Arcing
First, Let me explain a few things you need to know.
A circle is broken up into 360 degrees (like a ruler broken into 360 equal parts).
You have 3 axes... x, y and z.
X is the distance from the east to the west (left to right)
Y is from the north to the south. (back of the table to the front)
Z is the movement of the spindle up and down
(don't worry about the Z movement for arcs)
When they say the Diameter, They mean the Width.
When they say the Radius, They mean 1/2 of the Diameter or 1/2 of the Width.
In Xenetech along with a few other manufacturers, the Arc radius DOES NOT INCLUDE THE LETTER HEIGHT.
Setting Up A Sample Xenetech Job Containing Arcs
Go to your Xenetech screen and set up your initial screen to be 8 inches by 8 inches. (8" x 8")
We are going to make an Arc that will measure 5 inches in Outside Diameter (width) where the letters have a height of .2 (2 tenths)(2/10)(0.200).
Try to work in tenths if you can because it is very easy to add or subtract. Think of 100 pennies in a dollar where each penny would be one hundredth of a dollar. (1/100) (0.010) or 10 dimes in a dollar where each dime is a Tenth. (1/10) (0.100) You can also set up your Xenetech screen to be shown in Tenths and you can also purchase Rulers in tenths along with fractions
Set your letter height to be .2 and then type in the following text in capitals. (capitals look best) THIS IS A TEST IN ARC ENGRAVING
Select the line of text (with your mouse or press the plus (+) or minus (-) key until it selects the line of text to want to Arc.
Go to the top of the Xenetech screen to FONT.
Scroll down to Arc and select it. (or you can hit the shortcut key ctrl + a)
The Text will now be in a arc (going clockwise or left to right ) from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock (See below)
To Make the arc measure 5 inches, you have to do a little Math.
Convert 5 inches into tenths (5.000)
Divide by 2 (to get the radius) This gives you 2.500
Subtract the letter height of 0.200
This leaves you with 2.300 which is the radius you need for an arc that is 5 inches in diameter.
Select the line of text which is in a arc. Click on Arc Radius in the Toolkit on the left side of the screen and change it to 2.300
(Press the [Enter] key) You now have a arc whose diameter is 5 inches.
To have the Arc go in a counter clockwise rotation:
Select the Arc
In the Toolkit, change the begin angle to -180 (you must put the minus sign in manually)
Go to the end angle and put in a value of 0
Press the [Enter] key.
To have the arc extend to a full half circle:
You can change the aspect ratio, inter-character spacing or just simply adding a 2nd or 3rd space between words.
To position the arc to where you want it, change the x and y positions or grab the arc with your mouse and drag it.
(CAUTION) when grabbing the arc with your mouse you will have to change the x position back to where the center of the arc is back in the center of the plate. It will not automatically center itself. The y value will stay in a straight line
Hope this helps you with setting up an Arc.
Eddy Maddux
Eddy Maddux has over 20 years of engraving experience! Eddy also does custom logos. Eddy's web site is http://memebers.cox.net/maddux/