Experts in sign making: CNC mills and CNC tools by vhf

With vhf’s large-size CNC portal milling machines, you’re perfectly equipped for all sign making applications:

illuminated advertising
neon signs
illuminated letters
billboards
advertising pylons
facade inscriptions
packaging
etc.

No matter if it’s outdoor advertising, shop fitting or booth construction – CNC machines and tools by vhf allow for a rapid, customized and straightforward production process. It doesn’t matter if you already have some experience with milling work: vhf milling machines stand out by easy and intuitive handling as well as a high degree of efficiency and accuracy.

CNC milling in sign making – discover the possibilities!

Ease of use is the standard

Sign making comprises a range of different tasks, with easy file translation and intuitive handling of the CNC mill being of critical importance. This means your CNC machine will allow you to get productive within a short amount of time and obtain results even without technical expertise.

Lose no time getting to work with a wide spectrum of sign making materials:

Plexiglas (acrylic glass)
Dibond
Kapa
Aluminum
Plastics such as forex, PVC or polystyrene
Wood and MDF
Cardboard and cartons
Soft and hard rubber
Truck tarpaulins

vhf milling machines for sign making applications can be configured or retrofitted to suit your individual needs. In addition, vhf manufactures the right tools for all materials which are relevant to the market. But we’ll be there for you also after your purchase: the vhf support service helps you with all technical issues.

The right vhf machine for your requirements

Milling and cutting in the field of advertising technology has never been easier than with a vhf milling machine! Select the perfect addition for your production from our machine portfolio.

X

Perfect for the machining of boards of up to 2 x 3 meters. The vhf X is a high-end milling and cutting machine which stands out by virtue of powerful drives and comfortable features: innovation and high tech in its purest form. Thanks to the well-engineered technology and a host of useful features, the vhf X offers exceptional comfort for a smooth production process.

Details of the X

Active Pro

The all-rounder for sign making applications: customizable and available in many different sizes. The ideal milling and cutting machine for large or very large workpieces – a genuine all-rounder with an impressive price-performance ratio and lots of flexibility.

Details of the Active Pro

We will be happy to advise you!

Phone
+49 7032 97097 700
Email
sales@vhf.de

FAQ sign making

What should be kept in mind with regard to the milling strategy?

Cooling and extraction – yes or no?

Sign making relies on an ample range of materials. Therefore, you have to differentiate between the materials you want to process.

Plastics (e.g., acrylic, forex or polystyrene)
For plastics, it is sufficient to exploit the cooling effect of an efficient extraction. The rapid chip removal and the air flow provide the desired cooling effect for the workpiece and ensure an outstanding extraction performance.
For plastics with a tendency to smear, it may be advisable to work with a coolant.
Wood and MDF
For wood and MDF processing, we always recommend not using a coolant, since the material may macerate or the surface may become tainted. Wood chips are efficiently removed by the vhf dust extraction system.
Aluminum alloys
We recommend cooling during processing of most aluminum alloys. This will ensure a longer service life of your tools and improves the edge quality of the workpieces. Combine the cooling with the vhf extraction system, as it amalgamates the benefits of cooling with those of efficient extraction. This means greatly reduced cleaning requirements and better milling results.

Should you include a finishing step?

To obtain optimal edge quality, it is advisable to include a finishing step for products with exposed edge(s). In most cases, excellent results will be achieved with a removal rate of approx. 0.1 – 0.2 mm.

Acrylic glass processing
When working with acrylic glass, it is advisable to include an additional process step along the milled edge with a polishing cutter (MCD or PCD). This will provide a polished, high-gloss milling edge.

What milling parameters make the most sense?

The choice of feed rate, speed and material removal depends on different factors:

CNC milling machine
milling spindle
material to be processed
material thickness
tool diameter
cooling/lubrication and/or extraction

We offer tool consultation services through our competent tool sales department – quick and individual.

Chamfering and/or deburring: yes or no?

When using a suitable and sharp tool, the right milling strategy and especially after a grinding step, the workpieces typically have such a good edge quality that chamfering/deburring is not necessary. If sharp edges are generated nevertheless of if you want to enhance the appearance of the workpiece, an additional deburring step is advised. The best approach is to decide individually on a case-by-case basis.

How to best fix workpieces/boards?

The most efficient way is to clamp down your workpieces with the vhf vacuum table. This fixes your boards tension-free to the milling machine with the help of vhf’s vacuum technology. This lets you mill perforations and outline contours without any problems, with very little set-up work to be done.

Which tools are best suited for sign making applications?

Benefit from our individual tool consulting service, including parameter guidance.

Phone
+49 7032 97097 430
Email
tools@vhf.de

Or get a first overview here:

Single or multi-tooth milling cutter?

A single-tooth milling cutter is a reasonable choice for most materials used in sign making applications. Thanks to the large flute, chips can be removed significantly more easily and quickly than would be possible with the much narrower flutes of a multi-tooth cutter.

For some materials (e.g., acrylic glass or aluminum), the vhf shop offers special single-tooth cutters with a chamfer and geometry specifically designed for the processing of these materials.

Coated tools – yes or no?

The advantage of coated tools lies in the substantially longer service life. Coated tools are the reasonable choice especially for serial production and/or long operating times.

When the emphasis is on piece production and diversity of materials, uncoated tools with high flexibility and broad application spectrum will beat off coated tools in terms of the cost-benefit ratio.

Which tools are suitable for chamfering/deburring?

Different tools are at your disposal for chamfering your workpieces, depending on the desired angle on the workpiece. A 45° chamfer is desired in many cases. This can be achieved with a 90° tool. Our deburrers or engraving cutters (15° to 90° top angle) are the ideal choice here.

Special applications: Counterbores and engravings

Threads
We recommend our whirling cutter, available for the thread sizes M1 – M10. Alternatively, you can also use the circular thread cutter, which can cut threads up to M16, as well as metric cable glands.
Counterbores
Counterbores can be produced with vhf machines even with a single-tooth milling cutter, if the right milling strategy is followed. Alternatively, you can also use engraving cutters 90°, deburrers or countersinks.
Engravings
With engraving widths from 0.1 to 1.0 mm and top angles from 15° to 90°, vhf engraving cutters offer a wealth of different tools. Depending on whether you want a fine, subtle engraving or a deep, high-visibility engraving.

Find the right tool for sign making applications

vhf’s milling cutters deliver perfect milling results – because the tool is the key interface between the workpiece and the machine. We have a wide range of CNC tools designed and made by vhf. We offer the right tool solution for any application! Our seasoned application technicians will consult you expertly, because the right tool choice is critical.

Material	Application	vhf tool
Acrylic (plexiglass)	Milling	Single tooth cutters with polished flute
	Engraving	Engraver’s milling cutters for acrylic
	Polishing	PCD polishing cutters MCD polishing cutters
PVC rigid foam (Forex)	Milling	Single tooth cutters with polished flute
	Engraving	Engraver’s milling cutters for acrylic
PE / PU foams	Milling	Triple tooth cutters for foam
Aluminum composite	Milling	Single tooth cutters Varius
Aluminum	Milling	Single tooth cutters with hawk beak
	Engraving	Gravers
	Thread production	Thread whirling cutters
Wood (including solid wood, MDF, wood fiber materials)	Milling	Single tooth cutters Varius Double tooth cutters for wood
	Engraving	Gravers

Milling of letters and inscriptions

With your CNC mill by vhf, you are perfectly equipped for the milling of (advertising) inscriptions.

milling of inscriptions in wood
words in acrylic glass
letterings in PVC
milling of letters

The state-of-the-art CAM software Cenon lets you reliably import the logos and fonts that you want to mill. In the next step, the proper milling cutter is selected. For small-sized inscriptions, the cutter should be delicate enough to minimize corner radii while being large enough to machine the chosen material thickness with the needed efficiency.

When milling letters, be sure to use vacuum clamping equipment that is up to the job. Moreover, the retention force can be stepped up via the bar function of the CAM software. Here, additional micro connections are produced between the letters to be milled.

The stiffness of the vhf milling machines and the high-quality vhf tools mean the letters and letterings are milled to perfection – your customers will be thrilled.

Milling of signs

You want to mill professional signs from different materials? Then vhf’s high-performance, efficient milling cutters are the exact right choice. Whether it’s wooden signs, brass signs or stainless steel signs – a vhf milling machine with tool magazines presorted according to material, swift data handling and easy, intuitive control makes it possible.

Become the ultimate all-rounder in sign production with vhf technology.

chamfering
producing polished acrylic glass edges
milling of sign contours
drills
threads

Engraving of signs

You’d like to provide your workpieces with a serial number or easily readable lettering or customize the finished product with a logo? Thanks to the high precision offered by all vhf machines, you can create first-rate engravings and also produce engraved signs. Format doesn’t matter – even small name plates are possible.

vhf provides a broad range of gravers and engraver’s milling cutters with different top angles and engraving widths for a variety of materials used for manufacturing signs.

Eliminate material tolerances

Some materials, e.g., cast acrylic glass, have very high material tolerances and/or flatness imperfections. This can lead to problems when using conventional milling machines, as the engraving cutter will sometimes plunge more and sometimes less deeply into the workpiece, causing the engraving to appear messy.

The vhf workpiece alignment serves to effectively eliminate material thickness tolerances. A measuring key detects height differences in the material, and the control unit ensures that the immersion depth is consistent across the workpiece. This means a uniform, regular, and easily readable engraving result.

Inlays

Create attractive effects with inlaid work/inlays. When designing corporate logos for example, you can create an inlay of the same materials with different colors or choose an interplay of different materials.

Inlay function of the CAM software

When milling an inlay with a conventional machine and software, without corresponding adjustments to the file, the positive part is milled with corners while the negative part is automatically made with curves by the milling tool, meaning the two parts of the inlay don’t match.

The inlay function of the vhf CAM software does away with this problem at a click of the mouse. The software automatically generates the matching curvatures on the positive part so that the result is a perfect fit.

Manufacture of packaging

Manufacture smaller batches of packaging easily and efficiently. There is no need for an additional cutting machine or scoring equipment. Just mount a cutting device and scoring wheel to your vhf milling machine and obtain perfect results.

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