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Douglas Design Invest in Pacer Cadet CNC Router / Engraver

Douglas Design, a family owned company based in Ripley, Derbyshire have recently taken delivery of a new Pacer 600 Cadet machine.

 Established in 1980, Douglas Design have been very successful in the design, manufacture and supply of all types of engraved signs, badges, vinyl lettering, fascia panels and special purpose signs and plaques. They pride themselves on the use of advanced technology to provide a superior service of high quality products and very fast turnaround times. Owner Alan Douglas said “our systems allow us to react very quickly so if a customer sends us an order in the morning, sometimes we can complete it the same day”. This policy has clearly served them well as they have built up a strong niche market for high quality and mostly custom made signs. Their diverse customer base includes all types of companies from local taxi drivers right up to well known international organisations such as Pirelli, Stagecoach and Aldi.

Having used several small computerised engraving machines over the years, their existing system was nearing the end of its life and it was time to upgrade. The decision was taken to look for a replacement machine but one which could also cut signs out as well as engrave them and it had to be robust enough to work with all signmaking materials from engraving laminates to aluminium, brass and even stainless steel. Alan was also keen to find a local supplier for quick and easy access to support and spare parts should they be needed in the future.

"The Cadet seemed ideal for us in that it is truly a dual purpose routing and engraving machine....”

Alan said “we did our homework and got information on a number of potentially suitable machines. When we visited Pacer Systems we had an excellent demonstration and knew immediately that they had the right machine and were the right supplier. The Cadet seemed ideal for us in that it is truly a dual purpose routing and engraving machine. Its ballscrew drives give us the precision that we need for engraving, it has a built in vacuum bed, high power spindle and is easily robust enough for all our routing needs”.

 In the 3 months or so that the Cadet has been installed it’s already opened up new opportunities for taking on larger and more complex projects. According to Alan “it’s done everything that we expected of it and more. We now have the flexibility to do much more advanced types of work and the confidence that we can do them to tight timescales and to a very high level of quality.”