WELCOME!


It is hard to believe that it was almost ten years ago I witnessed a CNC router in action for the very first time. I was fascinated with what I saw 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 and LOTS of hands-on practice I quickly found out that my MultiCam router was capable of just about anything imaginable.This journal will chronicle that journey to date and continue each week with two or three entries as I continue to explore just what is possible with this wonderful tool... -dan

Sunday, July 29, 2012

2D fun

Now that we use EnRoute and our MultiCam router I couldn't imagine building a house like ours without these marvelous tools. We've designed and cut hundreds of pieces already for the project and will be adding a while bunch more before we are done.

The files we created and cut today were simple 2D shapes that will be combined to form something far more complex.

Today's task was to design and cut the arched ceiling supports of the long hallway through the center of the house. The arch supports had to accommodate the wiring (we weren't allowed to drill into the trusses) and the vacuum pipes.

I measured things up and then sat down at my desk to do some designing. I first designed the arched section and then added on all the bits and pieces.


I combined the two outside and center tabs with the arch. These would be used to screw into the ceiling joists.


Then I used he jigsaw tool to remove the cutouts that would hold the vacuum tubes and the wiring.


The resulting pieces were copied and stacked in readiness for cutting. I used a 3/8" cutter to do the cuts in the 3/4" plywood.

It took me a lot longer to screw the many pieces into position than it did to design and cut them.



Next up is the more complex entry way. Stay tuned...

-dan