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The Grain Choose Pacer CNC for Traditional 3D Wooden Signs

The Grain is an established and quite unique signmaking company which specialises in the design and manufacture of bespoke sandblasted wooden signs. Sandblasted Cedarwood signs have been produced in the USA for the last 100 years and The Grain is one of the first companies in Europe to develop the expertise and invest in the equipment required to produce them.

 As part of this investment, they have recently taken delivery of a new Pacer 2512HDS CNC routing and engraving machine which will help to improve productivity, reduce leadtimes and also allow a wider variety of work to be undertaken in-house.
 

 Peter Ratcliffe, Managing Director of The Grain said “We use Western Cedar for our signs – it is one of the most durable and long lasting timbers for exterior use and requires a strong, solid routing machine to get a good finish. We were really impressed with the rigidity of the Pacer HDS series machines and how well they handle our type of work”.

Many of the signs produced by The Grain are three dimensional and use prismatic, carved effect lettering to create a distinctive look that reflects the style, location and image of the customers business. The Pacer HDS controller is optimised for fast 3D operation and its fully automatic toolchange system allows the operator to get on with other jobs whilst the machine pockets, bevels and cuts out signs in one continuous program.
 

All of Pacer’s machines are controlled from a PC which is interfaced directly to the dedicated machine controller. This PC is situated adjacent to the machine and, through its graphical interface, allows rapid part programming to be undertaken as well as machine control. This was an essential requirement for The Grain. Peter confirms that “one of the big advantages of this approach is that if a program needs to be modified, for example to cut a little deeper or to alter the tool offset, this can all be done in seconds at the machine without having to go back to a programming system in the office to recreate the job. The control software was very easy to learn and the machine PC can be networked to our other systems for file transfer – this is especially useful for large 3D programs”.

 The Grain are already seeing some benefits from their investment in terms of reduced costs of outsourcing work and greater control over timescales and quality. Peter said “we are pleased with the help and support that Pacer have given us whilst we have been learning to use some of the more advanced aspects of the machine. With the help of Pacer’s knowledgeable support staff we have the confidence to try new and different techniques so that we can look forward to offering creative and innovative solutions to our customers.”