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

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Creating work on the fly.

I've never gotten used to the fact that I can have an early breakfast in our little town and lunch in a city on the other side of our continent. Add to that that I post this blog sitting at the airport, waiting for my plane. My computer isn't hooked to any wires, and the post will be instantly read around the world. It is an amazing world!

Today's file is another fictitious beer label, celebrating the story of the Fox and Hounds Pub. The horn's basic shape will be routed in Precision BOard and then a final skin of Abracadabra sculpt will be aded with the details. I suspect it will get lots of handling and this is the strongest way of doing it.


The preliminary artwork was done in Illustrator, the artist's concept in Photoshop.


I imported the Illustrator files into EnRoute and separated the layers as they would be routed. The two halves of the crown were joined and the two lower layers of the scroll added. The lettering borders and as well as the border around the crown were adeded as well.


Then I started building the reliefs - all separate so I could adjust their height before merging. The Union Jack was done as a simple modification of the center dished shaped circle.


Once I had merged everything I stated adding more details including the letter outlines.


I built the horn as a domed relief, then copied and flipped it so the two halves would glue together as a separate piece. The scroll will also be a separate layer. The bevelled lettering was the last step, making the file ready for tool pathing. Now the file is ready to be sent to the MultiCam and routed from a sheet of 1.5" 30 lb Precision Board.



It will have to wait until I return from my trip to the US. Stay tuned...

-dan