Best way to add text to a part or assembly?

[raiken]

What is the best way to add text to a part?

I am making a rear panel for a product which has a lot of small boilerplate text for the usual cautions and warnings, along with connector labels and CE, FCC, RoHS symbols.

I currently make a 2D sketch on the face of the panel, then extrude it a short distance into the panel. This seems to work fine on panels with a small amount of large text, but large amounts of small text takes forever to render, or locks up completely and won't finish, and sometimes the extruded text looks odd.

I don't really need extruded text on the part, I just want to see what the product will look like when I import the panel into an assembly, and I want to be able to send the panel drawing out to the fabricator with the text on it so they can make it using a metalphoto process.

Is there a simpler way to do this? Is there a way to import a pdf or other drawing type into an assembly, or as a layer on a part?

 

[simonb65]

I do the same as you (text sketch extruded 0.01mm) which I sometimes create in another package (i.e. CorelDRAW) and export as a dxf and import into Alibre, but I don't add the text directly to the part, I create a separate part which is just the text overlay (or multiple for each type of label). Then bring it all together in an assembly. This has 2 benefits ... the text labels can be used multiple times on a panel or even on other designs and the other is that the text part can be given a different colour which when rendered in Keyshot can be given a different material to the separate parts (i.e. panel = brushed aluminium, text = black paint).

Example of how I use text overlays ... https://www.alibreforum.com/forum/i...re-user-shot-gallery.9139/page-10#post-131899

The other method is to create the text overlay in another application, create a 600dpi graphic of the printed panel and then add that in Keyshot as a label to your mechanical panel. Again in my example, the PCB surface image is done this way (I create that directly from my design output files of the PCB package ... by my own bespoke application!).

All that depends on how you want to visualise your design. The latter gives you photo realistic results. The first method lets you see the panel in Alibre using the limited rendering visuals it has to offer.

 

[Lew_Merrick]

Hi Raiken -- Why is it necessary to make such Text part of the Model? Would it not suffice to place it in the Drawing -- where such things are faster to display and become part of the Project Process? -- Lew

 

[DavidJ]

If you have a lot of text - don't include it all in a single feature. It'll be much faster and easier to edit if you split is across several features. Say there are 6 warnings in your required text, use 6 features rather than 1. Altering the wording, or the spacing between warnings will be easier, and each feature is less demanding. If you do get a piece of text that fails, you also lose less work.

Be aware that some letters in some fonts will never work as they are 'badly formed' - do you get the same problems with different fonts?

 

[raiken]

Hi Raiken -- Why is it necessary to make such Text part of the Model? Would it not suffice to place it in the Drawing -- where such things are faster to display and become part of the Project Process? -- Lew

No, I need to see the text in the assembly while I am designing, in order to get an idea of the aesthetics of the product. I need to see the relationship between the parts om the panel and the text and symbols to make sure it looks right in the final product. and no knobs or parts are overlapping any text or symbols.

 

[raiken]

If you have a lot of text - don't include it all in a single feature. It'll be much faster and easier to edit if you split is across several features. Say there are 6 warnings in your required text, use 6 features rather than 1. Altering the wording, or the spacing between warnings will be easier, and each feature is less demanding. If you do get a piece of text that fails, you also lose less work.

Be aware that some letters in some fonts will never work as they are 'badly formed' - do you get the same problems with different fonts?

That is exactly what I am doing. I have one master panel part with multiple text sketches and extrusions for each group of text and symbols on the panel. The problem is that as the panel gets a lot of sketches, particularly if these is a lot of fine text, it gets slower and slower to edit, until it gets to the point where it locks up or takes a really long time to edit.

 

[raiken]

I do the same as you (text sketch extruded 0.01mm) which I sometimes create in another package (i.e. CorelDRAW) and export as a dxf and import into Alibre, but I don't add the text directly to the part, I create a separate part which is just the text overlay (or multiple for each type of label). Then bring it all together in an assembly. This has 2 benefits ... the text labels can be used multiple times on a panel or even on other designs and the other is that the text part can be given a different colour which when rendered in Keyshot can be given a different material to the separate parts (i.e. panel = brushed aluminium, text = black paint).

I like the idea of a separate part that is just the text, or an import of a dxf from a drawing program. That sounds like a great way to create the panel text. However, I'm not quite sure how you are doing this. Are you saying you create a part, add text, and extrude it, or import a dxf and extrude it, or are you adding the text in a different way without extruding? Or are you just saying you create separate extruded parts for each label?

By the way, your PCBs look great! Which layout package are you using? I use Cadence Allegro/OrCad, which allows you to attach step models to each PCB symbol and export the entire finished board as a step model to import into Alibre for fit checks, but the results don't look anywhere near as nice as yours. I guess I need to learn how to use KeyShot, as the Alibre rendering is a bit basic.

 

[simonb65]

I like the idea of a separate part that is just the text, or an import of a dxf from a drawing program. That sounds like a great way to create the panel text. However, I'm not quite sure how you are doing this. Are you saying you create a part, add text, and extrude it, or import a dxf and extrude it, or are you adding the text in a different way without extruding? Or are you just saying you create separate extruded parts for each label?

I import a dxf into a 2D drawing, copy and paste that 'sketch' into a part sketch, then extrude. Then save the part as my text (or paint) part! Like the writing on my components in my linked example. So I can use the same sub assemblies (i.e. DIL, TQFP, packages) with different text parts to generate unique component assemblies.

See ... Alibre User "Shot Gallery"

... another approach is to save the text artwork (for common labels, like company logo's, power input, high voltage warnings, etc) as catalog features, then just insert them and extrude as you need them. You can add them to existing parts or create standalone parts in the same way as above.

By the way, your PCBs look great! Which layout package are you using? I use Cadence Allegro/OrCad, which allows you to attach step models to each PCB symbol and export the entire finished board as a step model to import into Alibre for fit checks, but the results don't look anywhere near as nice as yours. I guess I need to learn how to use KeyShot, as the Alibre rendering is a bit basic.

Glad you like it I use Number One Systems - Easy PC. It does everything I need at a cost effective price point with great support! It does have a crude built in 3D renderer, but doesn't use external stp models and doesn't render with any texttures. So I created my own application that pulls in the Gerbers/ODB++ and .CAD file manufacturing outputs and generates an Alibre assembly from a library of Alibre component parts I've built over the years. The PCB surface image is a bitmap that I generate from the gerber (or ODB++) manufacturing files and is used in Keyshot as a label on the main PCB part. Add to that a simple click to apply Keyshot Material template to the whole model and let it render! If keyshot could be automated, it would be a one click process from start to finish. The whole process was originally designed to check component pads in the PCB library to actual 3D models of parts (to verify the PCB parts library), but it ended up being the backbone of my electronics design process and helps me create mechanical enclosures, etc with ease (plus getting photo realistic concepts to my customers to sell them the ideas!)

 

[Dave Machock]

I use DeskEngrave, but I don't use a lot of text.