It’s the little things

Our MultiCam CNC plasma cutter has dramatically changed the way we fabricate our themed pieces. In the process it has ramped up the quality and durability of our work. The handy machine has also increased out productivity in a large measure.

Often it’s the small hidden things that have made the most difference. A current project is a good example.

We are currently fabricating an operator’s booth for a theme park ride. It is similar to many we have done previously with a few small differences. The design of the booth matches the ride. It has there legs/posts to ensure the installation is quick and easy. Three legged objects never wobble – even if the concrete pad happens to be a little uneven of off level.

Each leg needed a base plate for a couple of reasons. First the steel plate serves as a method to fasten the structure to the concrete deck. By having it extend to the outside of the sculpted concrete it protects the brittle material from chipping or cracking during the moving in the shop, transport and setting up stages. Having a CNC plasma cutter in-house means we can do custom plates in a hurry and still stay within budget and our timeline. Steel plate is relatively inexpensive. I designed the cutting file in EnRoute in a few minutes.

Cutting the there plates was even faster. Being small in size I cut them from scrap pieces which we save for this purpose. The there plates were then welded to the bottom of the legs of the operator’s booth. The pencil rod will be extended down and welded to the plate. Galvanized lath will then be tied onto the pencil rod armature. A skin of fibreglass reinforced concrete will then be troweled onto that and then sculpted to look like a wood post, just like the concept drawing illustrates.

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.