Since the inception of computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment, the technology has been a boon to sign making. Heavy-duty CNC routers from companies like Gerber Scientific, MultiCam and Thermwood have proved their value many times over in the world of high volume sign shops as well as in the world of high quality creative dimensional sign art. Companies like ShopBot, Techno and Computerized Cutters have provided an affordable alternative for hundreds more sign shops to enter the market for specialty carved letters and signs.

HDU panels, cut to shape with the CNC; the wood grain effect was done using a wire brush. Rust background, black and bronze pad, gold leaf letters complement the building architecture. (Courtesy David McDonald, Avila Sign & Design, Grover Beach, Calif.)

And, the bonus is that there is no law that says CNC machines have to be used only for sign making! CNC machines are part of the manufacturing process in all types of products, including woodwork, plastics fabrication, engraving, prototyping and industrial millwork.

Simply put, a CNC router is a valuable tool for a sign shop. Unlike the shop’s digital printer, which has the important but single purpose of printing images, a CNC router can be used to fabricate parts and pieces for a number of products. In fact, with a CNC router in the shop, there is nothing stopping a sign company from expanding its reach into other markets both related and unrelated to signage.

Precision, speed and predictable repetition is why sign shops get CNC equipment. So what’s important to know about CNC routers? Is it a question of lead screw versus rack-and-pinion drive? Welded versus bolted frames? The ability to cut metals? Soft metals like aluminum or hard metals like stainless steel? Proprietary or open-architecture software? Quick tool change-out? These questions are all important and the answers are: it depends…

(Editor’s note: For a real eye-opening look into a sign shop’s CNC research and shopping journey, see Greg Reid’s “In Search of the Perfect CNC” a two-part article that appeared in the September 2004 and October 2004 issues of Sign Business. (http://sdgmag.com/article/search-perfect-cnc-part-1); (http://sdgmag.com/article/search-perfect-cnc-part-2).

Gilded dimensional letters and graphic elements cut from sheet aluminum, HDU and Dibond illustrate the diversity of the CNC and maximize the shop’s creative look. (Courtesy Jay Allen, ShawCraft Sign Company, Machesney Park, Ill.)

ANTICIPATION

Like most tools and machinery, there are vast differences in the sizes, tolerances, speeds, capabilities—and prices—of CNC routers on the market.

A lot of CNC purchase decisions can be based on what the shop’s needs are— both what they are today and what can be anticipated in another five years and the company’s long-term goals.

With a CNC router, like any modern complex machine technology, there is a learning curve involved with becoming intimate with the machine and its secrets. And that very fact means it could take years to master the machine entirely.

“There’s a lot to know,” says Mike Szczoczarz (Mike Z), owner of Countryside Signs in Seekonk, Mass. and a frequent contributor to SDG magazine. “But you can cut simple stuff in short notice.” Mike says it’s now been about four years since his shop purchased a MultiCam CNC router. Before that he made and wrote about the process of fabricating a number of sandblasted signs, which he says is a good way to enter the market for dimensional signage—but with a caveat: “Sandblasting is labor intensive and a mess,” Mike says. “It takes a long time, and it’s hard work.” But then he points out that an entry level sandblasting set-up may require a couple thousand dollars, whereas the entry level for a good router is “…considerably more. But then, we can do sandblasted-look signs with the router.”

Part of a subcontracted job for another local sign company consisted of using the CNC router to cut 57 4’ x 4’ stencils from 3-mil Alupanel that were used to mark large concrete sections of a pipeline. (Courtesy Mike Szczoczarz, Countryside Signs, Seekonk, Mass.)

MORE, MUCH MORE THAN THIS

A CNC is way more than a replacement for a sandblast set-up.

“It’s a giant tool to have in the shop,” Szczoczarz says. “We hardly cut anything with a jig saw any more. And it’s been cranking. We use it to cut faces and backs for channel letters for Mike (his son, who owns Neolite Signs, an electric sign company across the parking lot from Countryside Signs), we just knocked off about 20 shapes for another client, which could have been done with other power tools, but not with this much accuracy.”

Other CNC owners report similar experiences. Jay Allen owns ShawCraft Sign Company based in Machesney Park, Ill., and says the purchase of a Gerber 408 CNC in 1999 was one of the best decisions he’s made since starting in business more than 20 years ago.

Dimensional letters cut with the CNC and backlit with blue LEDs. (Courtesy Jay Allen, ShawCraft Sign Company, Machesney Park, Ill.)

“We’ve saved a lot on saw blades. We’ve just about retired most of the other cutting equipment because we’re more inclined to throw something on the router,” Allen says.

Dave and Robin McDonald own the commercial sign shop Avila Sign & Design in Grover Beach, Calif., and have had a Gerber Sabre CNC router since the mid-’90s. Dave’s dimensional sign work has also been featured many times in this magazine in the past. Like Szczoczarz and Allen, Dave says the CNC router gets used a lot to cut a variety of materials for a variety of sign clients who have diverse needs and tastes. He says material-wise it’s mostly HDU, Dibond, Sintra, or acrylic sheet. Occasionally a project comes up using Extira, a dense synthetic substrate useful for signs that are susceptible to vandalism and harsh weather. But he says there are also times when he helps out with some cutting for the furniture-maker neighbors.

OUT OF THE BOX OPPS

Allen also points to a healthy business in providing a service to other sign shops in the area.

“The margins are not as good on wholesale work, but the fact that you can get local work from other sign companies is a way to build bonds with other shops that tend to think of you more often when it is time to do something else,” Allen says.

The CNC was used on this donor wall for the Rockford Art Museum to engrave letters into the acrylic substrate. (Courtesy Jay Allen, ShawCraft Sign Company, Machesney Park, Ill.)

Ironically, Allen points out that the CNC is compatible with a sandblasting operation.

“A lot of times we’ll apply a sandblast mask to a panel, then cut it with the CNC using an engraving bit. Then we just have to peel away the negative areas. We don’t have to run the mask through the plotter, it doesn’t stretch, and it’s exactly where it needs to be on the panel. The router has created a lot of value for us and allowed us to pursue a number of good opportunities to work outside of the sign market,” Allen says.

Raised letters are cut from sheet material but are nested in a pattern to conserve material; to guarantee they are installed correctly, a layout pattern is also cut with the CNC using the same files (see above right photo). (Courtesy Jay Allen, ShawCraft Sign Company, Machesney Park, Ill.)

PVC, styrenes and similar graphic arts boards are cut on the CNC router for point-of-purchase advertising clients.

“P.O.P. companies always need multiple pieces, which is a good market that helps to stimulate work and can bring a good profit margin per piece for the CNC equipment,” Allen says.

“There are great product opportunities, but without a router it’s difficult to offer them and remain profitable,” Allen continues. “The CNC gives you the ability to control prices to a great degree by doing anything you know of locally that’s not being done. It gives you your own market that you can exploit with your own specialty.”

(Editor’s note: see SDG May 2011, page 74, for an updated list of CNC routers and specifications that are available to the sign industry.)