looking for a good sign drawing program

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RSMetalworks
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looking for a good sign drawing program

Post by RSMetalworks »

Hi yall ive been using autodesk autocad for a while now and id say im pretty good with autocad at this point but there are some down falls to it that id like to get away from, for instance the whole exploding arctext and it flips the txt upside down thing and then when you do explode normal text its made up of segments rather than arcs. So im looking for a new program to draw my files up for my homemade cnc plasma cutter to better increase cut quality without having to go back and modify the txt every time to have smooth arcs on text. what programs do yall recommend i try? i would be willing to buy a program granted it was well worth it.
Thank you so much for your help and to everyone who drops files on here i greatly appreciate it
may God bless
randall
Last edited by RSMetalworks on Sat Jan 04, 2020 10:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
liv2speed05
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Re: looking for a good sign drawing program

Post by liv2speed05 »

Hello Randall, I as many do use Inkscape. It has served me well. It can do most anything I want to do. I have not used many others. I have used and still sometimes use Adobe Illustrator. But have not found much in the way of training videos for it. Others I know like to use Fusion 360. Just a couple to check out.
And God bless you,
Rex
RSMetalworks
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Re: looking for a good sign drawing program

Post by RSMetalworks »

Thanks rex for the response. i do use inkscape some to trace images from online, ill have to look into how i go about using it more often for my drawings. i feel like the program isnt as polished or user freindly but i guess once i really got used to it, i wouldn't mind it. i wish they had a better solution for txt in autocad cause i love that software other than that.
i appreciate your help sir,
randall
Rozbloke
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Re: looking for a good sign drawing program

Post by Rozbloke »

Just a thought, is there an extension/add on, that handles text better for autocad
I dont know the program, but they make them for other programs , to fix problems like this
Reagrds
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tnbndr
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Re: looking for a good sign drawing program

Post by tnbndr »

i wish they had a better solution for txt in autocad cause i love that software other than that.
I am a long time user of Autocad, used it at work for 20 years, so I am very comfortable with it. From my research I think Corel would be the best all around program to use, but I don't want to buy/learn a new program.
You are correct the Express tools text options are not very good in Autocad. I would think you could search for some Lisp program add on for Autocad for better texting, I am sure something is out there.
For me I use two programs, Font Viewer for selecting my font and Stencil Fonts to create the text and save it as a dxf file. After that I import into my Autocad drawing and manually manipulate and trim for the needs of each project. It does involve a bit of time but I see it as just part of the process and charge accordingly.
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acourtjester
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Re: looking for a good sign drawing program

Post by acourtjester »

I use only Inkscape and TurboCad and have done many projects with them, Inkscape has a very good text section with all types of manipulation functions for you to use. Inkscape can use just about all the fonts in the Windows font folder and you can also add to those from other suppliers. I have a large group of Inkscape tutorials on the Google drive and can send them to you if you like I would need an email address to send the links to (non-Yahoo) you can PM me yours if you like.
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