Request for Feature - "Stencil Bridge" / "Island Connector"

[MikeyDil]

Feature Title: Add "Stencil Bridge" / "Island Connector" modifier for extruded text and closed loops

Description:

When designing 3D-printable typography, stencils, or layered cutouts, inner islands (the negative space cutouts inside letters like o, a, e, etc.) become completely detached from the surrounding body and fall out once printed or cut.

I would like to request an automated Bridge / Stencil Tag feature in the text/extrusion toolset that automatically inserts small physical bridges connecting internal islands to the outer letter body.

Key Requirements:

• Configurable Bridge Width & Depth: Ability to specify the thickness and depth of the connecting tags so they are structurally robust enough for 3D printing without ruining the font aesthetics.

• Automatic Detection: The software should automatically detect closed internal loops (counters) and apply bridges based on vector geometry

• Manual Placement Option: A manual click-and-drag tool to add, remove, or reposition custom bridges where needed.

• Parametric Control: Option to make the bridges flush with the front/back surface or slightly recessed.

[henmedia]

@MikeyDil I've built it: the new Stencil bridges tool. Make the text a hole that goes through the plate, select both (grouped or not) and click Stencil bridges in the Modify group of the ribbon, or right-click, or press Ctrl+K.

• It finds the parts that would fall out by itself: seen from above, every part that sits inside a hole (the middle of o, a, e, both bellies of a B) gets bridges to the plate.
• You set the bridge width (0.5 to 5 mm), the number of bridges per part (1 to 4) and their height. Bridges lower than the plate sit flush with the bottom, in the middle or flush with the top.
• The bridges show in orange while you change the numbers. After Create they are ordinary boxes grouped with the plate, so you can open the group and move, delete or add one by hand.
• If you change the text later, select the group and run Stencil bridges again: new bridges replace the old ones.
• Text that is only engraved and doesn't go through gets no bridges, since nothing falls out there.

It will be in the next release.

If layerling is useful to you, you can support it with a small donation. Thanks!

[henmedia]

@MikeyDil the Stencil bridges tool is in layerling 1.150.0, out now.

[MikeyDil]

Amazing. Thank you.