Hello, I happened upon your post and thought I'd offer another way to make 3d text in Illustrator. Create some text, using a bold font, any color you like. Make it large, at least 72 point. When you have your text, select it and transform it by dragging a corner handle to enlarge considerably more. You can make it the size you need after you're all done. Now go to Object > Expand. Then Object > Path > Outline Stroke. Now select the entire object by with the selection tool an alt + drag out an copy of your text object. Change the color of the new object with the color selector to something different. Position it close to but not directly covering the type object below. Now drag the selction tool in a rectangular fashion over both object to select them both. Now go to Object > Blend > Blend Options > and choose something you like; I used specified steps and chose 8 steps. Now go to Object > Blend > Blend Make. Voila you have 3D text. Resize it to fit your needs by selecting the entire object and go to Object > Transform > Scale.
Before you scale it you could select the object and go to Object > Envelop Distort > Make With Warp > set parameters in the Warp Options Dialog box; I used Arc in the top option, horizontal at 50 and left the other parameters alone. There you have it: a 3D text object warped to an arch.
The variations here are almost endless.
Another way to make 3d text is to create your text and import it into Adobe Dimesions and extrude the text to make it 3D.
Hope this helps.