1

Enroute Tutorial
This tutorial is designed to teach you how to draw a part in Enroute and apply a
toolpath and then send the part to the CNC machine.
To start with double click on the Enroute Icon on your desktop. Make sure that
you dont already have Enroute running on your computer. This would be
evident on the task bar at the very bottom of your screen.
Once in Enroute you need to click on NEW and select a template. The
template is the size of the material you will be using. Eg. 2400x1200x16mm.

Once the material size has been selected you can begin to draw the geometry.

1/ Drawing the outside perimeter.

Start by drawing one rectangle. Select the Draw Rectangle icon. Now position
the mouse where you want the bottom left hand corner of the rectangle to start
and holding the left mouse button down drag the rectangle out in an
upward and outward movement. Once you have a rectangle on the
screen release the left mouse button and click the right hand mouse
button to release the rectangle. Your screen should look like this.

Now drag a dotted line box over the rectangle in order to select it. This is done in
the same way you dragged out the rectangle. Only the geometry, which is totally
encompassed by the pick box, will be selected. This can be used to your
advantage later as you become more proficient with Enroute. Now click on the
Precision Input Dialog Box and select scale.

An important thing to note here is that

when re-sizing circles ALLWAYS
have the proportional box ticked and
for rectangles have it un-ticked.

Be sure to click on the Proportional box or the aspect ratio will stay on and you
will not be able to modify the rectangle. Change the sizes to Width (X) 550.0
and Height (Y) 870.0 and click on OK. Now select Move and making sure that
the grip is set to bottom left hand corner set X to 0 and Y to 0.

This will move the rectangle to the bottom left hand corner of the plate and you
know exactly where the edge of the rectangle is. This will enable you to insert
other pieces of geometry, like circles, accurately in order to form your finished
part.

2/ Adding the kick cutout.

Now repeat the process of drawing a rectangle but dont worry about the
position or size of the rectangle at this stage. Just drag and drop a rectangle
anywhere on the sheet. Now select the rectangle as you did before and again go
to the Precision Input Dialog Box and select size. (Remember the Proportional
button.) Change the size to Width (X) 50 and the Height (Y) to 150 and click on
OK. Now select move as you did in the previous chapter and move the left hand
bottom corner to X0 and Y0.
We now need to WELD these parts together. There are several different types of
welds. In this instance we are dealing with Weld Subtract. So in other words
we are going to subtract the kick from the main part. First click on the main

rectangle (this will be the Parent part) and holding down the SHIFT Key click on
the smaller rectangle (this is the Child part) now click and hold down the left
hand mouse key on the WELD icon and select weld subtract

Your design will now look like this. You have subtracted the Child from the
Parent.

3/ Adding Holes.
We now need to add holes for the hinges and for the adjustable shelf. So first off
draw a circle using the circle icon. This is situated right below the Rectangle
icon. The circle is drawn in exactly the same way as the rectangle in as much as
you simply drag the circle out to the right and up. Dont try and draw to the
desired size, we are going to re-size the circle. Let go of the circle by right
clicking.

(Dont make the mistake of trying to

set X5 andY5 without proportional
being checked, as this will give you
two 5mm arcs and not a circle. This
is EXTREMLY important.)

Now click on the circle and again go to the Precision Input Dialog Box and check
proportional and select Scale. Enter 5.0 for X and hit the TAB button on your
keyboard. The value for Y will automatically change to 5.0 because you have
proportional checked. Click on OK and select Move. Click on the center grip on
the right hand grips icon and set the values to X37.0 and Y234.0 as per your
drawing sheet. Click OK. This will move the center of the circle to the position
X37.0 and Y234.0 where we want to drill our first hinge hole.

Now select the circle you have just re-sized and click on MULTI COPY.

You now have the multi copy dialog box up on your screen.

Select 2 for the vertical and 1 for horizontal. Make sure you have selected center
to center as shown and click OK. You will now have two holes spaced exactly 32
mm apart for your hinge holes. Drag a select box over both holes and again go
to multi copy. This time make the vertical distance 520mm as per your drawing.
Click OK and you now have 4 hinge holes.

4/ Adding Slots.
The next things we need to add are holes for the adjustable shelf. Once again
draw a circle and select scale from the precision input dialog box. Change the
size of the circle to 5mm in X and 5mm in Y. Again remember to tick the
proportional box. Click OK. Now select move and enter the values for the first
hole which is marked A on your drawing. X50.0 and Y460.0mm. The reason for
choosing this hole is this hole is at the bottom left hand corner of the array we
want to produce. You will see as we progress that the array dialog box works
from bottom left upwards and outwards. Now select the circle you have just
created and click once again on Multi copy. For the vertical distance input
50mm and for the horizontal distance enter 430mm. Vertical quantity is 3 and
horizontal quantity is 2.

You should now have 6 shelf holes and 4 hinge holes. We need to add lines to
indicate where the mortise slots are going to be on the job. Start by selecting
Draw Line from the DRAW drop down menu.

Drag a line in the same

way you dragged the rectangle
and the circle, only this time hold down the SHIFT key and the line will hold
either horizontal or vertical depending on which direction you move the mouse.
Once you have the line drawn, select it and click on the Precision input dialog
box. Select Scale and enter 500 X and 0 for Y as per the drawing. The reason

that Y has a value of 0 is because a line has no thickness. Click OK and select
Move. Select the left hand Grip. Change X to 25mm and Y to 162. Click OK. The
line will move into the correct position on the drawing. Repeat this for all the
lines on the drawing.

5/ Adding Tool paths.

Firstly lets talk about Tool Paths. What are they? A tool path is exactly what the
name suggests. It is the path along which the tool will travel. The way in which
tool paths are applied can vary and the different types of toolpath are outlined in
the Enroute user manual. On your Enroute system a great number of tool path
strategies have been set up by Procam.
So lets start with the 5mm holes. Place a selection box over the whole drawing
by dragging the mouse while holding down the left button. Now click and hold
the mouse on the drill icon.

Select the fourth item along, which is Drill Center Of Object. (If this does not
seem to work it will be because you have not selected the fourth item along the
list.)

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Select the 5mm Drill Hole from the Strategy box. You will see that the strategy
has been set up to drill holes which are 5mm Dia only. This will mean that every
other piece of geometry which is not 5mm Dia will be ignored.
(Now consider what would happen if you had earlier re-sized the circles and had
not had the proportional box ticked! None of these holes would be seen as 5mm
Dia circles and would be ignored.)
Click on OK and you will see that ALL of the holes change to having a red cross
in the center of each one. This indicates that ALL the holes have been drilled.

Next we will cut all of the mortise slots. Once again select the whole drawing.
Click and hold down the mouse on the Routing Offset Icon.

Select the second icon on the fly-out menu. This is the OPEN CONTOUR icon.
From the strategies menu select Mortise Kitchens and click OK.

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You will see that the color of the lines will change from PINK to BROWN and
there will be ARROWS showing the direction of cut. This indicates that ALL the
mortise slots have been cut.
Lastly lets cut the outside profile. Place the cursor directly on the outside profile
and left click. The outside profile will highlight in Blue. Now once again click the
Routing Offset icon but this time select the first icon on the fly-out menu. This is
the Routing Offset for CLOSED contours. Select Outside Cut 16mm with
Ramp in. Click OK. You will see that the outside now has a blue arrowed line
around the perimeter indicating that the outside has been cut.
We will now GROUP all of the geometry
along with the Tool paths so that we can
move it around on the sheet without fear
of loosing the position association of
each
piece of geometry. Select all of the
drawing and from the top menu select
TRANSFORM. A drop down menu will
appear. Select Group. You will notice
that the Nest icon will change from Dark
Grey to Light Grey indicating that ALL of
the geometry has been grouped and is
now considered as one piece.

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6/ Sending Job to Machine.

We now need to send this job to the Procam CNC machine. Firstly we need to
check that the tool order is correct. We dont want to cut the outside perimiter
and then cut the mortise slots as there is a chance that the part may move. So
we will select the G2 icon which is a graphic simulation of the job. Click on
Order.

You can change the ordering of the tools by first clicking on Strategy Order and
moving Open Contour to last position. This is done by Clicking on the small
black arrow beside the tool description and then clicking and holding down the
mouse and dragging the selection to the new position.

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Second order will be the Tool Order. Move the 10 Compression Cutter to the
LAST place in the list.

And lastly under Priority, move Pass to second position in the ordering. You will
get a better understanding of these Orders as you get more familiar with the
program. Constant experimentation will help.

Select Update Order, then close, then Done. You will be prompted to save
ordering changes. Select Yes. Now go back to G2 and you can simulate the
cutting of the job.

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Click on the single arrow facing the right and each click will move one step
forward in the program. You will see each hole being drilled and each cut being
made. There is also a display of the tool name and the depth of cut being made.
Once you are happy with the tool ordering the job can be sent through the
Procam Post-processor to turn this information into G Code.
Click on G1 Icon, top right of screen. A pop up menu will appear.

You have the option to re-order tools etc here as well as you did previously. If
you are happy with everything you can click on TO FILE. The following dialog
will appear allowing you to direct the finished G Code file to the place of choice
on your hard drive. You can then transfer this file to a floppy disc or USB device
and can then be
loaded into the Procam
machine.

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Setting up New Tools

From time to time you may need to set up new tools in the Enroute library the
procedure is as follows.
Select the NEW icon from the top left of your screen, and select a material
size. The specific size of the material is not of importance for introducing new
tools.
Now select the SETUP icon from the top center of the screen,

and choose Tool Library. Select NEW in order to setup a new tool.

Now enter a name for the new tool, E.g. Fielding Cutter and select
the cutter type. For any tool which has a bottom diameter select END MILL
and for any cutter which will be used as an engraving tool, as in this
example, select CONIC as your tool type. Select OK.

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The next dialog box gives you the opportunity to setup the
parameters for the new tool. In this case the angle will be 5 degrees (half
of the included angle) and the D1 will be 52mm and H1 will be determined
by the computer. H2 is the MAXIMUM that the cutter can possiblt cut. In
this case it is the total cutting height of the cutter, 14mm. Select SAVE and
when prompted select OK to the choice of Tool library.
You are now ready to use the new tool. You need to introduce the
new tool into the machine. Select SETUP then MACHINE SETUP and
then Tool changer.

A dialog box will pop out where you can click on the THREE dots
next to Click to edit select the position in the tool rack where you will be
putting the new tool and select the new tool from the menu. Click OK and
exit from the menu. The new tool is now ready to be used in the software,
you still need to put the new tool into the machine in the tool position you
selected and length sense the new tool before using the machine.

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Creating The Tennoned parts.

In order to create the tennoned parts you must first draw a rectangle. Once you
have this drawn, as previously, re-size it to 400mm by 600mm as per the
drawing and move it to 0,0.

Now you need to draw the tennons. Draw a rectangle and re-size it
to 6mm x 550mm. Pick the bottom right grip indicator and move the
rectangle to X0 and Y25mm.

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Now do the same again only this time send the rectangle to
X400.000 and Y25.000 using the LEFT HAND bottom grip.

Once you have completed the above your design should look like the
screen below.

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We now need to WELD these three rectangles together. Select the

whole design using a drag box, and once selected use the WELD JOINED
icon, (you did something similar earlier in chapter 2).
Once the design is welded you will need to draw the single OPEN
CONTOUR lines which will represent the actual TENNON cuts. On the
right hand margin of your screen you will see a group of ICONS which are
called OBJECT SNAP icons. These help to grab and position parts on the
screen. They are also drawing aids. Choose the OBJECT SNAP icon
which is called SNAP TO END POINT. Now select Draw Line and move
the cursor to the bottom right edge of the design. As you approach the
corner you will see that the cursor will SNAP to the nearest END OF LINE.
It is important to always work in an ANTI-CLOCKWISE direction. This will
keep the cutter on the right hand side of the line you are creating. This will
be evident as we progress. When the cursor is in the right place click the
left mouse button. Now move the cursor to the top right corner of the
design and click the mouse when the line has SNAPPED to the top corner.

Repeat this for the left hand side of the design remembering to start
at the top and work in an ANTI-CLOCKWISE direction.
Tooling the part is similar to the last lesson. Cover the design with a
selection box, click on the ROUTING OFFSET icon and hold the mouse
button down. The fly-out menu will offer the OPEN CONTOUR icon. Click
this and select the KITCHEN TENNONS strategy from the selection. Click
OK.

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This will give you the TENNON cut. Now

repeat what you have just done only this time select
the ROUTING OFFSET icon. Select KCDW Outer
profile as your strategy and click OK. The last thing
to do is to select the whole design, (you know how to
do this by now), and select TRANSFORM from the
top menu and select GROUP from the drop-down
menu. This will ensure that the geometry is held
together as a single part.

Setting up Strategies
Once you have setup the tool you will need to set up a strategy for that particular
tool, or the way in which you want to use the tool. For example you may want to
use a 90Deg conic cutter to chamfer the edge of a board or you may want to use
the same conic cutter to machine a square internal door profile. The different
way in which you use the tool will be known as a STRATEGY.
We will set up a 3D engrave profile in this example. Firstly draw a rectangle in
Enroute. The size of the rectangle is of no importance. Select the rectangle and
click on the Engrave icon. Now select the tool you are going to use from the
tools list as shown.
We have
selected the 90
Deg conic cutter.
Click on the
three dots under
the EDIT label
and the tool
setup dialog box
will be displayed.
Set the feeds and speeds as well as the depth of cut etc. and click on OK.
The current dialog box will close now click save
as, and type in the name you want to use for this
strategy. This name will be saved for use at any
time later when you want to perform the same

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cut again. This will save you having to

re-type all of the information again.

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Toolbars and Command Icons
This chapter provides a summary of the major functions of EnRoute 3. As you will recognize, most of the
commonly used tools are readily available by clicking the screen buttons available in the toolbars. The icons are
presented and described in this
Chapter.

File

Toolbar

New (Ctrl+N) - Use the New command to start a new drawing. EnRoute 3 supports the Multi
Document Interface (MDI), which allows you to have more than
one layout open at a time.
Open (Ctrl+O) - Use the Open command to open an existing EnRoute 3 file. When you open a
file it is placed in its own drawing window, not the current one.

Import a File - Use the Import command to load a file that has been saved in a compatible
format other than the native EnRoute 3 format.

Save (Ctrl+S) - Use the Save command to save the current design file. If you are saving a file
for the first time, the Save File as dialog will be displayed.

Print The Print command gives you the opportunity to print the current screen view or drawing.
Cut (Ctrl+X) The Cut command allows you to remove items from the design file and place
them in the Windows Clipboard so they can be pasted either back
in the original file, or in an another design file.

Copy (Ctrl+C) The Copy command is similar to the cut command, except it places a copy of
the selection into the clipboard.

Paste (Ctrl+V) The Paste command takes information that is stored in the
Windows Clipboard and places it in the currently active design file.

Delete Use this tool to delete the selected objects.

Undo (Ctrl+Z) - Use the Undo command to reverse your most recent actions. The Undo
command may be chosen as many times as needed to undo previous editing operations up to

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the first operation in the editing
session. If you load a file and make a number of editing
changes to it, EnRoute 3 will allow you to Undo all of the changes.
Redo (Shift + Ctrl + Z) Redo command to reverse any
operation changed by the Undo command. You can
continue to select the Redo command until all of the
Undo operations have been reversed.
Zoom
Toolbar

Zoom Window Use the Zoom Window command to magnify a selected area. The Zoom
Window command is different than the Zoom Out and Zoom In commands in that you can
specify a particular area for the zoom to cover.

Zoom In (Ctrl+I) - Use the Zoom In command to zoom up or magnify the current window.

Zoom Out (Ctrl+K) - Use the Zoom Out command to zoom straight back.

Zoom to Plate (Ctrl+P) Use the Zoom to Plate command to magnify to the extent of the plate
size.
Zoom Previous - This command will return you to the previous zoom display.

Zoom to Extents of Selection - Use the Zoom Selection command to display the selected
group in the current layout.
Zoom to Extents Use the Zoom to the Extents command to display all design
objects in the current file. This will include the plate if one is defined.

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Libraries

Toolbar
Redefine the Current Plate This activates the dialog to define the plate in the current
drawing. The Plate provides a good reference during the design process
and it also provides a means of making sure that toolpaths stay within the limits of the material
you are using.
Material Library (F4) The Material Library provides a method for customizing settings for your
machine and specific activities. You may define speeds for different
types of materials (wood, metal, etc.) that are to be routed or engraved. When the Define Plate
command is used, there is the option to select a material type to be associated to the plate.
Speed settings can be set for the materials you use most often so that EnRoute will apply these
parameters to new toolpath strategies jobs without having to re-specify them each time.

Tool Library (F5) - The Tool Library command is used to define routing and engraving tools
used with the toolpath commands. The tool geometry entered for
each tool is used to generate toolpaths.
Driver Setup (F6) - This icon will bring up the parameters for the currently active driver. Each
driver parameter may be edited and then saved back to the driver configuration file. All of the
drivers that have been installed on the computer are available to be selected as the active driver.
Settings
Toolbar

Define Layers (F7) This icon activates a dialog that allows the user to manage the layers that
are used to store drawing elements. Within this dialog you can specify the active layer.

Change Layers Activates a dialog that allows you to change the layer to store the current
selection.
Object Snap This icon activates the Snap toolbar. The buttons on the Snap toolbar allow the
user to choose the way that the cursor snaps to elements in the drawing. For example, if the
snap to grid button is selected, then the cursor will snap to the grid that has been defined in the
preferences menu. Other settings include: Near, End, Tangent, Center of Arc, Intersection and
Perpendicular.

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Open Precision Input Dialog This icon activates the precision input dialog that is used to
enter precise information such as point locations, element size and scale, rotation angle and
other drawing activities.

Precision Input Dialog

The Precision Input dialog is the most common dialog that you will use in EnRoute 3. EnRoute
activates it automatically whenever it is needed. Pressing the F2 key also activates it.
The Precision Input dialog provides you with the ability to enter precise information for each
activity. For example, you can move selected objects by clicking and dragging them. If you want
to move your selection to a specific location, just select the objects to move and press F2. Then
enter the coordinates for the new location to move the objects to that exact location.

Output Toolbar

Generate Output - This is the main icon used to send toolpath output either to a file or directly
to the machine. In this dialog the user defines how the information is to
be sent, how the toolpaths are ordered as they are output, and which toolpaths are included.
Simulate 2D (F8) This icon activates a mode in which the user can visualize how the toolpaths
will be sent to the machine. The toolpaths are drawn to the screen in the same sequence that
they will be sent to the machine as output. Statistics regarding the number of tool changes and
the number of tool lifts are also presented in this mode. In addition, the user has the opportunity
to modify the order of the toolpaths and then immediately see the effect on the output using the
2D simulation.
Simulate Ortho - This icon activates a mode similar to the 2D Simulation except it is in the
perspective view. The toolpaths are drawn to the screen in the same sequence that they will be
sent to the machine as output. Statistics regarding the number of tool changes and the number
of tool lifts are also presented in this mode. In addition, the user has the opportunity to modify
the order of the toolpaths and then immediately see the effect on the output using the Simulate
Ortho mode.

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Set Toolpath Order This tool is used to manually set the order of the objects as they will be
used to generate output. The user can define the order using different methods for sorting the
objects or define the specific order by selecting the sequence
with this tool.

Object Edit
Toolbar

Selection Tool This is the main selection tool in EnRoute 3 for selecting, rotating and scaling
objects.
Group (Ctrl+G) This command is used to group two or more objects together so they may be
selected and manipulated as a unit. After the objects have been placed in a group, they can be
selected as a group by clicking on any member of the group. Also, they may be released to
return them to their original state as separate objects.
Ungroup (Ctrl+U) This command is used to release objects from a group to their original state
as separate objects.
Rotate This tool is used to either interactively or precisely rotate selected objects. After the
rotate icon has been selected, it is possible to precisely enter rotation information by pressing F2
to activate the precision input dialog.
Scale This tool is used to precisely scale objects. Again, by selecting a group of objects and
then clicking on the scale icon the user can enter precise size or scale information to change the
size of the selection.

Alignment This icon can be used to activate a toolbar that presents a number of different
options for aligning the objects in a selection. The first icon is used to align objects to center both
horizontally and vertically. The additional icons in this toolbar provide other alignment options.

Weld This icon is used to activate a toolbar that presents a number of options for welding selected
objects. The first icon is used to weld objects that are overlapping each other into one single object.
Additional options include: Weld Common and Weld
Subtract, as well as two interactive welding tools.

Offset This tool is used to create offsets from selected closed contours. With the desired
objects selected, click on the offset icon to activate the Precision Input dialog to enter
information regarding the desired number and dimensions of the offset.

Multicopy The Multicopy tool provides a way to make several copies of an object along a
contour.

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Toolpaths
Toolbar

Edit Toolpath Plan This icon activates the Plan dialog that allows you to edit the Plan
associated with the selected toolpath groups. The Plan represents the strategies applied to a
toolpath group.
Routing Offset The Routing Offset command is used to offset, or compensate, for the engraving
or routing tool. This will make sure no matter what size tool you use the parts will be the correct
size. You can also use this command to create inlayed objects.

Hatch Fill The Hatch fill command is used to generate a series of toolpaths to remove an area
or section of material.
Island Fill The Island Fill option is a series of inlines (lines and arcs) that are generated until
the selected contours are filled.
Drill The drill functions provide tools for adding drill objects to the design. Drill objects are a
special type of toolpath group that define drill points that can either be
created on their own, or be created based on selected contours. Drill points can be created in
patterns such as arrays, around a circle, and along a path. Multiple tools can be specified for any
drill point.

Slot The Slot command is used to create a single line that the router will cut.
Engrave The Engrave command is used to generate a machine path on the original contour
to be engraved or to generate a 3D path without a fill.

Pyramid This type of toolpath strategy is used to create a positive bevel on the selected set of
contours using a conic-shaped tool. It can also include a roughing pass to ensure that the
pyramid tool will be able to complete its cuts, and an offset toolpath to cut the pieces out after
the beveled tool has completed its work. This method is popular for making lettering and artwork
that is commonly referred to as beveled, chiseled, sculpted, or prismatic.

Delete Toolpath This command allows the user to delete toolpaths that have been applied to
selected objects.

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Contour Editing Toolbar

Edit Points - This tool provides access to a number of editing functions. You can move, insert,
and delete points, open and close contours, change segments to
arcs, curves and lines. After selecting the tool and clicking on a contour, right click to make these
functions available.
Extend/Trim - The Extend tool is used to extend an open contour either Interactively, by a
specific distance, or to intersection with another contour segment. If you
click and hold this button, a flyout menu will open. From there you can access the Trim tool.
Fillet Corners This tool provides a method to insert rounded corners, or fillets, at selected
corners in a contour.

Join Contours - This tool allows you to connect open contours at their endpoints either into an
open or closed contour.

Vectorize Bitmap - This powerful tool is used to create a series of closed vector contours from a
bitmap image. In order to create toolpaths in EnRoute 3, it is
necessary for the artwork to be represented by vectors. This tool provides the means of
converting scanned images or other bitmap images into vectors so that they may be used to
create toolpaths.
Cleanup Contours - When bitmap images are vectorized, the vectors often require some
degree of cleaning up in order for them to be appropriate to toolpath. This tool provides an
automated means of cleaning up contours, by reducing the number of curve segments to create
smooth contours that will then create better toolpaths.

Nest - This tool allows you to arrange selected objects into a configuration that will allow them to
be cut out so they will efficiently utilize the material. Select the objects you want to nest, and
then click on the Nest icon. This will activate a dialog for specifying gap and allowable rotation
angles. Click OK, and the objects will be nested on the plate.

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Extend/Trim Toolbar
Extend - The Extend tool is used to extend an open contour either interactively, by a specific
distance, or to an intersection with another contour segment. This tool provides all three
methods depending on which mode is active.

Trim - The Trim tool is very similar to the Extend tool. It allows you to trim a contour either
interactively, by a specific distance, or based on intersections with boundary contours.

Construction Toolbar

Draw Polyline This tool is used to create a series of connected line segments, or polyline that
may either be open or closed. If this button is clicked and held, it
activates a flyout toolbar that contains a number of other line drawing tools, please refer to the
Draw Lines Toolbar section of this chapter.
Draw Rectangle Draw a rectangle by clicking and dragging to define the size. If you hold the
shift key as you drag, you will draw a square. Pressing F2 will activate the Precision Input dialog
to allow entry of precise coordinates for the rectangle.

Draw Circle This tool allows a circle to be defined by locating its center and then defining the
radius. This button can also be held down to activate the Draw
Circle Toolbar that provides three other means of a constructing a circle.
Draw Ellipse Draw an ellipse or circle. Click and drag to define the size of the ellipse. If you
hold the shift key as you drag, you will draw circle. Ellipses can be defined precisely using the
Precision Input dialog.

Draw Arc This tool allows an arc to be defined by locating its center, begin point, and end
point. The button can be held down to activate the Draw Arc Toolbar that provides other arc
construction options.

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Draw Polygon This button activates a dialog for defining the parameters for placing polygon
shapes. The user defines parameters such as internal and external radius, number of segments,
and location.
Text This activates a dialog to add text objects to the design. Any True Type font that is
installed on your computer is available to be used.

Draw Lines Toolbar

Remember that pressing F2 after activating any of the drawing commands will allow entry of precise
coordinates to define the shape.

Draw Line This tool allows the user to create a line between two points. Click at the starting
point, and again at the end point.

Draw Polyline - This tool is used to create a series of connected line segments, or polyline that
may either be open or closed. Begin by placing the cursor at the first point. Click at each
consecutive point until the end point. Right click to end.
Draw Bezier Curve This tool allows the user to draw curves into the design. Bezier segments
have control handles that allow their curvature to be edited by dragging on the handles.

Draw Rectangle Toolbar

Rectangle by Corners Use this tool to define a rectangle by clicking on one corner and
dragging to
define to the opposite corner. Hold the shift key down to keep the rectangle a
square.

Rectangle by Corners and Dimensions The Precision Input dialog is used to define a corner
of a rectangle and then specify its size by height and width.

Draw Circle Toolbar

Circle by Center and Radius Use this tool to click on a circle center and then drag to define
its size. It can also be used with the Precision Input dialog to define it by coordinates and
dimension.

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Circle by Center and Point - This is very similar to the previous command except in the
Precision Input dialog, coordinates for both the center and a point on the circle can be defined.

Circle by Three Points This is an interactive tool used to define a circle. Click on the first
point then click, hold and drag to define the circle.

Circle by Corners - Click and drag to define the corners of a boundary box around a circle,
or define these corners by precision input.

Draw Ellipse Toolbar

Ellipse By Center and Two Points This is similar to the circle command of this same type.
Just interactively click and drag on the corners of a boundary rectangle
to define an ellipse
.

Ellipse By Center, Height and Width Use the Precision Input dialog to enter the coordinates
for the center of an ellipse and then define its height and width along its two axes.

Draw Arc Toolbar

Arc by Center, Start and End - Use this command to define an arc by defining its center and
two endpoints. It is defined interactively; you can either leave it as an
open contour with just the arc, or define it as a closed contour by placing the cursor either
outside or inside the arc as it is constructed.
Arc by Center, Start and Angle - Use the Precision Input dialog to define an arc by entering
coordinates for the center and start, and then defining the angle turned by the arc.

Arc by Three Points This is a handy interactive tool to define an arc by clicking on the start
point, then clicking on the end point, and then dragging to define an intermediate point on the
curve.

Multicopy Toolbar

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Array Copy This tool is used to copy the selected objects into a series of rows and columns at
a define spacing.

Copy Around an Arc - This tool allows you to copy objects around a defined arc.

Copy Around a Path This tool allows a shape to be copied along another contour by defining
spacing, or number of copies, and how the objects are to be aligned.

Routing Offset Toolbar

Routing Offset The Routing Offset command is used to offset, or compensate for, the
engraving or routing tool. This will make sure no matter what size tool you use; the parts will be
the correct size.
Routing Offset Open Contour - This command is similar to the standard routing offset tool
except that it is used for open contours instead of closed contours.
This imposes some limitations on the types of offsets that make sense with an open contour.
Drill Toolbar

Drill Point - The Drill Point command is used to create a single hole or pierce point.

Drill Circle - The Drill Circle command is used to create a pattern of drill points around the
radius of a circle.

Drill Array - The Drill Matrix command is used to create a series of drill points by rows and
columns to form a grid.

Drill Center of Objects -The Drill Centers command is used to place a drill point in the center of
the selected contours.

Drill Along Contour - The Drill Contours command is used to create a series of drill points
along a contour.

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Drill Corners of Plate - The Drill Corners command is used to create a pattern of drill points
around a Plate. You must have defined a plate before you can use this
command.
Alignment Toolbar
Align Bottom Use this command to align the bottom of objects that have been selected.

Align Top Use this command to align the top of objects that have been selected.
Align Centers Vertical - Use this command to align the vertical centers of selected objects.

Align Centers Horizontal Use this command to align the horizontal centers of selected
objects.

Align Left Use this command to align selected objects to the left side.

Align Right Use this command to align selected objects to the right side.
Weld Toolbar
Weld Joined This is the most commonly used method for welding objects. It works by
combining overlapping objects into one object by creating a new object that is defined by the
outer perimeter of the overlapping objects.

Weld Common This tool is used to define a new object based on overlapping contours. The
new contour is defined by the perimeter of the overlapping portion of the contours.

Weld Subtract Weld Subtract subtracts from the object that was selected first, using all
subsequently selected objects.

Jigsaw Weld - This is a design tool used to create a shape in which both open and closed
contours may be used in the creation process. It is an interactive tool. By moving the cursor into
different areas on the screen, EnRoute looks for closed shapes that can be formed by overlapping
contours.

Cut By Line - The Cut by Line tool allows you to cut an object with a line drawn across it to
make two separate objects.

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Snap
Snap toToolbar

Snap to grid Snaps to the nearest grid point. The grid spacing is configured on the Grid page
in Preferences.

Snap to guideline Snaps to a nearby guideline when the cursor gets close. Also when
dragging an object, the perimeter of the object snaps to nearby guidelines.

Snap to intersection Snaps to the intersection of two line segments.

Snap to endpoint Snaps to the endpoints of arc, curve and sine segments.

Snap to nearby contour Snaps to the nearest point on a contour when the cursor gets close
to it.
Snap to center of arc Snaps to the center of an arc segment when the cursor is placed near
the arc.
Snap to midpoint Snaps to the midpoint of a segment when the cursor gets close to it.
Snap to perpendicular point Wh en constructing line segments, after defining the first point in
the segment, the second endpoint will snap to a point on a contour so that the line segment will
be perpendicular to the contour.
Snap to tangent point When constructing line segments, the second endpoint will snap to a
point on an arc so that the new line segment will be tangent to the arc.

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Routing Offset Lesson

This lesson provides an example for creating a simple design and then defining a routing offset strategy for the
part. The design utilizes several of the geometric construction tools in EnRoute.

Routing offsets are likely the most common type of toolpath strategy that you will
use in your designs. Routing offsets can be very simple, simply cutting out the
design; at the same time the routing offset strategy is quite capable, and can be
used to create inlayed parts and 3D bevels using the clean pass.
The following sections describe the steps involved in creating the design and then creating routing offset
toolpaths.
1. Select the Machining menu and Define Plate. Define the plate to be 350mm wide by 250mm tall.
2. Select the Draw menu and Rectangle by corner and dimensions. This will activate the Precision Input
dialog. Define a rectangle that is 300mm wide by 200mm tall. Click on the Corner tab and define a round
corner with a radius of 30mm.

3. The rectangle should look like the image below.

4. Select the Offset icon

and create an internal offset that is 10mm wide.

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The result should look like the image below.

5. Select the Draw menu and Circle by center and radius. Press the F2 key to activate the
dialog. Create four circles with a radius of 30mm, located at each corner of the rectangle.

6. The drawing should now look like the image below.

Precision Input

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7. We are now going to create the internal shape using the internal offset and the circles to create the desired shape.
Click
and hold the Weld icon, and then choose the Jigsaw weld

tool When you place the cursor inside the objects, this tool finds the bounding closed shape, and highlights
it, as shown

8. After the object is identified, click to create the highlighted shape. Then you can delete the offset
circles to leave the new shape.

contour and the

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9. Now create another circle in the center of the design. Use the Circle by center and radius tool, and place a
circle with a 85mm radius at the center
.

10. Next we are going to use the Weld Subtract tool to weld the center circle with the inside contour. First
select the inline contour that we modified with the circles, and then select the new
circle. The order that these objects are selected determines how the welding will happen. Click and hold on
the Weld icon
and then select the Weld Subtract icon .

11. If you look at the image above, you see that several of the inside corners are sharp. For this type of a part we likely
would want rounded corners. Select the two inside contours and then
select the Fillet tool

, which will bring up the Fillet dialog. Define a fillet radius of 10mm

and click OK. The image below should look like your result.

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12. Now we just need to construct some additional circles in each corner and the center to finish the design. Use
the Circle by center and radius tool
to complete the design.

13. Now we are ready to define the Routing Offset parameters and create the toolpaths. Select the objects. Notice that
they are automatically sorted. Then choose the Routing Offset icon.

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This will bring up the strategy dialog. For this example we have selected a 6mm end mill tool from the list of available
tools. After finding the desired tool in the list, just double click on it to add it to the Cut List table. Enter a depth of
20mm.

14. There are several specific parameters that can be defined for the tool, including depth, passes, feed rates etc. These
are accessed by clicking in the cell in the Edit column of the Cut List for the tool you want to edit. This activates the Cut
Definition dialog as shown. In this case we defined the feed rates and spindle speed. The number of passes is based on
the cutting length of the selected tool.

15. When you have defined the parameters correctly, click on OK in the Cut Definition dialog and then OK in the
strategy dialog. The toolpaths will be created as shown.

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16. You can also view the toolpaths in the Perspective view. Press F12 to toggle to the Perspective view

18. Click in the Edit column to bring up the Cut Definition dialog to define the parameters for the second tool.
19. Click OK in the Cut Definition and Strategy dialogs to create the new toolpaths. The rough toolpaths with the
6mm tool are offset outside the cleaning pass with the 3mm tool. When sending these toolpaths to an output
file, you would want to ensure that the rough toolpaths were cut before the clean toolpaths by selecting the
appropriate ordering options.

20. After creating this toolpath object, it might be desirable to place copies on a sheet of material to cut out several of the
objects. To do this, first select the object and then select the Multicopy tool

Note that before selecting the multicopy tool, we redefined our plate to be 2400mm wide by 1200mm high.

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21. This activates the Multicopy dialog. In this case we entered a horizontal and vertical spacing of 10mm, and
clicked on the Fill Plate option. Then click OK to make the copies.

22. The result of the multicopy is shown below.

23. At this point, the file is ready to be sent to a router to cut out.

This concludes the Routing Offset example. Please note that this example was created intentionally to be rather
basic. There are many options available such, as the use of bridges and entry/exit toolpaths that might make the
example design more appropriate for an actual job. Also, the method we used to create the design is certainly
not the only way this design could be created. Although the methods we use are pretty efficient, there are likely
other methods that would accomplish this design in even fewer mouse clicks.

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