Family-Themed Cruise Line Debut’s New Water Slide

 

Who do you call if you’re a discerning family-themed cruise line looking to build a state of the art water slide featuring a signature element from one of your most beloved and iconic characters? The answer is FormaShape 3D Architectural Design Solutions of British Columbia. The design called for a giant replica of the white-gloved hand from everyone’s favorite cartoon mouse supporting the main structure of the slide. Patrons had to immediately recognize the hand, so every detail of the larger-than-life appendage became important, right down to the fingers, 3 of them, and thumb…..good trivia question!

Finished Precision Board Plus plug showing bonded segments used to construct the machining block

Because of its strength, rigidity and ease of machining, FormaShape chose to machine the FRP tooling plug from Precision Board Plus (both PBLT-4 and PBLT-8). Once the CAD design was approved by the client, the toolpath was fed into their 5-axis CNC router to machine the segmented plugs that made up the hand. According to Sean Conneely, Custom Fabrication Manager at FormaShape, new systems were developed for both the segmented plug and moulding techniques used on this project. In addition, special fabrication techniques had to be developed for both the plug and moulded parts. The precise Open Moulded process used by FormaShape ensures that the final FRP panels that make up the finished hand are within +/- 1mm of the Precision Board Plus machined plug!

Precision OM process used to manufacture the FRP segments that make up the hand

 

Having designed, engineered and manufactured the entire slide, the job of installation naturally fell to FormaShape – Whitewater West Industries. Check out their websites at www.formashape.com and www.whitewaterwest.com for more examples of their work.

FormaShape attaching the slide flume to the supporting hand

 

Did you know Coastal Enterprises makes support fixtures?

Coastal Enterprises will fabricate a support fixture for any Precision Board Plus tool. This support tool can be used for tool transport, CNC machining, lay up of composite laminate, oven/autoclave curing, final inspection, and every other process procedure. Support structures are designed with all-direction casters, leveling jacks, and tool hold down attachments that can be tightened during machining, etc. and loosened during oven/autoclave cycling. The custom hold down attachment allows independent movement between the tooling block and the support fixture.

Call us at (800) 845-0745 for more information or send us drawing of your tool.

Sign Industry Collaboration Culminates at The NBM Show

Sign Industry leaders OneShot and Coastal Enterprises join forces with life-long artist and pin stripe legend, Tramp Warner, and one of the San Diego areas top sign makers, Ford Signs, to produce a demonstration sign that will eventually hang in one of OneShot’s facilities (word has it that the corporate office is angling for the sign after they saw how the project was coming together). Tramp’s design called for a relief of OneShot mascot 3D Louie to appear as if he was floating above the sign, along with a bold color palette to show off the richness of OneShot enamels.

Ford Signs routed out the 3” thick PBLT-18 (18lb.) Precision Board Plus HDU blank supplied by Coastal Enterprises and applied the raised lettering and other relief elements before turning the sign over to Tramp. Note the wood grain texture that was machined into the sign background.

 

During the ISA Expo show in April of this year, Tramp began the process of bringing the sign and 3D Louie to life in full view of the participants of the show, entertaining lots of questions about his techniques along the way. A self taught artist with numerous Harley tanks and 18 wheelers to his credit, this is actually Tramps first 3D sign. You can check out more of his work at trampsdesigns.com.

 

The sign will be completed during the upcoming NBM Show, August 11-13 in Long Beach CA, where Tramp will apply the gold leaf and other finishing touches. If you are attending the show, stop by the McLogan booth (#943) and say hello to Tramp, Rick from McLogan and the folks from OneShot.

By the way it’s not too late to register for The NBM Show. Each day of the show, four lucky attendees will be randomly selected to win vouchers good at participating exhibitor booths. To be eligible to win, all you have to do is attend the show!

Resins Cut Time and Increase Profits

When your design calls for a durable, ultra high gloss finish, one of the best and most efficient ways to achieve it on a variety of substrates including HDU, is by using resins such as PB Resin. Once you have the application techniques down, resins can cut time and allow greater profit margins for your signs because they require less surface preparation and can often produce the desired finish in one application.

We formulated PB Resin especially for use with Precision Board Plus HDU and as a compliment to other paints and enamels, such as OneShot Lettering Enamels, that you may be using in your workshop. PB Resin is a clear two-part modified epoxy resin that produces an ultra-smooth finish without any priming or sanding. It can be applied clear and then painted, or lettering enamels can be mixed into the PB Resin itself to achieve any color tint (except white because it may yellow over time).

Application Tip: 

Q. “How much lettering enamel do I add to PB Resin when tinting” ?  

A. Not much. Approximately one tsp. per 8oz. of PB Resin is a good starting point. Make sure you mix in your lettering enamel thoroughly for one minute (no shortcuts!). Test by placing a drop of your tinted PB Resin on a printed page. The right amount of tint is just enough to block out the print.

For more application tips and complete application instructions, view or download our PB Resin Data Sheet.