Having been noticed amongst almost all small and medium PSPs, whom Sign & Graphics has spotlighted during the coverage of the magazine’s regular column Region Exclusive over the years across various parts of the country, is their plans to go for CNC routers as part of portfolio update and expansion in sign making activities. Those sign shops engaging only in (flex) printing jobs are now hooking to this dimensional cutting technology to boost their activities/business to another level. Adoption of CNC technology in conjunction with printing is relatively a wise decision for those sign makers who wish to deliver complete signage solutions. This article is a fair attempt to discover the expanding scopes of CNC routing in sign making activities.

Perfect precision

CNC router is considered to be one of the cutting-edge technologies which brought in a big transition in sign making over the last few years. This ultra modern technology keeps away all tedious manual tasks of carving rigid materials. The range of materials perfectly compatible with CNC routing to craft varieties of three dimensional display items include wood, plastic, aerospace, composite panels, plastics, brass, etc.

Major advantages of CNC routers in sign making are speed, accuracy and repeatability. And this automatic cutting technology allows sign makers to custom cut metal forms to create custom-shaped signs constructed using varied range of metallic materials including aluminum and others. What was really tedious earlier in manual practice of laying out patterns on metals, jigsaw cutting to get any custom-made displays are now simply a matter of feeding the materials on a CNC router.

Machine range

As there are different types of cars, CNC routers are also of different classes differentiated as per the levels of competencies of the machines. Updated mechanism of servo motor, which replaces stepper motor, is another big advantage in today’s CNC routers. Stepper motor runs on an open loop whereas servo motor runs on a closed loop. While carving a 3-D model, servo motor automatically keeps track of its position and it allows to carve the material much faster with greater reliability and operator does not require to baby sit the machine for 2-3 hours while undergoing the routing process.

When it comes to routing any given rigid material, some materials are found to be more forgiving than others. Each signage material available in the market has its own set up procedure, feeds and speeds as well as proper machineries to be used. There are certain types of materials which sign makers avoid routing, such as those having great deal of glue in them or extremely hard irons. However, a line of quality CNC routers are available from leading suppliers like AXYZ International, Mehta Cad Cam, Esko, etc satisfying the needs and requirements of sign makers in every nook and corner of India.

Router-cut signs

One of the big leaps developed following the advent of CNC routing technology is in memento making segment which occupies a big room in the signage market. More than a dozen of sign makers whom Sign & Graphics has interacted recently agreed to the fact that their activities wouldn’t have been as easy as what it is today if CNC router was not invented. Trophies, badges, nameplates, number plates, way-finding signs, wooden designs, to count a few, are some of the common CNC-carved display items.

Apart from consistency and speed, a unique advantage of CNC technology (against manual/hand-work jobs) is that the routered display models are most permanent as lettering cannot be rubbed or picked off easily. CNC router is indeed a 21st century automation which has quickly and drastically changed the way many sign makers thought about their sign making process.