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

Friday, September 3, 2010

Heavy lifting


The receptionist's desk has some pretty heavy duty robotic arms incorporated into the design. The concept called for a heavy hydraulic ram on each arm. Today I designed the cylinders and was pondering what to put on them in the form of a casting relief. As I thought about something witty to put on it I thought about the owner of the company... my good friend Sean. As with every owner of a private company, he is often still working long after everyone else goes home. In short they often do the heavy lifting required to make things work.  I decided I would incorporate Sean's name into the cylinders as SeanCo - a fictitious company.



I created the logo in Illustrator and then imported it into EnRoute. The cylinders were created using the revolve function of the program and the letters were added to the relief. The file only took minutes to create. Each cylinder will be machined in two pieces from 1.5" 30 lb Precision Board. Then they are glued together and lastly I'll add the hose detail and fasten them to the mounting hardware which was less expensive to buy than create from scratch.



The embossed logo is a fun way to personalize the project and also add some believable detail in a hurry. 

It's all about the details...  :)

-dan