▼ The router head is attached to a gantry system over a large flatbed When we are looking for point of sale, advertising, and three-dimensional signage, materials of robust construction and durability is needed. Therefore, it is necessary to use materials such as metal, wood, and plastics. There was a time when the production of these materials would have required the services of very skilled carpenters or other complex and expensive production processes such as casting or machining. However, given the advances in equipment and the ever-increasing use of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) in production processes such as woodworking, the need for artisans to complete intricate work in wood for example is a thing of the past. You can use a computer file such as a PDF of the shape required and software can produce the relevant program to produce the shape. For the uninitiated, routing comes from the word rout which can be best explained as the high-speed process of cutting, trimming, and shaping of wood, metal, plastic, and a variety of other materials. The routing (or cutting) head has a rotating blade that extends down from the base of the electrically driven cutter head. By lowering the cutter into the substrate you can profile the shape you need by moving the blade in predetermined directions. The blades themselves can have profiles and shapes on them which, depending on the profile, give a corresponding but mirrored shape of the blade in the material. A large number of traditional routers are handheld and replace the use of the chisels and gouges a carpenter would use. For the purpose of using the router in a production environment in the graphics industry, the router head is attached to a gantry system over a large flatbed and the router head itself is moved by a CNC controller and software system. The two main reasons for the addition of a CNC system is to allow for accurate reproduction of shapes or profiles from a digital design and the speed as to which the product can be produced. Now the graphic industry covers such a large range of substrates and products, a CNC router is a useful addition to a number of markets. Infinite Choices The AXYZ Infinite is a router from AAG that completes all of the tasks described in general terms above. It is also extremely well named as whilst it is described as a router, the choices you have with this AAG provides a number of routers for a number of applications under the AXYZ brand and with a look at the Infinite range it is easy to see why it was christened with such a name. Brian Sims finds out more Infinite by design Now the graphic industry covers such a large range of substrates and products, a CNC router is a useful addition to a number of markets Router width: 1524mm 1842mm 2159mm 2635mm 3270mm Optional length: 609mm increments Gantry height: 150mm Optional height: 200mm, 250mm, 300mm, 355mm, 406mm, 455mm Speed: 25m/min to 50m/min Statistics 4000 5000 6000 8000 10000 UNDER THE HOOD / AXYZ INFINITE 28 Issue 249 - October / November 2023 www.signlink.co.uk
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjM0NDIxOA==