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A Colorado signmaker has increased the
breadth of its product line and boosted its revenues through the use
of a new router that provides the accuracy associated with high-end
machines at a much lower price. LCI Signs and Ironworks has long
been in the business of producing metal silhouette signs for gates
and entryways as well as decorative furniture.
Owner Dave Wortman began adding wood
accents to increase the appeal of these signs but was limited by the
long amount of time it took to route the accents by hand and the
fact that he was limited to working in 2D.
Wortman was interested in
purchasing a CNC router to expand that aspect of his business but
the machines he was aware of were either too expensive or not
accurate enough.
“Then I heard about Techno’s new LC
router which is fully servo-driven and includes ball screws and
antibacklash ball nuts on all three axes for highly accurate motion
control,” Wortman said. “I haven’t seen any other machines in their
price range with these features
This machine has dramatically expanded
my capabilities by making it possible to produce beautiful 3D images
as well as very accurate 2D designs in very little time. In the
first four months, it has already generated about $4,000 of
additional revenue, so it should easily pay for itself in the first
year.”
LCI specializes in producing
personalized signs to identify homes, businesses and communities.
With special reflective materials, the signs make it easy for
friends, families and neighbors to find the home, not to mention
emergency personnel when every second counts. LCI ornamental signs
are constructed from recycled steel and finished in a very durable
powder coat. The company offers a wide range of standard decorative
images including wildlife, horses, pets, recreational activities and
decorative images.
The lettering background is easy to read
because it is made from the same material that some highway and
street signs use. The company attracts new customers by displaying
at crafts shows, their showroom and through its Internet site at
www.lcisigns.com. Its general store features items ranging from a
switch cover finished with copper patina at $18.00 to a rustic log
framed mirror with metal art for $225.00. LCI also produces custom
pieces such as machined parts, artist’s silhouettes and sign
brackets, and just about anything else that’s made from metal, wood
or plastic.
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The lettering background is easy to read
because it is made from the same material that some highway and
street signs use. The company attracts new customers by displaying
at crafts shows, their showroom and through its Internet site at
www.lcisigns.com. Its general store features items ranging from a
switch cover finished with copper patina at $18.00 to a rustic log
framed mirror with metal art for $225.00. LCI also produces custom
pieces such as machined parts, artist’s silhouettes and sign
brackets, and just about anything else that’s made from metal, wood
or plastic.
Limitations of working in metal alone
“Our metal silhouette signs have proven
extremely popular but working in metal alone has inherent
limitations,” Wortman said. “I wanted to expand our capabilities by
being able to incorporate wood into metal signs. I began using a
hand router and had no difficulty in cutting out letters and very
simple designs. But I was limited by the fact that all I could
produce with power tools were very simple 2D patterns; and a long
time was required to produce even the simplest designs.
I started browsing the Internet looking
for computerized numerical control (CNC) routers that could meet my
requirements. The critical issues for me were that I needed the
ability to produce large signs to a high level of accuracy in order
to produce inlays with a tight fit and complicated 3D images. I
didn’t have any problem finding machines with these features but the
cost was beyond what I could afford, $30,000 and up in nearly every
case. It was beginning to look like it would be impossible to take
advantage of this market opportunity that seemed to have so much
potential.”
Then Wortman heard about Techno’s new
low cost LC series CNC routing system. This machine provides a
number of critical features that allow it to deliver accuracy to a
level that has previously only been available from machines at a
much higher cost. Ball screws are provided on all three axes,
offering smooth motion, a high level of accuracy and repeatability,
and minimal maintenance. A closed-loop servo control system provides
constant position feedback, higher power, and smooth continuous
motion that eliminates the possibility of losing position in the
middle of a part. The LC series machine includes a heavy steel
ground stress-relieved base and an aluminum T-Slot table that can be
easily converted to a vacuum table by installing the Techno vacuum
table accessory kit. The machine comes fully assembled and includes
Techno’s Windows-based CNC G-code Interface with free lifetime
software upgrades.
“The LC series was the only machine I
have seen that has everything I need at a price that I can afford,”
Wortman said. “The machine was brand new at the time I bought it so
I couldn’t see it in action locally
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But I did visit someone nearby using an
earlier Techno machine based on similar technology and I fell in
love with it at first sight. The machine was clearly very versatile
and its owner told me that it required very little maintenance.
“The ability to add wood and plastic to
our signs has added an important new dimension to our business,”
Wortman said. “We have taken photos of people, their pets, their
property, and anything else that is near and dear to them and carved
them into wood with the router. In some cases, we inlay the wood
pieces into metal signs or ornaments. We are also carving pictures
into tabletops, cabinetry, headboards, and other furniture or
crafts. With the CNC router, the only limitation is your
imagination. Clients have asked us to create carvings that show
views from their property, wildlife from their pictures, custom cars
and many other designs. The wood inlays add character, warmth and
personality to traditional silhouette signs. We can offer this type
of product at a very reasonable price because nearly all of them are
created from digital or scanned conventional photos with very little
manual effort. These are jobs that would have been absolutely
impossible to do with power tools. The new machine has also greatly
increased the speed with which we can do the simpler 2D routed
signs, such as plain lettering.”
Wortman said that the economics of the
new machine are difficult to argue with. “My investigation showed
that this new machine provides the accuracy and size needed to
produce high- quality 3D images at the lowest possible price,” he
said. “By increasing our capabilities, it has opened up several new
markets while reducing our costs for producing standard wood
components. Just as important, the added value provided by the wood
inlays has increased the price that we can get for our existing
products such as silhouette signs and furniture. Spending money on
an expensive piece of machinery is always a difficult decision for a
small, family-owned business. But when you can quickly get your
investment back through increased revenues, it makes the decision
much easier. All in all, the low cost and high quality of the new
Techno LC series machine offers an unbeatable proposition for any
small sign maker that does not currently have the capability to
accurately reproduce 3D images.” |
