[[email protected]]

Any enroute wood users here?
I an looking for a forum for enroute but have been unsuccessful.

[trooper55]

i use enroute 3 pro. And i know no one on here seems to use enroute too much

[[email protected]]

I have enroute wood and use it along with kcdw for cabinet part nesting and automatic toolpathing for our custom cabinet business. I am wanting to get into doing some 3d routing for signs, mouldings and adding elements to our cabinetry, etc.
How do you like the pro version, is it pretty easy to learn on your own or did you opt for training. They have a $350 training dvd that I have been considering but don't know how much it will teach me having not upgraded to the pro version.
It is going to cost $2500 to upgrade to the pro, do you think it was worth the investment or would you have gone a diffrent rout?
Thanks,
David

[trooper55]

i personaly dont like it, but thats me i got shifted into the head postion of the router deptment here at la crosse sign co. and im looking at diffrent programs as we speak, there are tons of programs out there all i can say is try them. and the training dvd is not so good in my eyes we got the brand new one and it didnt help at all with the 3d tool pathing or creating 3d profiles. thats just me, i would be more then happy to give you any more info you like.

Rory

[[email protected]]

Is your primary use of enroute for 3d single surface machining?

I found vectric cut3d and have tried one of there samples and it cut pretty well on the machine. I am no super computer wiz and am a bit confused when it comes to the 3d modling software i have seen to make my own models to cut with their program.

I have artcam insignia with cabinetmaker but it did not work for the cabinets so I went with enroute which works awesome for that application.
And it would be an even bigger expense to get artcam pro.

I do want to add a 4th axis to my shopsabre in the future but that is probably way out.

[Grant Nicholson]

I have just received my machine, a Techno LC4896, and have been practicing with Enroute for a couple of weeks.
I prepare my vector files in Adobe Illustrator (I've been a designer for 15 years) and import them into Enroute to generate 3d files etc. This works ok with a few glitches.
Perhaps a few of us could generate a new forum here?
Grant

[trooper55]

what are the steps you are using to generate your 3d files threw enroute with? and how are you liking the new pro?

[Grant Nicholson]

So far, I am taking vectors I create in Illustrator, using the 2 rails function, chamfer function and the normal relief options to add my height to the vectors. Then I'm generating a roughing pass in sign foam with a .25" endmill, followed by a .125" ball nose for the final pass.

As I'm just learning, it will be interesting to see whether I have to go with a 90% overlap on the ball nose to get a decent finish - the amount of time consumed by the overlap is outrageous!
Grant

[trooper55]

yes i know, i have been talking to a person who does crown molding with an multicam 3000 (same router im running) and enroute 3 what is im running and he runs 90-95% over lap, it takes forever no way around it. and it would be neat to see what you are making,

My email is [email protected] if you would like to talk more i have been using enroute for qute some time now.

Rory

[tgm]

Grant,

Getting a good fiinsh using a ball mill is the same in every program. Overlap is overlap, that's it ! Wood, metal, sign foam etc makes no difference.
We have been running Enroute Pro for the past 5 years and are still learning tricks everyday. Some jobs that we are finishing with a 1/8" ballnose come out just as good with a 1/4" by adjusting the overlap and in less time. It all depends on the detail involved, final finishing process etc. The 3D rendering of the final toolpathed object in Enroute is very good. You basically get what you see on the screen.
We use Enroute to process all of our panel goods, custom wood parts, 3D art and signs etc. Overall it's a very powerfull program.
If you would like a link to some of the upcoming training video content, produced by Enroute training guru Tom Penner, email me directly.
And no I don't work for Enroute.........just a satisfied user.

Good Luck,

Tom in PA
thomas(at)edinborohardwoods.com
www.edinborohardwoods.com

[trooper55]

yes you are quite right time, i guess im just use to leaveing overlap set at 90-95 when using the 1/8 due to the detail i require. but thats just me. And you are quite right on what your saying.

[Grant Nicholson]

I just ran my first 3d job - it's 22" long and 16" tall, and I finished it with a 1/8" ball nose. Took 8 hours, but looks great! I'll post some images soon.

I'm enjoying enroute - it's a very user friendly interface. I've just started with the Jenner videos, which are really good too.
Grant

[trooper55]

where are you finding these videos? And thats awesome to hear that it turned out that good. Cant wait to see photos of what you have made.

Rory

[Grant Nicholson]

If you do a search on peter Jenner enroute you should be able to find the videos. I'm going to post some shots of my jobs soon.
Grant

[Chris Schempp]

We've got a MultiCam 3000 on the way(should be about 8 weeks until here...just in time for Christmas cabinet building) and will be getting Enroute 4.

The MultiCam rep is working up a demo of the software for us based on some of our often used part files, but I was wondering if there was anywhere to get more information on the software in the mean time(other than the short little videos on the Enroute site).

For the most part I've only used AutoCAD/ArtCAM for drawing/sheet layouts as well as some DXF nesting software that I think is called Sheet Layout. Obviously, moving to using less pieces of software = a very good thing

This is the only thread I've ever found that was discussing Enroute specifically, I've seen it mentioned randomly in other threads but it would seem it isn't the most popular software to use...especially given that there are sub forums for dozens of other CAM softwares but not Enroute on this forum.

Any insight would be much appreciated

[automizer]

I ran an old version of Enroute at my last job and I miss it a lot, only did 2D work with it but I loved it. It was the first decent cnc program I learned now that I have my own machine im looking at getting a copy. I like to hear people are useing, I would like to see a new section put up, so who will talk to the MODs? If they need votes count me in as one

[trooper55]

im not sure how the luck would be on getting a section for enroute, seems to be no intrest for it. Im useing it right now mostly 2d work right now. Due to the job but im pushing into the 3d on my own time to see what this things got!.

[automizer]

I only ever used it for 2D but I would like to see what you come up with in the 3D

[trooper55]

im not the greatest at 3d right now but there are a few members on here ene that have posted that have more knolage on this then me. Im just dinking around.

[seesixty]

I just receieved Enroute 4 Pro a month ago but managed to do some simple 3D tests. Basically a simple 4 sided pyramid style top cap for a fence post out of cedar. I found the best angle was to have all the hatching at a 45 degree angle to the woodgrain, it barely needed sanding with around 50-60 percent overlap using a straight bit.

I have a techno table with a 4th axis rotary attachment to do lathe type of applications as well. The next challange will be getting that working beyond simple profiling.

My major complaint with Enroute is how it doesn't function like every other cad program. There always seems to be some extra mouse clicks to do the same task. There was also an issue with not being able to use the zoom functions once you had activated drawing functions like copy/mirror/etc... but yet the mouse wheel and hotkeys still successfully zoomed. In my opinion it's much more like a corel draw type program than autocad.

I'd really love to hear other peoples experiences or tricks with enroute as it does seem poorly documented. Is there other sites with more information about enroute? free tutorials?