Blogs
Introducing newly updated Precision Board Plus
Staying relevant in the modern composites industry requires a delicate balancing act of honest trial and error. In order to grow and mature, a manufacturer must identify the areas in which a product or process can be improved. This requires transparency and...
Wired to the MAX!
Peter is making great progress on his Sign Challenge piece. He’s now finished glazing and aging the top section and has moved on to the wiring. It is amazing to see how the addition of the various coloured wired changes the piece in such a dramatic fashion. The wires ties everything together beautifully and give the impression of incredible detail
Trade show booth – part five
As we design any project I feel that two things can do a great deal to make it stand out. These are colour and texture. On the trade show booth we will use both to best advantage in a variety of mediums. Warm rust and weathered patinas will play against cool worn teals and smooth riveted steel against the deep gnarly texture of weathered wood. We are still in the early stages of the finishes but the project is already starting to look pretty cool.
Custom mandrels made easy with Precision Board
The steel mandrels often required for filament winding are a limiting factor when producing custom prototypes or other low-volume projects. It can be prohibitively expensive to fabricate a new steel mandrel for a single project, not to mention the design limitations...
Trade show booth – part four
With addition of the top faux I-beam along the top of the back wall the welding done on the front of the booth and it was time to begin the painting process. We had originally planned to have the steel all exposed and rusty but changed our mind to have it a weathered teal green instead. Before we got to that we first had to add the rivets and textured primer coat to make the back paneling look live steel. We used Abracadabra Sculpting epoxy to fashion the rivets. I carefully laid on three coats of teal green on a steel shelf and allowed it to dry
Sign Challenge progress
Peter has now finished the sculpting on his Sign Challenge piece and has moved on to the painting process. It is looking pretty amazing!By the end of day tomorrow he should be into the glazing and aging process. My piece has most of the base colours finished but we still have to do a little sculpting on one small element. Once that is painted we will move on to the aging and glazes
CompositesWorld: Carbon Fiber 2015
Landmark composites convention kicks off in Knoxville, Tennessee The composites industry is constantly looking towards the future, providing the means and materials for the next groundbreaking technological advancement. Every manufacturer is racing to discover the...
Trade show booth – part three
The current large project underway in our shop has used our MultiCam plasma cutter in a large way. It has in fact caused me to fall in love with the handy, dandy machine and the ease in which we can create custom metal parts. We’ve taken the design/build approach. Each piece is first sized up visually.
Trade show booth – part two
I drew up concept plans for an entire West Coast town more than five years ago. Every building and structure was styled in an energetic, steampunk/nautical flavour. I had a lot of fun creating the concepts but unfortunately the group was not able to get the funding necessary to proceed and the plan died. Those concepts (which I still own) have lain dormant in my files ever since.