Notes 5/06/2019: Text rotation is a little buggy and has been limited to 10 degrees.
Drawing preview
Scale:
X axis
Y axis
Warning: Pen went outside of print area
Font editor
The font editor will be here soon.
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Fonts
The fonts used in the project are a derivitive of the HERSHEY fonts.
These are NOT regular font files, Other fonts like the ones your computer use will not work here. The original files are almost cryptic in nature and impossible to work with.
The Hershey file format...for example
So i have converted them to an easier structure for use here.
All of the original Hershey fonts are available for use.
Font editor
28-05-2019 This is a work in progress
Please check back here or on github for up to date information
When the font editor is complete you can sign in using a google account and will be able to create & edit fonts as well as choose other user generated fonts that they have allowed for use.
Until this RED message above goes away, using the font editor will likely be a dissapointing adventure.
The font editor is a complex bit of code and until i'm satisfied that you will be able to use it reliably and not lose your work i suggest avoiding it.
About 3D Writer
This website enables you to create written pages of text using your 3D Printer just by strapping a pen to it.
The easiest way to attach a pen is by using a few rubber bands. Perhaps printing a pen holder attachment would be appropriate
Note: The GCode files generated by this site have only been tested on a Tevo Flash which is a cartesian style printer (Like the Prusa or Creality CR-10). If you have a delta please let me know if this works for you (perhaps there is an issue with my origin not being centered). Use at your own risk; I am not to be held liable for damages incured during the use of this software, my recomendation is to use Pronterface to preview your 3DWriter GCode files prior to printing and keep you finger on the OFF switch for the first few prints.
Here's some YouTube videos of the original software doing it's thing. This version is much the same except there's no program to download, just use it for whatever you want, whenever you like.
Watch the original video from 2017 Here on youTube
The updated version that supports laser engraving
Or watch it write some xmas cards
Original code on GitHub
This right here is a brand new version of 3DWriter writen in HTML5/JavaScript. It's free to use and always will be.
Check out my YouTube channel for lots of nerdy/fun projects.
Privacy
This site does not need or use any of your personal details for any reason.
If you like this site please consider donating some monies to help keep it maintained and hosted, even if it's only a couple of dollars.
Cheers,
Chris.
User fonts
This feature is not yet ready for use
See "About fonts" for more information.
Font editor
This feature is not yet ready for use
See "About fonts" for more information.
If you came here from "About fonts", I told you this would be disappointing.
Help!
The short version
Be sure to check the settings in "hardware setup" to make sure they match your printer...especially the bed X & Y measurements.
If you have an older/home made printer that doesn't go so fast reduce the travel & draw speeds.
Once your pen is attached to your printer, use its inbuilt move functions to find the appropriate pen up & down heights.
Writting text
Find the "Welcome to 3d Writer!" textbox on the left of the screen and write your text there.
You can position your text by dragging it around in the preview window.
Font:
The style of the written text. Choose from the "Simple fonts" section if you are not sure.
Letter height:
How big your written text will be, in millimeters.
Letter Spacing:
How far apart the letters are.
Line spacing:
The gap between the lines. it's OK to use a negative number here.
If you want more than 1 block of text, click the green "Add text block" button to add more.
When you are hapy with the print preview, click the yellow "Download GCode" button and save it. Load the file in to your printer as you would normally and print it.
I suggest having a piece of paper clipped to your printbed using binder clips (as seen in the videos on the About page).
Project Save/Open
You may save your current settings and text blocks by clicking File > Save.
And open it up again by clicking File > Open Note: This is a HTML5 application and does not use a server backend. Nothing you upload to this page leaves your computer
Background image
If you are writing on a birthday card then you can take a photo of it on your printer bed and load it as a background in 3DWriter.
This is so you can get all the text alignments right.
The size of your background image must match your printers X & Y dimensions as pixels.
For example...
If you have a 200mm x 200mm print bed, the background image should be 200x200 pixels.
The background image uses the scale value above the drawing preview. Note: You are only uploading to this HTML page, the background image never leaves your computer.
Please read the instructions on the Github page before making contact.