I have looked everywhere for an easy way to write on my 3d objects. Everything I could find was hard to manipulate, so I decided to give it a shot myself. Hope you like this as much as I do. I'll try to answer any questions you have.

write.scad Routines:
write()
writecube()
writesphere()
writecylinder()
writecircle()

Fonts:
letters.dxf (change in write.scad)
orbitron.dxf
braille.dxf
knewave.dxf
BlackRose.dxf
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writecylinder specs in testwritecylinder.scad
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Be glad to add more fonts if requested, or give details to make your own.

Happy Numbers 0.2 is a number system for use in OpenSCAD. I am releasing it into the Public Domain, so you can use and modify it completely freely.

Most OpenSCAD number sets on thingiverse consist of a separate .dxf file for each number. Happy Numbers works differently.

There is a single .svg file that contains a set of numbers in a grid of 'character boxes'. This .svg file has been converted to a .dxf file. Then, in OpenSCAD, you call the char() module; it 'selects' the number you want by using an 'intersection box'. char(1) is the first number, char(2) is the second number, and so on. Thus you can:

*Change the font more easily
*Make your own number sets more easily
*Use numbers in scripts in new and creative ways

Currently it has numbers for these scripts/fonts:
Arabic (LMRomansUnsl10 - sorta resembles Nixie tubes)
Chinese
Devanagari (Hindi, Sanskrit)
Tengwar (Tolkien's Lord of the Rings)
Braille

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Making new numbers with your own fonts

If you just want to use this, you can skip down to 'Instructions'. But if you want to make your own kind of numbers, here is the method I used to make this thing.

Step 1. Getting an .svg and then saving as .dxf

The first step is getting the numbers.svg file to have the font you want. This can be as easy as opening up Inkscape and typing the numbers out. Or you could draw the numbers yourself, or find some on the web; as long as they are 'outline' shapes, it should work.

To do the process in Inkscape, here are the basic steps:

0. Open the numbers.svg file
0.1 Go to 'layers' and 'hide' the 'Grid' layer
0.5 Delete old numbers text
1. Create new numbers text
2. Select all of the new text
3. Click Path/Object to Path
4. Click Path/Break Apart
5. Click Object/Ungroup
6. For each character do the following:
6.1 Select the character
6.2 Click "Edit Paths by Nodes" tool
6.3 Hit Ctrl-A (select all nodes)
6.4 Hit the 'insert node' button 2-3 times (slow)
6.5 Hit the 'make straight paths' button
7. Go to 'layers' and 'show' the 'Grid' layer
8. Move each number so it fits in one grid box
9. Go to 'layers' and 'hide' the 'Grid' layer
10. File/Save-As/DXF

There is a great tutorial here (I skip the 'document properties' step):

repraprip.blogspot.com/2011/05/inkscape-to-openscad-dxf-tutorial.html

Step 2. Check alignment

The char() module has some parameters related to the DXF file. They include the x & y offsets to the first 'character box', and the width and height of the character boxes. You may need to check and tweak these if you change the font or characters. This can be done by running the adjustment_table() module and then manually tweaking the settings in char(). Example screenshots have been attached to this project; there are two screenshots with 'unaligned' settings, and one screenshot with 'aligned' settings.

Example

An example usage of these numbers is here, in my TeeTotum:

thingiverse.com/thing:8690

References

Arabic, Chinese, Devanagari, Braille:

Ubuntu Linux, Wikipedia, google image search

Tengwar:

acondia.com/fonts/tengwar/info/numbers.htm
freetengwar.sourceforge.net/

Bugs & Drawbacks

The numbers are currently only 1 through 12. You have to 'manually create' anything larger.

These are not 'scalable' - they are made out of small line segments. If you blow them up too big they will be 'chunky'.

In Openscad, if you don't have GL2 or whatever, the full array of numbers shows up in the preview, not just the char() you choose, making it confusing. When rendered, though, it comes out properly.

Braille is not 'bubbled', it's flat cylinders.

The Tengwar dxf file is too tall, fix with charh=9 (see scad code)

There is no 'size' parameter; you have to use scale().

Using adjustment_table() with GL2 might be confusing

This is a 'Teetotum'. It's like dice, but instead of rolling it, you spin it.

This Teetotum can have anywhere between 5 and 12 sides. The number is set when you run it in OpenSCAD (it's somewhat parametric). Example .stl files include:

12 sided, Arabic numbers
12 sided, Chinese numbers
6 sided, Braille numbers

The font is from Happy Numbers: thingiverse.com/thing:8691

This was inspired by the Teetotum page at Wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teetotum

The drawing of the TeeTotum comes from "Every boy's book: a complete encyclopædia of sports and amusements", 1881, E. Routledge (editor), uploaded to Wikipedia by user Dicklyon

Thanks to Linkreincarnate for suggestions and support and to syvwlch for explaining what 'parametric' means.

See Also

user phooky has made some Dreidels! (sorta like a 4-sided teetotum)

thingiverse.com/thing:4922
thingiverse.com/thing:1421

OpenSCAD script that translates letters into 3D geometry representing the corresponding Braille letters.

I said I would make this a long time ago...

Pretty self explanatory.... it's a bracelet with braille on it (the braille reads "makerbot")

I used 1/4" felt to make it nice and comfy and add some visual flare

This design can be adapted in so many ways (doesn't just have to be braille) and it's really easy to design/print/put-together.

EXTRA BONUS POINTS for whoever adapts this design for the makerbot watch :)

I was recently contacted by a blind man, Dave, who was interested in getting some samples of the braille I printed on the makerbot earlier this year. I took the opportunity to refine the design a bit more before shipping a few test pieces off to him early this week.

Just yesterday he received them and was immediately able to read them. To quote: "I am enormously impressed. With my fingernail I can feel where the filaments laid down. With my fingertips though, the dots are correct sized, smooth feeling and comfortable to read. I really think this is professional quality stuff."

The next step is to figure out if there's a need for this kind of braille production. I'm currently doing some research on traditional methods of creating braille and am talking with Dave about the feasibility of actually using the makerbot to produce braille.

This is still a work in progress but the MakerBot actually seems to print braille rather well. I can't read braille so I can't judge for sure whether it's readable but it certainly seems like it. The trick is to get the G-code right to prevent warts on the front face (i'm still fiddling with this).

I think this might have a lot of potential. A braille bracelet will be next in my printing/designing queue.