WELCOME!


It is hard to believe that it was only seven years ago I witnessed a CNC router in action for the very first time. I was fascinated and simply had to have one! Although I had been in the creative end of the three dimensional sign business for most of my life I didn't really know what I would do with one - but I just knew it could do fantastic stuff.

Through extensive research I quickly found out that with the relative simplicity of EnRoute, CNC routers were capable of just about anything imaginable. This journal will chronicle that journey to date and continue each week with two or three entries as we continue to explore just what is possible with this wonderful software... -dan

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Still more pieces

With each piece I design and build it seems there are ten more to do. But this project is all about detail. Branding the facility will be plentiful but carefully worked into the design so it does not appear forced or out of place. The 'M' motif, standing for MultiCam of course will appear everywhere. Today I designed and created the 'M' medallions for the beams. They sport a weathered texture and rivets of course to work them into the theme. 


The file was created in EnRoute in minutes, then duplicated and positioned for routing. It uses a bitmap texture called splotches. Once routed it looks amazingly like weathered metal. The rust finish will complete the story. The medallions were tool pathed with a 3/8" ball nose rough pass and a 1/8" tapered bit at a 75% overlap for the final pass. They took less than an hour each to complete. I routed them from inch and a half thick, 30 lb Precision Board.


I couldn't resist priming one piece up while the others were still in production and then test fitting it on the beams. It made me smile for this was a critical part of the design since I first imagined and drew it over a year previous. The project is no longer just a dream.


The exciting day will be when I can assemble all the pieces permanently at long last.

Stay tuned...

-dan