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I haven't been here in a long time, but just to get caught up, After I dumped Rams3D I bought Artcam Insignia/E a crippled program that only cost $800. It worked perfectly for a couple of jobs then I found Vectric. Vcarve Pro, and photoVcarve are great programs, just what I was looking for...

Liquid inlay sounds like an interesting material. I'll bet it makes an expensive countertop. ernie

Alignritetool looks interesting. I wonder if there is any market for inlay corian? What is liquid inlay? ernie

I bought Rams3D CAM software and have used it for a number of jobs. Every single job has had problems because the software expects the incoming file to be perfect. The program just can not deal with typical signmaking files. The vendor always claims their software is perfect and no...

We use both Omega and Signlab7. Since getting signlab we have greatly increased our use of the Edge. Most of the time I try to do everything in Signlab but sometimes we find Omega is easier. As for documentation Omega has a great manual that gets used a lot. Signlab's manual is skimpy but...

Chris, I use peg board as a layer under parts I cut all the way thru. The advantages of this approach are many: 1) it's cheap. 2) the holes transfer vacuum straight up to the part and minimize leakage to the sides. 3) the rough side really grabs the signfoam. 4) it can be cut to the...

Dennis, Great Idea........... I'll build one for my router. A table surface touchpad could be done with a switch, battery and LED mounted on the edge of the vacuum table. Just drive to the switch position then drop the tool until the LED goes on. At this point I would raise the router 1...

I constructed the vacuum table like an air hocky table, except I used 2 4x8 sheets of 3/4" MDF. I used the router to drill a hole every 6" in the table. These holes were plugged with automatic "ball valves" so there are no air leaks to reduce the vacuum. A grid pattern of adhesive weather...

Well, the digital printing equipment will drop in price faster than the cnc hardware. There is a lot of people getting into printing, but it is easier and cleaner and quicker out the door. Routing signs makes lots of dust, takes more time than you ever dreamed possible, requires...

Chris, Check your email for a full reply. As to the Rams3D software, it works great to generate V-cut tool paths, outlines, real 3D toolpaths and the required G-code. ernie

For a good router, you should look at practicalcnc.com The flashcut.com hardware and software they use is fantastic. The router is a little light duty but it is easily fixed by an engineer such as yourself. I added a vacuum table and the router paid for itself within the first 6 months...

Thanks for all the nice comments, I really need to keep the shop cleaner, but I hate to throw stuff out. The crate is still useful, we stood it up on end and put shelves in it. Now it stores my tool box and power tools. ernie

Fred, Thanks, I didn't notice the problem. The site is hosted by Cadlink. It's a 1yr free bonus for buying signlab7. Although it is very easy to setup and upload pictures, the system stability and site uptime has been less than outstanding. I'll let them know about this issue. ernie

I just got a new digital camera so here are some photos of our shop. www.balchsigns.signtopia.com ernie

HDU is very easy to paint, just make sure to blow all the dust off the surface with an airgun. You don't have to use a primer for adhesion but we normally do just to get a smooth surface. You will find that HDU is compatible with any of the paints you normally use. We use oneshot with...

I keep thinking that I can build a better router. What are the features that you would like to see in a new design. My wish list: I keep thinking that a near vertical table (like a panel saw) would be best to reduce floor space requirements. A vacuum table with self sealing holes so a...

that shield design is way beyond anything I've done. It looks great. ernie

I haven't yet installed version 7 on the computer that runs the edge. I have been using my version 6.1e for everything in an attermpt to learn the software. I went through the 2 training CD's but they didn't cover very much in the way of edge output. I plan to keep Omega2, I like the...

I got 3 bits to try, all 1/4" 48-106 carbide tipped 2 edge straight cut. 56-285 solid carbide 2 edge straight cut. 52-285 solid carbide 2 edge spiral upcut. I only went for the $20 bits, I'd feel really stupid if I bought a $50 bit and then broke it after a couple of cuts. ernie

The new onsrud bits are here. They seem a lot sharper than the Enco metal cutting endmils. I bet they will cut MDO like butter. ernie