In addition you cannot rely on a surface to "grip" your entities.

You will have to use the command SECTION to generate lines, arcs, etc on wich you can grip your text.

I use the layer Defpoints that won't ever be printed but that you can allways see.

You get for free the layer Defpoints the first time you place a dimension in your file.

You can use the command DIVIDE to place marks at equal distances on that generate lines, arcs, etc.

Hope this helped so far...

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After having talked with a "Soldworks" colleague, he showed me after some tests ( 1st time test for a rolled text in the "not ARCTEXT way" ) that it's possible to do what you want wih your Solidworks.

VERIFY THE EXACT WORDS IN AMERICAN.

Create a volume on wich you want to wrap your text.

Create a "scketch" in a plan ( your text).

Use the command ENROULEMENT ( maybe wrap ) in INSERT, FUNCTION, ENROULEMENT ( maybe : WRAP ).

It was done with Solidworks 2012.

I use it for the 3D files that I convert towards Solidworks when I want an important text to be dispayed.

You can find the file in the Blocks library right here in the site, you do a search with the name : ABCD ( ABCD.dwg ).

You can find an example of use in SHACKLES_BOLT+COTTER_PIN.dwg.

The letters and numbers are based on the text style / simplex that we use as standard style because of the large global length that allows other styles to be shorter when you import an other entire file inside ours etc...