Is there a single-line, connected-text font in SHX,SHP,LFF format?

Hello,

I have found an enormous amount of posts on single-line fonts for CNC and how to get free SHX fonts for AdobeCAD, etc. But I am having a really hard time finding a single-line connected-text font that comes in a CNC friendly format, like SHX, SHP, or LLF. I would also be fine if it was in DXF paths.

What I need is to make a single pathway for my text, one single line, starting left, going right, and connected so that the single line is drawn without lifting the bit.

This single-line (ish) connected-text font is best exemplified by a font I found on FontSpace called <a href="https://www.fontspace.com/i-am-online-with-u-font-f11732">I am oneline with U</a> I have attached a sample image of this font to show how it's single-line and connected.


Sadly, this font is only available in TTF or OTF formats which always come as closed shapes on a plane. They are not truly single line. So converting to SHX or what I originally tried to do which was convert to DXF using Python's <a href="https://ezdxf.readthedocs.io/en/stable/addons/text2path.html">ezdxf text2path add on</a>, I always get a single-line outline of the text, not a single-line left to right. So effectively all the lines are doubled up, inside and outside.

Is there anyway to convert the above font to a truly single-line font, or does anyone know of a single-line *and* connected-text font that works this way?

In Vectric software there are some single line fonts and there are a way to connect the letters in to continuous single line.
And one can create tool path there or export in to DFX…
They have Demo version to try and a lot of YouTube videos.
I use it for several years and it works for me.

I will give that a look. Thanks.

hy mmachnery :) i saw this a few days ago, but only now i had time to reply :)

pls check attached : OLF SimpleSansOC

i needed it a few days ago, to engrave something, as shown in image : c axis control, on face, in lathe, loong part suported by steady

i used solidworks to preview and scale it, then added a logo in autocad, then used software that i wrote ( identifies geometry from dxf, creates chains, arranges them, then spits some code ); if you wish, check attached images

consider to search the internet also for "script fonts", thus key words, in case you did not know them; not a guarantee, but who knows ?!

please feel free to ask anything; i can help with custom fonts, codes for any machine, engraving on whatever surface, etc / kindly :)

It looks like these are single line but not continuously connected. There is a extra charge from our CNC manufacturer for lifting the pen when etching these strings of text so I need one line.

okey ... i will try to solve, then be back to you :)

what you need, is not a basic font, but conections between consecutives; there is a similar situation, in pc generated hand-written kind of text, where it has to conect regardless of font, and sometimes, there appear even more combinations, for example "ab" is conected one way in "ab" and other way in "1ab", simply because the "a" is no more the 1st letter, and this changes toolpath direction

i will see what i can do, but for now, you should expect some returns, doulbe cutting ... for example, consider "iiii" if you conect them, then you will need to go up, then down, then up again, and so on ... thus even if you don't raise the pen, thus Z is always constant, some portions will be recut in oposite direction :)

is all ok so far ? please feel free to ask anything :)

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sorry, just now i looked better over the image you shared in 1st post; like attached, will try similar result ... so, just wait a bit :)

hello mmachenry :) please find attached image, with autodrawing from random text, based on a "custom" char set

if you wish, i can develop it futher, create a vector alphabet as you like, and have the dxf autogenerated

so far, i never needed to look into shx shp or lff formats, but at least the dxf is vector / kindly :)

There is a extra charge from our CNC manufacturer for lifting the pen when etching these strings of text so I need one line
Amazing idea. Do they say why? How much is the 'extra charge'?

Cheers
Roger