 Save Project EE 11 Save s 0 11 Save AS ee 14 A E ebe 14 14 0 aaa ds 14 Edit 14 e A A ocios 14 Insert New Tear aaa 14 Duplicate Selected Text 15 Delete Selected Text 15 Select Fil A E ON 15 ee 0 15 0 Dein eins eres ee es 16 Fonts Manage FONES EE 16 VIEW Mos 17 LAI IO EEN 17 A e 17 17 EUR CKOEDEOBENDE KURER GEDE ORDNEDE 18 0 0 0 Palmen 005 00788000 18 Da De SENE NERENER 18 Snap To O E 18 E EE 18 e nee Eu 18 a a 18 0 18 Lee 19 7 Enable od 19 StickFont Manual Gheekin RE 19 License Manager Settings ee 19 StickFont File 000 21 Font File Format VERSION ee 21 Font File Format Version see 22 Project File Format aiii iii 23 G Code Settings File Format een 24 vi Welcome Welcome to StickFont StickFont v2 50 Copyright 2005 2014 NCPlot Software LLC For the latest release information
10. Y Center Text At Angle the text may be rotated to any angle by entering the desired angle here When Text On Arc is selected this setting will change to Text Start Angle Text On Arc checking this setting causes the text to be drawn on an arc rather than a straight line StickFont Manual Counter Clockwise Arc checking this setting changes the text from clockwise readable text to counter clockwise readable text Arc Radius when Text On Arc is checked this setting determines the radius of the arc to draw the text on Character Spacing this slider allows you to adjust the spacing between letters in the text Moving the slider to a value less than 50 will squeeze the letters closer together and greater than 50 will spread the letters further apart Width Scaling this slider allows you to adjust the width of the text by scaling H in the X axis Moving the slider to a value less than 50 will reduce the text width and moving it to a value greater than 50 will increase the text width Line Spacing this slider allows you to adjust the spacing between lines of text when more than one line is entered for a single text object Mirror allows you to mirror the text in either the X or Y direction Text Alignment determines how the text is located with respect to its location setting The three horizontal settings are left center and right justify The three vertical settings are top center and bottom Selecting and
11. bject Font C Program Files x86 StickFont v2 50 default chr Text Sample Project Text Height 1 0 X Location O Y Location O Angle 0 000 On Arc 0 Arc CCW 0 Arc Radius 1 0 Text Alignment Spacing 50 Scaling 50 Line Spacing 50 Mirror 0 Il w The Text Object header and following settings repeat for each text object in the project Text to create multi line text insert the characters M to represent the character combination CR LF On Arc Arc CCW these are true false settings represented by 0 for false and 1 for true 23 StickFont Manual Text Alignment this is a numeric setting from 1 to 9 representing one of the possible alignment points 1 4 7 2 5 8 3 6 9 Mirror this is numeric setting from 0 to 2 where 0 is no mirror 1 is X mirror and 2 is Y mirror G Code Settings File Format 24 This is a sample G Code settings file STICKFONT G CODE EXPORT SETTINGS Decimal Places 4 Z Retract 2 Approach 0 2 Top Of Material 0 Step 0 02 Depth 0 05 Feedrate 25 Plunge Rate 5 Enable Z Step Three Axis Output 1 Incremental Output 0 Arc IJ Absolute 0 Arc R Output 0 Cutting End Code Cutting Start Code G Code Header M EXAMPLE HEADER MMO6TO1 SELECT TOOL 1 MM03S2000 START SPINDLE MM08 START COOLANT M G Code Footer EXAMPLE FOOTER MM05 STOP SPINDLE MM09 COOLANT OFF MM30 E
12. ces window contains settings that determine where the grid points are see StickFont preferences Help Menu StickFont Help Opens this help file Release Notes Opens the release notes This is a notepad document that details the most recent changes to StickFont About StickFont 18 Menus Displays a window showing the StickFont version number and your license status This window also allows you to de register StickFont To do this you must enter the original product key that was used to register the software and then click the De Register button If your StickFont trial period has expired and you have a network license manager installed you can click Check for License Server to enable connecting to the license server Enable License Server Checking this menu item will enable communications to the license manager This requires that the Network License Manager be running on a computer that is connected to the network Check Out License This will request a license transfer from the license manager If successful the license is stored on the client computer so that StickFont may be run while disconnected from the network While it is checked out the license will not be available for other users Check In License This will return a stored license back to the license manager This tool may also be used to add a license to the license manager If you have registered StickFont on a computer its license may be moved to
13. ed file After conversion StickFont will close without showing it s user interface StickFont Manual For details on the project file format see the Project File Format topic For detail on the G Code settings format see the G Code Settings File Format topic Menus File Menu New Project Clears the active project If any unsaved changes have been made to the current project you will be prompted to save them first Open Project Open an existing StickFont project file If any unsaved changes have been made to the current project you will be prompted to save them first This menu item also displays the list of the most recently opened files Clicking a file in this list will open the corresponding StickFont project Import DXF File Allows you to browse for and open a file in Drawing Exchange Format DXF Any TEXT objects in the drawing file will be read and added to the current project Note that only ASCII DXF files can be imported by StickFont Save Project Saves the active project If the active project is untitled you will be prompted for a file name to save as Save Project As Save the active project under a new name You will be prompted for a new file name to save as Save As G Code Opens the Save as G Code settings window This window allows you to configure output settings and save the active project as a G Code file suitable for running on a CNC machine 11 StickFont Manual i G Code Header
14. editing text Text may be edited at any time by selecting it on the graphics preview To select text simply click it When selected the text color changes and a crosshair will appear at its reference location Multiple text objects may be selected at a time by holding the CTRL key when clicking additional text When text is selected its settings appear in the text settings To change settings simply enter new values in any of the text boxes The font is changed by clicking the font drop down box and picking a new font When multiple text objects are selected any changes to the settings are applied to all selected text This feature can be used to quickly align or mirror image text for example Moving text Getting Started By default new text is placed at location 0 0 Once created it can be moved to a new location by entering X and Y coordinate values into the appropriate places in the text settings or it can simply be clicked and dragged where you want it To drag text just click it once to select it then click and hold the mouse button while moving it If the grid snap is turned on the text will adjust its position to the nearest grid point when the mouse button is released See Snap To Grid If multiple text objects are selected then they will all move together when any one is dragged Command Line Options StickFont can automatically load a project file and convert it to G Code by launching it with the appropriate command line
15. he characters ASCII code in hexadecimal The remaining values are all in decimal The first value after the character code is the characters width followed by a semicolon This value should include any padding space before and after the character The first coordinate pair after a semicolon is the start point of a line segment This coordinate pair is the endpoint of the first line segment The line continues from the last coordinate pair to this one The semicolon indicates that it is the last point in this line segment This point is the start point of a new line segment This point is the endpoint of the line segment and the end of the character The space character normally does not contain any coordinate pairs it is simply the character code and its width 21 StickFont Manual CHR_20 13 Characters 0x00 through OxFF are allowed any characters outside this range will be ignored by StickFont Font File Format Version 2 22 The version 2 font files are in an ASCII format and can be edited with any text editor Each line in the file describes one character Each character is made up of a series of coordinate pairs that describes the paths that makes up the character The coordinates are based on a grid that is 21 units high and variable in width A character that is 21 units high will scale to be whatever you enter as the text height A typical character in the CHR file looks like this NCHR_42 21 000 S13 11
16. nd StickFont encounters a full circle it will break the circle into two arcs of 180 degrees each This is done because a CNC machine cannot calculate the center of a full circle from just a radius value For three axis machining Three axis G Code output If three axis is selected then the output G Code will include Z axis motion and the Z axis settings will be enabled Create multiple Z passes When checked the entire project will be output multiple times at increasingly lower Z depths This enables the Z Top of Material and Z Step Amount settings for specifying where the first pass will take place and how many passes are created Z Retract The Z axis rapid plane This should be the most positive Z value at a height where the cutting tool is clear of any obstacles Z Approach The Z axis approach plane The Z axis will rapid to this position before feeding into the material This position should be above the material If this position is the same as the Z Retract position then this rapid motion is skipped Z Top of Material This setting is enabled when Create multiple Z passes is checked The first Z pass is created at the top of material minus the step amount Z Step Amount This setting is enabled when Create multiple Z passes is checked It determines how many passes are created between the top of the material and the final Z depth Z Final Depth The ending depth for the Z axis Plunge Feedrate Feed rate for nega
17. t DEFAULT CHR Text Height Text X Location Text Y Location Text At Angle Text On Ar E Counter Clockwise Arc E Arc Radius Character spacing Width Scaling SE SE E Line spacing Co Hir Text Alignment a G Y C Mirror X Mirror Y e AS Cc AC 7 5 0 3 7649 About StickFont KE About StickFont StickFont v2 50 Copyright c 2005 2014 NCPlot Software LLC Trial License 15 Days Remaining To register StickFont enter your name here And your product key here Check for License Server Register The StickFont interface consists of e Menu bar the menus provide access to the program features StickFont Manual e Toolbars the toolbar buttons provide quick access to the most commonly used program features e Text settings these settings define how the text will appear e Preview window gives a graphical display of your project e Status bar provides feedback about the current state of StickFont Adding text to your project StickFont starts with a blank project to add text to your project click the menu Edit Insert New Text or its corresponding toolbar button When added the text is created at location 0 0 with these default settings Text Settings New Text 1 Font DEFAULT CHR y Text Height 1 0 Text X Location 0 0 Text Y Location 0 0 Text At Angle 0 0 Text On Arc d Arc Radius 1 Curate Beier D i Se es e 8 SG F a ARR e se we e H a SG ll
18. the last selected font If any existing text is selected at the time it s G Code settings will be copied to the new text New Text 1 Duplicate Selected Text This tool will create copies of all selected text The new text will be created at the same location and so should be moved after creation When created the selected text is deselected and the new text is selected to allow it to be moved Delete Selected Text Deletes any selected text from the project Select All Selects all text in the project Preferences 15 StickFont Manual Opens the StickFont preferences window This window contains options that allow you to customize the grid and color settings e Xand Y Grid Interval determines how far apart the grid points will be in the X and Y direction e Color settings allow you to customize the graphics appearance StickFont Preferences E Mel Grid Interval 1 0 Y Grid Interval 1 0 Background Color Zero Lines Color Text Color Selected Text Color EH Location Marker Color Grid Color eem Ok Fonts Menu Manage Fonts Opens the font location manager window This window allows you to specify which folders on your computer to search for StickFont font files The specified folders are searched for CHR font files and any files that are found are listed under available fonts This list is also displayed on the main window in the font selection drop down list
19. the license manager by first enabling the license server and then checking the license into the license manager If the license does not already exist in the license manager it will be added This is very handy if you are adding a license manager to a group of computers that already have StickFont installed and registered License Manager Settings Opens the license manager settings dialog This dialog allows you to specify a network IP address or host name for the license server or let StickFont automatically detect the server 19 StickFont Manual E Network License Manager Settings Find license manager automatically C Specify license manager IP address m C Specify license manager hostname Ok 20 StickFont File Formats Font File Format Version 1 The version 1 font files are in an ASCII format and can be edited with any text editor Each line in the file describes one character Each character is made up of a series of coordinate pairs that are the endpoints of the lines that make up the character The coordinates are based on a grid thatis 21 units high and variable in width A character that is 21 units high will scale to be whatever you enter as the text height A typical character in the CHR file looks like this CHR_41 18 1 0 9 21 17 0 4 7 14 7 Starting from the beginning of the line CHR 41 18 14 7 The first four characters CHR_ should always be the same The next two characters are t
20. tive Z motion Feedrate The feed rate for X 8 Y motion For two axis machining 13 StickFont Manual Two axis G Code output Select this when saving G Code for a two axis CNC machine In this case the cutting start code and cutting end code are output in place of Z axis motion Cutting Start Code This code should be any commands that are required before the actual machining when two axis output is selected This includes commands for torch on water jet on laser on etc Cutting End Code This code should be any commande that are required after the actual machining when two axis output is selected This includes commands for torch off water jet off laser off etc Feedrate The feed rate for X 8 Y motion Save As DXF Saves the active project as a DXF drawing file This is a common drawing format that can be loaded into most CAD software Print Opens the print preview window where you can setup print options and print the graphics preview Exit Exits StickFont If any unsaved changes have been made to the current project you will be prompted to save them before the application closes Edit Menu Undo Undoes the last operation If there is nothing to undo then this option will be greyed out Redo Redo the last undone operation If there is nothing that can be redone then this option will be greyed out Insert New Text 14 Menus Creates a new text object with default settings The text will be created using
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