Custom Stamp Maker

Text2Stamp is a little open source project that includes a parametrized OpenSCAD model and a few supporting bash scripts to facilitate batch model creation.

You can use Text2Stamp to create your custom stamps in any of these ways:

• If you have OpenSCAD installed:

  • Open the base-stamp.scad model directly in OpenSCAD and change its attributes in the GUI

  • Run OpenSCAD in the command line

  • Use the t2s bash scripts from the erikaheidi/stlfactory repository 

• If you don't have OpenSCAD installed:

  • Use the Docker setup included in erikaheidi/stlfactory to run the included bash scripts or OpenSCAD directly (requires only docker)

For batch model generation, you'll need to use OpenSCAD in the command line.

Included STLs

This entry contains a few example models that you'll find in the text2stamp/examples folder of the erikaheidi/stlfactory repository:

• alphabet: this folder contains a full lowercase alphabet generated with Liberation Mono font, using the scripts/alpha-gen.sh bash script.

• words: this folder contains a set of trendy words generated from a words.txt list, using the scripts/words-gen.sh bash script.

Printing Advice

This is a fairly simple print that doesn't require much infill. I used 5% to make it very light. Just keep an eye for thin fonts, as they might not be thick enough to print depending on how much you resize the stamp. One thing that seems to make all the difference for using the stamp is setting ironing only for the topmost surface. This way you'll get a smoother surface that stamps better.

• 0.20mm Speed

• PLA

• No supports or brim necessary

• 5% Infill

• Ironing - topmost surface only

Creating Custom Stamps with the OpenSCAD GUI (easier) 

Open the base-stamp.scad file on OpenSCAD. On the right side panel, you'll notice a collapsed menu Parameters. Click there and youll be able to use a form to change the model parameters and create your custom models. To save the STL file, first press F6 to render the project and then click the STL button on the left menu, or go File → Export → Export as STL. 

Using the Text2Stamp Scripts

The t2s script receives a few different arguments that make it easier to generate the stamps than calling OpenSCAD directly. This will require you to download the project from GitHub to run it locally on your own machine.

Downloading the Project

Start by cloning the erikaheidi/stlfactory repository to your local system and then accessing the project directory with:

git clone https://github.com/erikaheidi/stlfactory.git
cd stlfactory

You can also download the project contents in a zip file. Check the releases page to get the latest version available.

Docker Setup

If you don't want to install OpenSCAD on your system, you can use the Docker setup that is part of my STL Factory repository on GitHub.

The following command will build and run an OpenSCAD Docker image where you can generate the models in the CLI environment:

make openscad

Whichever method you use, make sure you're in the text2stamp subfolder of the project.

Generating Custom Stamps

To generate a stamp with the text “alice” and default options, run:

./t2s --stamp alice

The script accepts the following parameters:

• --stamp : The text to be used for the stamp. Default is "printables".

• --size : The approximate font size for the stamp. Default is 30.

• --font : The font used for the stamp. Default is "Liberation Mono".

• --withborder : A boolean value to add a border around the stamp. Default is false for no border.

• --output_dir : Directory where to output the STL file. Default is "text2stamp/out".

Batch Stamp Creation

Some example scripts for batch stamp generation were included in the examples folder:

• alpha-gen.sh : Generates a stamp for each letter of the alphabet.

• words-gen.sh : Generates a stamp for each word listed in the words.txt file. You can modify the file words.txt to use your own list of words.

Method 3: Use OpenSCAD in the CLI (harder)

To generate a stamp using the base-stamp.scad file in the command-line, you can a command similar to:

openscad -o "out/printables.stl" -D "stamp=\"printables\"" -D "size=20" -D "font=\"Liberation Sans\"" base-stamp.scad

 Commercial Usage

Members of the Heidi Makes Club in the "Partner" tier are allowed to use this model commercially for physical prints.