posted
Hey, Dave. Take a hike, buddy. We all know you used to work for Hyatt's and are now trying to steer business to your new employer. We don't like vendors pretending to be sign people here. So, hit the road, you poser!
-------------------- Mark Rogan The Great Barrington Sign Company 2 Stilwell Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230 mark@gbsignco.com
"Sometimes I think my head is so big because it is so full of fonts" Posts: 332 | From: Great Barrington, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Good stuff. I have been sooooo busy this past week I haven't got to follow the thread as it developed.
This will save us days, maybe weeks, of research to find a system that will make us more unique in our sign markets.
I was tickled at Cam's post. A good set of chisels will carve a great looking sign in the hands of the right person...but they don't work so well on plexiglass, Dibond, MDF and a ton of other substrates used to make signs these days. The truth is, I was having a struggle between buying a full scale hot wire cutting system for making monument signs verses a CNC router. This thread has convinced me that the router would generate more profit in markets I'm already established in, and the CNC router may do many the same jobs as a hot wire foam cutting system.
I would like to thank all those that took the time to open our eyes to the pro and cons of getting a CNC routing system.
The hardest learning curve I ever went through was learing how to paint signs with a brush. 4 years of practice, verbal abuse from mentors, and then running my own business taking it on the nose from customers.
Then came the learning curve of the Apple IIe, the plotter and digitizer. Then came the learning curve of the Gerber Edge, Graphic Advantage/ and Omega, Corel PhotoPaint, Adobe Photoshop, and don't forget reformatting the computer after virus and hard drive crashes.
NOW, let the CNC router learning curve begin! I can't wait....I hope its a dam nightmare of learning curve....the harder, the more enjoyable!
[ August 09, 2003, 09:11 AM: Message edited by: Dave Draper ]
quote: I was tickled at Cam's post. A good set of chisels will carve a great looking sign in the hands of the right person...but they don't work so well on plexiglass, Dibond, MDF and a ton of other substrates used to make signs these days.
Your right Dave a good jigsaw or scroll saw will>
-------------------- Bob Rochon Creative Signworks Millbury, MA 508-865-7330
"Life is Like an Echo, what you put out, comes back to you." Posts: 5149 | From: Millbury, Mass. U.S. | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
All this talk about 1000 inches per minute cutting speed and 500 inches per minute cutting speed...
Let's hear what speed all the router owners ACTUALLY CUT MATERIAL at without breaking bits. What depth are you cutting, what diameter bit, and what materials?
This is the same thing (marketing hype) as the vinyl cutting equipment companies touting how fast their machines can cut vinyl. In actual practical use though, nobody cuts at those speeds because too many problems happen.
In regards to vacuum hold downs, once you break the seal by cutting the full size sheet into little letters, the vacuum holding power is lost and there is little to no vacuum holding down your letters.
Learning to use double sided tape or well placed screws and or placing tabs on parts will keep everything secure without having any vacuum system. Learning where to start cutting from and where to end cutting at can also help keep parts in place. Using down cut spiral bits also helps.
Dust is a major issue when using CNC router tables even with what you think is a good dust recovery system. And if you're thinking about lasers or plasma? Serious toxic fumes unless properly handled by exhaust venting. Will your neighbors complain about the noxious odors emanating from your place?
-------------------- EmpY Mayo Pardo #138 South Elgin, IL. Posts: 436 | From: South Elgin, IL | Registered: Nov 1998
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