What do you need to do to add lettering to a drawing so that it can be cut using the centerline or fold line tool?

 

Do you mean how to add lettering? Try the "3d Text" tool, which is shown at the end of the youtube video (starting at 4:10). Uncheck "filled" and afterwards explode it. And like ET mentioned, you probably need to reverse it?

 

Yes, I did mean "how to add lettering". What I want to do is add an engraved name to the fuselage. And, wanting it to just be the width of the bit. I'm still missing something. The 3d seems to add letters with more width than a single bits width. Does the multiple flatten help with this? I read thru the Red Bull post but did not see how the letters were actually added to the wing. Thanks for the help.

 

Just add 3d text and uncheck the box shown below.
Then resize and flip it on red axis, once you do that put it where you want it and explode it.
I then offset the inside of each letter 1/2 the bit size to fill it in for pocketing Attached files

 

flatten or phatten, for a 3d object, just makes it 2d (un-extrude it basically). You can already do that, as shown above, by unchecking boxes. The actual "Red Bull" lettering looks like it uses the "3d text" tool method. The outline is just engraved with a bit width line. But the bull figures were probably imported from a vector drawing program, like illustrator or inkscape (free program). The "8 Ball" diagrams could have been made in sketchup. Or it could have all been imported, as it's all just line art or vector art. Cad is vector, as well. I would just post a question in ewo's Red Bull thead about how he did the graphics. I am sure lots of people would like to know, as well.

-Kwok