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

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Foxy sign.

In one of the trees we sculpted at the Fox & Hounds restaurant a sign will hang on a branch overhead. To start the sign I opened the driftwood bitmap from the Texture Magic Collection in Photoshop. 


I used the warp tool to shape the bitmap to a gentle 'S' curve.


I traced the outline with vectors and then imported them into EnRoute.


I also opened, copied and pasted the fox medallion into EnRoute, resized it to an appropriate size and added some shoulder pieces to make the sign flow. I added some sandblasted woodgrain texture to this piece.



I created a separate relief of the lettering border and then added the domed lettering. I created a second copy of the sign and flipped it before adding the lettering to each. That way the two sides would fit together and forma a double sided sign.

Tomorrow I'll route the signs and then glue them up so I can finish this portion of the project off.

-dan