Personal engraving on hub: free of charge (for logos: template in dwg format)
I am looking for help in formatting a logo file to provide to Florian - but I’ve looked at the software I use for general photo / design work and none export to DWG and I don’t feel ready to invest in an AutoCad style software package for the purpose of creating a 2D logo…
So wondering if there’s someone here that has the tools to take perhaps a PDF or JPG -white-on-black design for my logo for engraving?
I suspect it’ll be very simple although previously I had toyed with the idea of a poem’s text being embedded into a QR code (but for that I worry about the fidelity of the final hub laser etching and it being unscannable)
Check if Inkscape will export to either DWG or DXF, it is free and would be just the thing for doing a logo. If you can get it to DXF whatever CAD tool he is using will read it if it works with DWG.
This hub “personal engraving” is a bit perplexing for me.
A current Schlumpf web page says:
“Personal engraving on hub: free of charge (for logos: template in dwg format)”.
I wonder whether it is actually an engraving or a painting, and whether it has to be lines or can it be filled regions, and whether any size is required. I assume it has to be 2D black and white, and perhaps only the white will be applied? What does the KH logo look like? Does plain text need to be done with a dwg template?
OK, I have a black and white jpg file of a short piece of text in thick cursive style.
I downloaded the free Inkscape tool to my PC.
I signed up for the free online Autodesk viewer.
I opened Inkscape and imported the jpg into an empty file.
I used the Inkscape option to trace a path from the imported bitmap.
I deleted the bitmap, leaving just the traced path.
I saved the file as dxf (AutoCAD DXF R14).
I uploaded the dxf to the Autodesk viewer.
It looked OK but only has the unfilled outlines of the black text.
So that is easy enough, and the dxf should easily be imported by Florian’s CAD software.
BUT is that what is required? Is a text outline good enough? Does this help anyone?
You may say, just ask Florian, but I think he is very busy and his office does not tend to reply to emails. I already sent the jpg, with a question about whether that was sufficient, a few weeks ago with no reply (possibly meaning the jpg was sufficient??).
I guess it all depends on the capabilities of the engraving tool, however given he has asked for a dwg file that implies to me that it expects something from a CAD tool rather than a paint/graphics/photo package, so basically a structured graphics file rather than a bitmap – from my old fashioned perspective, something that a pen-plotter could have drawn. I would think that this would simply be a line engraving which may get filled with a single colour of paint – basically look at the markings on any decent bike hub. I could be entirely wrong though.
Your approach to trace outlines and output dxf seems a pretty good way to get a bitmap converted. As I say, my interpretation of this would simply have lead me to do a line-based logo in a CAD program (or an SVG drawing program like Inkscape), fills may well be like fine hatching engraving out material.
This shows how it should work at 3:10 and it looks to me like the laser etches into the black anodised coating of the hub body.
I would say that fills and solid white should be doable - which was partly way I was curious if a QR code could work.
But I dread the idea that the code ends up low resolution when put onto the hub, and it cannot be read.
I may opt for less text / data in the QR code, but I definitely want the data to be offline and in the code not dependent on a URL to the interwebs
As for the design file verses text. I know you can simply tell Florian - put this text “My lovely hub” and he’ll get that etched. But for those that want more the design file is the way to go.
I am toying with either a hand written name phrase that has some oblique meaning and a personal touch - or a QR code with a poem embedded in it for extra pathos
This is very very much work in progress as I scraped my early attempt at a design.
I presume it would be better inverted so the black line is the clear thing to be drawn in / etched. But in the design stage I needed to draw white on black - as it would appear on hub.
I think inverting shouldn’t pose a major issue going forward at the converting stage.
I want the logo to be personal but not that personal - as in my name or contact info
I wonder if it would be even nicer if you kept bold uppercase, but changed the leading capitalized letter so it is the same as the rest (eg MIND).
Also with 3 words it is “unbalanced” and the reading direction is ambiguous.
So I would remove “YOUR” and put “BALANCE” at the bottom where it would look like it is holding up the rest of the logo.
But that might change the aspect ratio, which leads me to wonder what Florian’s restrictions might be:
Does the logo take up the whole width of the hub, and if so should we worry about the raised part at the edges?
How much of the circumference of the hub can be used (obviously not all of it because of the need for Schlumpf branding and serial number)?
Is the origin of the dwg axis system assumed to be at the mid point of the hub surface with the y axis in the direction of travel?
Are dimensions implicit (scale to fit), or explicit (eg mm)?
If implicit, can we at least specify a margin?
Can we assume the dwg drawing is 2D and “wrapped” onto the hub surface preserving its proportions, or maybe it is projected onto the hub (causing distortion at the edges)?
Which dwg (or dxf) entities should be used? all polylines? (and if so, what about fill or hatching, and line width), or perhaps an image (and if so, should it be white on black)?
I see that these hubs have been engraved for at least 10 years now, so I wonder if anyone has experience of having a logo engraved may be out there. Also, maybe it would help many of us if someone with “influence” could get Florian to comment on this?
And I think I’ll run the risk that this gets printed very small or request that Florian rotates it so it is printed length wise flange to flange - so it will fit but not run the same orientation as the other logos.
I think distortion of the logo is probably the last thing that is being worried about here as it doesn’t really notice.
This is how the UDC logo looks on my #200 series hub:
I’d get someone to confirm you got it right. I’d ask my wife to do it, but she’s currently overseas. I’ve just seen too many t-shirts worn by oblivious non-English speakers that say something like “many melon prayer” on them and have been told by East Asians that the same is often true when westerners use Chinese characters.
I sent my logo in yesterday, and Florian replied that he will do his best.
A kiwi with wings might be sacrilege to some, and my apologies, but it’s my logo. Looks like a humming bird at first glance.
This looks great Norm - nice that you got a reply.
I always half wonder if some emails get missed or go to spam etc - and then I don’t want to hassle Florian with a follow up: Did you get my email?… but then again as a customer dropping a lot of £££ I’m part minded that expecting a confirmation email is fair enough.
Oh well I’ll try and be patient and chase in a week or so!
