Expert: Bob - 9/24/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi Bob I presently work in a steel fabrication shop .I have had basic Autocad training .We presently have a Cimtec plasma burnout table which we wish to burn out text or fonts.This computer has the capability of converting from DOS to their format from a autocad format.Here lies the problem to take a simple text like the letter "A" save it as a separate entity to load on a disk.This is a bid deal for us to use this process for our customers any suggestions

ANSWER: I am not 100% sure I get it, but I did work for a lighting mfr who had laser cuts made from dfx files.
It sounds like you need a file. dwg or dxf with just one letter.  Of course you could open a new drawing and create the A --- if you want to take one item, such as a fancy A. out of an existing drawing and isolate it in its own drawing, I would think you used copy/paste or WBLOCK.
--- since this seems obvious, I wonder if you need to write back and explain it so it sinks in to me better.

BOB

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your reply Bob.What I have done in the past is opened a new file ,drawn say the letter "A" size 20" saved it in R12/LT2DXF this is the format that I have used in the past for converting DXF to the DOS program in the Cimtec. However when the Cimtec reads the file it is not correct.It does save it on the Dos as a file but can't be read to convert .Does this make sense? Jim

Answer
Hi Jim --
What I would ask first is "what has changed?"  You dont make it clear whether you personally do the whole thing or someone else handles part of it-- which is why your first question was not clear.
You have not made clear if "in the past" was at a different job, nor whether you are using the same version of AutoCAD, same type of machine at other job.
If the problem is a change at the present job, someone is doing something differently.
If the problem is that you used to be able to do it at the other job, but not this one, someone or something is different.
You dont say what happens if you take an old drawing that used to work and test if it works now.
I tried searching the AutoCAD groups for "cimtec" -- no soap.
So -- look hard for what is different.
AND OF COURSE-- this is really a customer support question for the other equipment, not an AutoCAD question, if you are doing the same thing in AutoCAD as you used to.
Good luck.

BOB