Jonathan’s name plaque makes use of the 'rope trick'. This is a simple extrude function in EnRoute with unlimited possibilities... one being a rope border. The vectors are simple, just a series of ovals around Jonathan’s name. The rope will follow the centre oval.

Once we import the Illustrator vector file into EnRoute we will add an outline around the lettering. We will also add another oval, slightly offset from the innermost oval — we will use this new oval to form a dome in the centre. The small shape at the bottom of the above picture is the cross section of our rope. A weave bitmap from my Texture Magic: Classic Collection will be used to create the background texture. If you look close at the picture below you can see the vectors underneath the bitmap. We have sized and positioned the bitmap texture so the weave is even on all sides.

The rope was extruded at a mesh, then positioned on the file before being merged to the relief. The mesh is red in the screen capture below.

We will create the border around the lettering as a separate relief, then modify that relief using an oval to make it domed like the plaque itself. We can then position it checking its placement from different angles to make sure it rises above the other parts. Once we are satisfied we will merge it all together. Tool pathing is done with a 3/8” ball nose bit to rough it out, followed by a final pass with a 1/8" ball nose bit and an 80% overlap.

Finally, we can send it to the CNC router to be cut.