Sandblasted Wood Grain Background Revisited

[mountie1808]

I've been searching through the archives for information about routing a sandblasted look on a background of a sign. I'm using enroute 3 3d and also use flexi and the corel suite.

I've been playing with the apply bitmap feature in enroute, trying to add a woodgrain look to the piece, and it just doesn't look right--it looks very bitmapped.

I did find a picture that is similar to what I'd like to see here: http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/mes...312/16002.html But for the life of me, can't figure out the easy way to do this. Was each individual grain programmed and done with a v-bit? Or was this an automated feature of whatever software to which he referred?

Any tips or suggestions are most welcome.

Mike

[Brady Watson]

Here's an example of what you are looking for via the Vectric (V-Carve Pro) forum:

http://vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1807

and

http://vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1812

-B

[joe]

MB

What you are looking for, and is capable for you to do with Enroute, comes from bitmap textures. I've attached samples done by Dan S who also uses this software.

You can take photo's with your digital camera of wood textures, sand, gravel, or any interesting surface and incorporate this into your file. Ray Chapman does the same thing using ArtCam Pro.

Routing is done with a 1/8" ball nose.

Enroute has a training CD which shows the process.

Ray is an excellent artist, rather short and from Texas. Heeeheee
21752.jpg

[Brady Watson]

Just to add a little clarity, the excellent examples that Joe has posted are done using a 3D raster toolpath strategy with a ball end cutter. The links to examples that I posted are more of a 2D (XZ or YZ moves) using a V-bit that leverages the shape of the cutter to produce the background texture very quickly. If you are doing a large sign, the V-Carve method takes minutes compared to hours with the bitmap to 3D strategy. It all boils down to which one you need (and which one your customer is willing to pay for).

-B

[jamesgilliam]

Mike, The texture on the Piney Creek and Sunbelt signs were done with a 1/2" ball end mill, toolpathed in V Carve Pro. James

[joewino]

21761.jpg

This is the woodgrain that I use in ArtCam Pro. It was given to me by Dan Sawatzky in Canada, who uses Enroute. Almost any texture can be created using a black and white bitmap.

When I cut it on my ShopBot I use a 1/8" round nose bit.

Here's a sample of one job using the woodgrain. It's a little too deep for my judgement, but I shallowed it up some on later jobs.


21762.jpg

In response to that old sign guy in Oklahoma - when God made me he was more interested in quality than quanity.

[joe]

Nice work Ray,

Approx. how long did it take to route this sign?

Today our CNC quietly buzzed away in the background. I hardly noticed it was working.
A spindle slicing it's way through HDU is close to silent work.

I'm attaching my lobster, which was rendered with a 2" tapered bit. I had this bit made by Woodline. It has a point of near zero and would be difficult to break since it has so much metal in it. You can really push these big bits at high speeds without fear of breaking.

Another fluke idea which seems to work.



21777.jpg

[joewino]

Thanks Joe. The sign panel is about 3' x 4' and seems like it took some where is the neighborhood of three hours, but later versions were not as deep and I believe it went down to about two hours.

We are just about to run four more panels of the same size - for the City Hall, so I will keep better track of the time, speeds, etc.

That bit looks like one of your arrows from back in your buffalo hunting days.

As for the previous comment you made about me being from Texas....we have this saying down here - "American by birth, Texan by the grace of God."

[joe]

Poor Michael B. His post was smuggled away from him. It's yours for the taking.

Ray, you guys down there, better call on the favors all the Gods when our football team heads that way. It won't be pretty. No sir. There's going to be lots of beggin and pleedin and we wil try to show mercy. Not

[jamesgilliam]

OK now Joe, Ray has given this Texan alot of good advise on my last two sign jobs, and a whole new material to work with from the Austin camp. Only bad thing, and nothing to do with Ray, is I am going to have to replace one of the signs from the first job, it is now under the stone wall I mounted it on. Oh well, it is job security, thanks to a kid in her moms mercedes.