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Looking for letters and numbers to import

First off I barely can turn autocad on. I remember from class 10 years ago that there was a way to "import" if thats the right word already made drawings info your curront drawing. For example having a threaded screw drawn and being able to bring it into a drawing instead of drawing it every time. I need numbers and letters but I need thm to be the outline of them so I can scale up to say an inch or two inche and not have a solid line but an outline. I am ultimately trying to import this into a computer to cut shapes out with a plasma torch. So for examply if I wanted the number one it might 1/2 in thick all around. The plasma torch will only cut the perimiter of something. So is there somewhere that I can go and get what I'm looking for? Rosco

Reply to
Butter
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Get someone to do the cad work for you. It sounds easy...if you know what you're doing, and near impossible if you don't.

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

"Letters and numbers" are called Fonts. You can use Windows fonts, or those especially for AutoCAD, so-called SHX files because that's their Windows file extension. Details like nuts and bolts are commonly available as Blocks. All are available from literally hundreds of sources on the Web.

I would suggest at least a cursory reading of your users manuals, and some time browsing the AutoCAD HELP system. The answers to all of your questions can be found there.

If this is too much for you to handle, then I concur with Michael: find someone to do the work for you. ___

Reply to
Paul Turvill

FYI

Release 2000 provides a simple way to turn text characters into polylines. If you were smart enough to install the optional Express Tools, the Txtexp command is available. If not, dig out your AutoCAD installation CDROM and install them now. Txtexp explodes text into a series of polyline loops that you can directly extrude into solids that you then add to or subtract from the base part.

For best results, you probably want to do some editing first. Many of the more complex characters produce multiple loops. The center of an a or e seems to need an extra loop, but AutoCAD does it differently. You'd expect p, for example, to comprise an outer profile and inner "eye" profile. Close examination reveals that p is actually built up from three separate loops.

But it's usually worth the few extra minutes to fix things up so you can produce each character as a single solid.

Now start the Pedit command. Pick a line segment within a character. AutoCAD tells you it is not a polyline and asks if you want to turn it into one. Reply Yes. Next, enter a J to join more segments to it and select the rest of the character. This turns the profile into a single closed polyline.

Repeat this process for each character, and for each eye within those characters that have them.

Now for the threaded screw draw it and keep as a block you will be able to retrieve it from design center everytime you need it hihihi

Hope that helps

Regards

R
Reply to
Robert

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