Making Giant Church Window Grills from HDU in No Time Flat!

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to host guest blogs written by some of the signage industry’s biggest movers and shakers, posted to the Precision Board Blog.  This guest blog is written by Jim Dawson with Synergy Sign & Graphics, based in Strasburg, Ohio.  Jim tells us how he fabricated several large window grills from PBLT-18 Precision Board HDU for the Christ the King Church.  He reduced his routing time from 60 minutes per 4″x60″x80″ sheet to 20 minutes using Onsrud router bits.

window grills

In Jim Dawson’s own words…

Over the past 15 years, we have developed a wonderful working relationship with a variety of vendors. Those relationships usually start out with us trying a new product and being impressed with the results, then contacting the manufacturer in an attempt to learn more and get better with that product. In 2013, one of those products we started using was Precision Board HDU.

Fast forward 6 years, and we have fabricated hundreds of jobs using Precision Board in a variety of densities. While signage and 3D carvings are the bulk of our work here at the shop, our expertise in cutting and fabrication with Precision Board has led us to do work in a variety of fields.

window grills

Precision Board’s low coefficient of expansion (CTE) makes it perfect for architectural elements indoor and outdoor. Its low weight relative to its toughness, also makes it great in situations where weight is a concern (Ed note: the CTE of Precision Board is 26 X 10-6. When an architect designs buildings, dams, houses, etc., the CTE of each different material is taken into consideration to allow for the movement of Precision Board).

Central Glass and Window of Pinellas Park, Florida, contacted us to help them with such a job. The project in question was an addition to an existing church in their area which had large window grills made from precast concrete. The architect wished to carry that same design element into the new addition without all of the weight of the existing grills. Precision Board to the rescue!

We spent a few months drawing and sampling the new window grills until we had an approval. In the end, the grills would be fabricated from 18lb Precision Board.  We used 24 sheets of 2” thick material and another 24 sheets of 4” thick material, resulting in 48 sheets of Precision Board HDU to rout. The grills would be mounted on the inside and outside of 12 separate windows, with the 4″ material on the inside and the 2″ material on the outside.  Two panels to a side, stacked horizontally with screws through the edge of the panels into the aluminum frames.

window grills

The 2” window grills were quite easy to machine. We intended to use a router bit tooling solution that had worked well for us in the past. We stumbled upon Onsrud’s 52-638 router bit when we were cutting some 2” Precision Board on an earlier job. It was not indicated as preferred router tooling in the catalogs by any of the tooling experts we talked to. It really gave us a nice quality edge with a production speed we were happy with.

The problem with the 4” foam was no one had a bit that performed up to our standards. Every time we tested an extended length bit, it had to run way too slow and chattered at the slightest problem. Edge quality was poor and machine time was even worse. After testing 10 different bits, it seemed that milling 4” foam in an 18lb density was just too much to ask.

window grills

One final search and I stumbled onto the end-all solution to milling 4” Precision Board HDU; Onsrud’s 52-728 tool. It is a ¾” shank bit with a 6.5” overall length and a 4.25” cutting length. Surely a ¾” bit would have the stiffness to cut 4” foam and allow us to speed up the machine without sacrificing edge quality.

After receiving the new tools and doing some testing, I felt a little like Hannibal from the A-Team. “ I love it when a plan comes together.” The 52-728 bit worked so amazingly that I ordered its little brother the 52-724 to cut the thinner 2” Precision Board HDU as well.

The 2” PBLT-18 material was cut at 400 IPM @ 16,000 RPM in 2 passes. A final cleanup pass was run at the same speed to take .01 off the width and clean up any horizontal tooling marks.

The 4” PBLT-18 material was cut at the same speed and finishing pass, but with 4 passes instead.

Overall speed of machining went from just over 1 hour per 60” x 80” sheet using traditional tooling, to 20 minutes per sheet using the new router bits.  Our total routing time went from about 48 hours down to about 16.

In the end, we spent a considerable amount on router bits, but saved it back ten-fold in increased productivity.

We delivered the job to Central Glass and Window in early January. Perry and his crew were extremely happy with the results.

If I had to sum this job up and what we learned from it, I would say don’t be afraid to try things with your substrates and your machines. You may just stumble onto the next great technique that makes your work faster and easier in the long run.

window grills

We think that Jim Dawson and his team do some really excellent work. Synergy Sign & Graphics has a highly experienced staff whose backgrounds include graphic design, marketing, trade-show design, print media, branding, point of purchase design, fulfillment, and more. Check out their website or give them a call at (330) 878-7646 to see about your next project!

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly effective for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs.  It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack.  You can request free samplesget a quote or sign up for weekly newsletters packed with helpful information.

Using Multiple CNC Passes to Get Clean Edge Detail When Routing HDU

When James Spouler with Mainland Woodworks got the job to update the signage at the Southlands Riding Club in Vancouver, BC, Canada, he used 15lb and 18lb Precision Board HDU to give the signs some depth and durability. Spouler also used multiple CNC router passes to get clean and deep lettering. Read on to see why he likes using Precision Board as a substrate for his dimensional signs.

James says the core branding design came to him from the clients branding designer.  “I took their vectors and made some adjustments to look good within the desired final sign dimensions using Vectric Aspire for my tool pathing software.”

He used PBLT-15 Precision Board HDU at 3″ thick for the larger main sign and PBLT-18 at 2″ thick for the second two signs.

Spouler prefers to use Precision Board HDU for outdoor signage, saying that “it’s thermally and dimensionally stable, essentially weatherproof, and UV stable.  It’s the best material I have found for painted exterior signage if you want it to last.”

For the deep lettering ( 0.8″ ) on the large main sign James first cut the lettering pass using a 5º tapered endmill.  “Then I cut the clear out passes in two depth passes leaving about 0.05″ and then one final finishing pass to remove that last 50 thousandths of an inch.”  He adds, “this lets me hog out the material fast and dirty then do a nice cleanup pass to get rid of any tear out or other blemishes that can be caused by weird or inefficient tool-pathing or by cutting too fast or too deep in one go.”

“I primed the signs with Coastal’s FSC-88 WB primer/filler, which took a little playing with to get used to, but once I thinned it to the right consistency, it worked great,” says Spouler (Ed note: Click HERE for tips from the experts on priming HDU with FSC-88 WB).

James painted the signs using the Matthews urethane paint color system saying, “it’s the best way I have found to accurately hit PMS colors at any amount you need to mix up, from a thimble to a gallon.”

Spouler says machining the Precision Board HDU took no time at all.  “Cutting the HDU goes fairly quickly, that’s one of my favorite parts of working with it.  It cuts fast and sharp and with a little planning you can really push the feed rates on it.”

Spouler uses a CNC machine which he built with his father-in-law.  “My father-in-law is an inventor and builder, electrician, plumber, and network systems engineer,” he tells us.  He adds, “the machine was originally based on open source MechMate plans, we built it with a 62″ x 122″ cutting area, initially it had about 6″ of Z travel, and of course, on the second project, which was planing a 5″ thick maple slab, we ran into the Z height limitation. and so we redesigned the Z axis with a lead screw and some linear bearings and rails to now allow for a full 16.5″ of travel.”

James uses a 2.2 kW water-cooled spindle on the machine and runs it using LinuxCNC.

Mainland Woodworks is a family run design and wood crafting team that is able to bring your ideas from a dream to a reality that you can see, touch and admire for years to come.  They offer a wide range of wood milling services as well as a large bed CNC router which can plane slabs and create elaborate 3D carvings.  You can call them at 778-241-6984 or visit their website.

Coastal Enterprises offers free samples of Precision Board HDU.  Already have a project in mind for our material?  Request a quote and get started today.  Sign up for our monthly blog roundup so you don’t miss any of our informative blogs.

Have a special project fabricated with Precision Board HDU and want to know if it could be featured in a blog on our website?  Give us a call at 800-845-0745 or drop us an email with details.  We’d love to hear from you!

Adding Pizzazz to the Hazelnut Inn Window Trim!

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to host a series of guest blogs written by Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, posted to the Precision Board Blog on a monthly basis.  This month Dan Sawatzky tells us how he uses 30lb Precision Board HDU to add fine detail to interior or exterior trim on windows (and have some fun while he’s at it!).  His current project is spicing up the trim on some of the windows for the Hazelnut Inn, currently under construction.

trim

In Dan Sawatzky’s own words…

We are making great progress on the Hazelnut Inn project. The carpenters have now finished the concrete work and wood framing and the last of the roof shingles are in progress. That means we can really start to get to business with the detail work at last.

When it comes time for fine detail on interior or exterior trim our first choice is most often 30 lb Precision Board. A current project is a good example. The windows of the Copper Crown suite need to be fancy. It is a castle after all. We looked at many options including rounding the tops of the windows… but after a lot of consideration opted for rectangle windows with lead work between the panes. Above them we would install custom routed panels made from 30 lb Precision Board, of course. There are four windows in the tower which will perch above the master bedroom of the castle and reach a little more than forty feet vertically. Each window transom will sport the initials of a member of Peter and Hailey’s family. It’s a detail that will most likely get seldom noticed but it will be there for those who really look things over.

trim trim trim

The routing files were created in EnRoute and the outer profile matches the edges of the windows. There are four rounded panels on this tower which will bear the initials of Peter, Hailey, Juniper and Henry.  The Precision Board was routed on our MultiCam CNC machine.

The tower is being prefabricated in our studio/shop. The framework is welded steel and will be coated with fiberglass reinforced concrete. We’ll then have the inside sprayed with foam for insulation and then we’ll plaster the inside walls and paint. It will be lifted into place as a finished piece, along with the tower roof, complete with shingles.

 

We’ll be creating hundreds of detail pieces through the three suites of the Hazelnut Inn over the next year or so… all in the interest of making a unique boutique hotel quite unlike anything else in the world. Stay tuned…

trim

Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.

Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans almost fifty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder.

Dan has been sharing his progress on the Hazelnut Inn for some time now.  You can read previous blogs below and stay tuned for more updates in the future as this project comes to life, bit by bit!

Dan & Peter Sawatzky’s Fantastical Hazelnut Inn Signs

Making the Hazelnut Inn Model with Precision Board HDU

Building Curved Shapes with Precision Board HDU

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly effective for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs.  It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack.  You can request free samplesget a quote or sign up for periodic newsletters packed with helpful information.

Using Real Steel & Faux Metal to Fabricate Sawatzky’s Theme Park Train

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to announce a series of guest blogs written by Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, posted to the Precision Board Blog each month.

This month Dan Sawatzky tells us how he created a cartoonish-looking steam-powered train out of real steel and 30lb Precision Board HDU coated to look like rusted metal for a theme park.  Dan’s work is so good that you can’t tell what’s actually metal and what is faux steel.  Read on to see why Sawatzky used a combination of metal & HDU made to look like metal for his train and how he pulled it all off.

train

In Dan Sawatzky’s own words…

I thought I’d do an article on a train I built six years ago. It was done for a mini golf park which we designed. Now, the golf park has been closed to make way for a housing development. The train and all the other features we built for the golf park have been carefully removed and will be reused in another project which is soon to be built. I had a chance to look over the features this past summer. They are holding up great – a testament to how well Precision Board holds up!

The old steam-powered locomotives have long been a personal favourite. A number of years ago, just after we got our MultiCam, I got the chance to build a slightly cartoonized version. It was challenging, but a whole lot of fun!

train

While a fair amount of the train engine would be built of welded steel, Shay locomotives have a lot of intricate details which I knew would route perfectly from 30 lb Precision Board. The router would speed things up a whole bunch and once painted with a rusting paint would be impossible to tell from the real thing.

I first did a scale concept drawing. This was approved by the customer. I would scale up the concept to create a locomotive that was about eight feet long and six feet tall. I imported the concept sketch into EnRoute to create the vector drawings I would need for the routing files.  Many of the pieces needed to be layered to get the heavy duty ‘castings’ I needed. The bulk of the bigger pieces were routed from 2” thick 30 lb Precision Board. The wheels were routed from 3” thick board. The balance of the smaller pieces were routed from 1” thick 30 lb board. Since this was to be a static display even the train rails were routed from Precision Board. There were more than a hundred pieces in all.

 

I routed the wheels first so I could begin building the frame of the train while the rest were running. I mocked up the pieces first to make sure it looked right, then when I was happy, I welded things into place securely.

The boiler of the train was made with scrap sections of pipe. The bulk of the upper portion of the train was made of steel for strength. The routed bits were fastened to this structure. Most of the train was assembled in place on the train to facilitate finishing in a logical order.

I painted the Precision Board with a reactive iron paint and with a little spritz of the activator (a mild acid) the rust quickly formed on the Precision Board pieces as well as the raw steel components I used. It was impossible to tell which was real steel and which was not.

Once each assembly was finished I moved on to the next, working my way up the train.

While I was working on the train we learned the sad news that our niece was still born. I decided to name the little locomotive in her honour. A special name plate was created and mounted on the back of the cab.

train

I had been collecting old rusty chains for quite some time and this was the perfect place to use them. The jewelry was the perfect touch to make the train look real! The smokestack was the last piece added. We had it custom-made in a local machine shop as they had the necessary equipment.

The train was numbered with the numeral two as I often do. The reason is that I am the second child in my family. This is my way of signing my work.

Once complete the train was loaded onto our little flat deck trailer and hauled to our customer’s work site. He had a giant excavator waiting and in a few minutes the train was sitting high on the trestle he had built for the purpose. I built a log car in the same fashion which was lifted up onto the trestle and placed behind the locomotive.

 

The train acted as a feature and giant sign for the golf park and served the project well for the last six years. Soon it will be re-erected in a new location to continue to delight guests for many years to come.

 

train

Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.

Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans almost fifty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly effective for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs.  It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack.  You can request free samplesget a quote or sign up for periodic newsletters packed with helpful information.

Hogging out Precision Board at a depth of 2.25″ on 1st Pass with X-Edge

Jim Dawson with Synergy Sign wanted the ability to machine through 2″ thick Precision Board HDU in a single pass, but he didn’t have a router bit that could get the job done.  He reached out to X-Edge Tools to see if they could develop something for him.  They worked extensively with Jim to create a new ball nose router bit (XCT518) that was up to the task.  Dawson successfully tested it out on a sheet of PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU from Coastal Enterprises.

“Hard to believe, but the new bit hogged through the Precision Board at 500 inches per minute while maintaining a nice, clean edge,” Dawson stated.  “More importantly, I was able to rout the material at a depth of 2.25″ on the first pass,” he added. 

Not only is this new ball nose router bit available and on the market now, but we’ve got speeds and feeds info to help you use it to cut Precision Board HDU down to depths of 2″+ on your first pass.  You can also watch videos of the router bit in action to see and hear how it sounds hogging out HDU.

x-edge

“I contacted X-edge tools with a need for a longer tapered ball nose bit that would allow single pass machining in 2” high-density urethane material.  X-Edge obliged and worked with us to develop and prototype and bring that bit to market,” says Dawson.  He adds, “what we got in the end was an amazing piece that allows us to machine faster and more accurately thanks to X-Edge!”

Jim’s MultiCam CNC went down to a depth of 2.25 inches at 500 IPM and 16000 RPM on the first pass.  

Here’s more information about the new ball nose router bit (XCT518):

  • Brand: X-Edge
  • Diameter: 1/8″
  • Cut length: 2 1/2″
  • Overall length: 4″
  • Shank size: 1/2″
  • Taper:
  • Flutes: 3

Jim tested the new router bits from X-Edge by designing some test shapes using Enroute software and routing them out of a single sheet of Precision Board PBLT-30.

You can also watch other videos of Precision Board HDU being routed by X-Edge bits on our YouTube Channel.  There are videos for PBLT-15, 18, 30 and 40 in the routing playlist.

X-Edge is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan and manufactures CNC router bits and accessories.  Their tooling was designed specifically to maximize the capabilities of CNC Routers.  eXcellent speed, eXcellent quality, eXcellent tools.  You can call them at (224) 534-9653 or visit their website.

Coastal Enterprises is happy to help if you’ve got a technical question or are trying to figure out how to do something with Precision Board HDU.  Some of our best “how-to’s” have been the result of a customer contacting us with a problem they can’t quite solve.  We put our 30+ years of experience into coming up with a solution and then sharing it with everybody, so give us a call at 800-845-0745 or drop us an email.  We’d love to hear from you!

We offer free samples of Precision Board HDU.  Already have a project in mind for our material?  Request a quote and get started today.  Sign up for our monthly blog roundup so you don’t miss any of our informative blogs.