By signcraft
Posted on Friday, June 27th, 2025
Affordable CNC routers have given sign shops one of the most affordable production tools to help them compete in today’s graphics market. CNC routers eat up everything from everyday production tasks like drilling and cutting right up through some amazing 3D carving.
When you talk with shop owners who have these machines, they usually say they’re impressed by how much work they can turn out on one and the variety of work they use it for. Most say, too, they are using just a portion of the potential of the router and software.
3D signage has always had the added visual appeal that many clients want, and CNC routers give a lot of production possibilities. It gives you something to offer the client beyond flat graphics—a powerful upgrade even with the same design. And if your volume doesn’t justify buying a router, you can easily outsource that part of the process until you’re ready to add the equipment.
Here’s a sampling of creative projects that show the potential of 3D signage:
Lettering is router-carved in each of the 1½-in. SignFoam HDU board faces, which are laminated to a ½-in. overlaid plywood core. Sides of panel are edged in 1½-in. mahogany routed to accept the plywood core. Round panel of 1-in. HDU at the top of the 30-by-42-in. sign was hand-carved. David and Josh Hassan, Hassan Sign Co., Cohasset, Massachusetts, using a MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
Letters were cut from ½-in. PVC board on a backer of ½-in. MDF, and the barrel head was milled from HDU board. The chalkboard is hardboard, and the 48-by-30-in. background panel has a faux rust finish. Peter Moir, Sign Depot, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, using an AXYZ CNC router and ArtCAM software
Copy panels are HDU board with prismatic carved copy and black smalt background, mounted on ¾-in. overlaid plywood covered with blue vinyl film. Copy is finished with palladium leaf. Jim Lago, Healdsburg Signs, Healdsburg, California, using a 4-by-10 MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute Software
Router-cut HDU graphics on 3/4-in. plywood panel. Pockets were milled in the plywood to accept the graphics for easy assembly. Sign is 30-in.-by-12- ft. overall. David and Josh Hassan, Hassan Sign Co., Cohasset, Massachusetts, using a 4-by-10-ft. MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
The background was routed down from 1½-in. HDU board, leaving the convex cut logo, which was finished with gold leaf. Background was finished with matte exterior acrylic. Jim Lago, Healdsburg Signs, Healdsburg, California, using a 4-by-10 MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
Border and ornaments were routed in each of the 1½-in. HDU board faces, which are laminated to a ½-in. overlaid plywood core. Convex gilded letters were router-carved from 1-in. HDU. Convex address panel was created in EnRoute. David and Josh Hassan, Hassan Sign Co., Cohasset, Massachusetts, using a MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
Lettering is router-carved in each of the 1½-in. HDU board faces, which are laminated to a ½-in. overlaid plywood core. Steel bracket for hanging extends down into the sign and is fastened to the plywood core of this 3-by-6-ft. sign. Diamond graphic was designed in EnRoute. David and Josh Hassan, Hassan Sign Co., Cohasset, Massachusetts, using a MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
The aluminum composite material faces were CNC cut and drilled with a letter mounting pattern then painted. The letter fronts and the mountain graphic were router cut from 15-lb. SignFoam HDU. The backer for the prismatic carved letters is ½-in. PVC, which were drilled for mounting studs before cutting them out on the router, eliminating the need for assembly patterns. Everything was shadow mounted on aluminum mounting studs by Peter Poanessa, Keene Signworx, Swanzey, New Hampshire, using a Precix 9100 CNC router and EnRoute software
“This was the first really big sign we built using 1-in. aluminum tubing for the frame,” says Peter. “It’s double-faced and measures 24-by-7-ft. The larger 14-by-7-ft. section was light enough for two of us to carry.
“The asymmetric design came about because it is assembled over an old steel structure—the existing steel I-beams are hidden inside the posts. We bonded OmegaBond aluminum composite faces to the frame with Lord 406-19 adhesive.”
6-by-6-ft. router-cut aluminum panel with ½-in.PVC letters and waves; the round logo is routed HDU, finished with 23½K gold leaf. Posts are 8-by-8-in. aluminum tube. Curt Oxford, Curt Oxford Graphic Arts & Design, Sebastian, Florida, using a ShopBot PRT 120-60 CNC router and ArtCAM software
Letters, outline and shadow were router-carved in 1½-in. HDU. Secondary panel is convex-carved 1½-in. HDU with incised letters. They’re mounted on a 48-by-90-in. panel with 1-in. HDU faces, and copy is gilded. David and Josh Hassan, Hassan Sign Co., Cohasset, Massachusetts, using a MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
Letters, edge molding and the rough carving of the scrolls were done on the router in 2-in. HDU board and mounted on ¾-in. overlaid plywood. Scrolls were finish carved by hand as was the fireman at the top. The 10-by-12-ft. sign is a reproduction of a sign that was made in 1865 then remade in 1941. David and Josh Hassan, Hassan Sign Co., Cohasset, Massachusetts, using a MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
Curt Oxford, Curt Oxford Graphic Arts & Design, Sebastian, Florida
4-by-8-ft. CNC-routed HDU panel with incised HDU letters and ribbon, finished with acrylic aliphatic urethane paint. Curt Oxford, Curt Oxford Graphic Arts & Design, Sebastian, Florida, using a ShopBot PRT 120-60 CNC router and ArtCAM software
Lettering is router-carved in each of the 1½-in. SignFoam HDU board faces, which are laminated to a ½-in. overlaid plywood core of this 4-by-5-ft. sign. Convex panel with address and lighthouse graphic were created in EnRoute. Graphics are finished in gold leaf. David and Josh Hassan, Hassan Sign Co., Cohasset, Massachusetts, using a MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
Router cut 1½-in. HDU board finished with exterior acrylic. Pinstripes are carved into the letters to add dimension. Jim Lago, Healdsburg Signs, Healdsburg, California, using a 4-by-10 MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
Router-carved graphics and border in 1½-in. HDU board, finished with exterior acrylic and 1-Shot enamel, with gold and palladium leaf copy. Jim Lago, Healdsburg Signs, Healdsburg, California, using a 4-by-10 MultiCam CNC router and EnRoute software
This article appeared in the January/February 2014 issue of SignCraft.
