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KDF Custom Graphics Blog

Bailey’s Project: Day 3

Bailey’s Project: Day 3

Mar 10, 2014 |

 Wow! Day 3 flew by with lots of progress on our Bailey’s project. The shop is buzzing with activity. We have installs going out the door, the MultiCam 3000 CNC is cranking out dimensional pieces, all of the printers are running with jobs ranging from tractor trailer wraps to art prints to murals and signs, and…. the phone is ringing off the hook!!!!  We are busy. So even with all of this going on we are focused on the Bailey’s deadline, and the pint of Guinness that awaits us at the end of the project. The sign is hanging in the workshop and Brian has finished all the welding on the grills AND they are all painted.

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Bailey’s Project: Day 2

Bailey’s Project: Day 2

Mar 10, 2014 |

Day two is underway! We’ve made some great progress in all areas. Brian’s been hard at work welding up the grill.  It looks incredible and will really make this sign feel authentic. I’ve been programming the face and ribbons and working out the depth of the overall sign. In Enroute I’ve programmed the basic shape of the ribbon with the text – once I’ve cut it out of Precision Board HDU Brian will do some hand sculpting to remove the “machine cut” look.  

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Bailey’s Project – Day 1: Countdown to St. Paddys Day

Bailey’s Project – Day 1: Countdown to St. Paddys Day

Mar 10, 2014 |

If anyone reading this knows us at KDF you probably know that we love a challenge. Usually the challenge comes in the form of a tight schedule or a difficult design or a slew of creative ideas that need to be quickly conceptualized, sifted through and executed on.  This project has all of the above. It has an extremely detailed custom dimensional sign with LED’s, goosenecks, layer after layer of HDU and it all has to be done by St. Paddy’s Day! We’re going to earn our Guinness on this one! Last year we had the pleasure of working with our friends at Bailey’s Smokehouse in Blauvelt NY ( http://www.baileysny.com/ ). AWESOME FOOD!!!! We designed, printed and installed a van wrap for them. They’ve returned with a bigger and better request.

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Han Solo – The Wrap Up

Han Solo – The Wrap Up

Feb 19, 2014 |

We’ve been busy – but I did get to complete Han Solo. So here is the final stage of the project. Everything is screwed together and I’ve completed the “clothing” sculpt. So its time to complete the carbonite then the side control panels.  I started by filling the foam area with wood glue. The glue is self leveling and works as a good sealer. I poured it on and let it sit overnight

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3D HDU Sign Letters

3D HDU Sign Letters

Jan 27, 2014 |

We recently created a sign for a client. We liked the design so much so we decided to make two and keep one for ourselves. It is a very simple sign but it will look good in the shop. We designed our sign in Enroute Pro.  We’ll be cutting it out of 2″ 15lb Precision Board HDU on our MultiCAM 3000 Router. The design is a wood grain over a dimensional letter and we threw in some big rivets for fun. The first thing we was to cut the letters face down and to pocket out room in the back for LED’s (in case we want to add them later).  We also added holes for the wall mount studs.  We then flipped the letters and re registered them on the table to begin cutting the 3D face

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HDU Letters – KENZO Window Display

HDU Letters – KENZO Window Display

Jan 24, 2014 |

This was a quick turnaround job – 1 day start to finish  – the client needed large foam letters and would be hanging them with fishing wire in a window display. The dimensions of the letters are 15″ high by 8″ deep. So we cut the letters in two layers from 4″ 10lb Precision Board HDU. Its lightweight and real easy to work with

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Custom Carved Town Sign – Borough of Rockleigh, NJ

Custom Carved Town Sign – Borough of Rockleigh, NJ

Jan 23, 2014 |

 Our office is located in a tiny borough tucked away in the Northeast corner of NJ.  Its a beautiful little area of NJ – We were honored to be chosen to redesign and create the new signs for this this historic district of Rockleigh. After a few concept drawings we came up with the final design which was in line with the existing borough signage and had the elegant historic feel they were looking for.                              Once approved we sat down and came up with a unique way to construct the sign.  Our goal was to build a dimensional sign that would last but also have elements that are not used in typical town signage. As always we’ll be making the sign from 30lb Precision Board – This is our favorite material and will last forever! We start by cutting the signs face up and routing pockets to place our dimensional letters later. This will make for a very interesting sign. Once we’ve cut the face we flip the sign and route out a channel on the back for the steel frame that will hold the sign up.  These signs are double sided so when they are completed we’ll screw and glue the panels together.

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Han Solo Continued…

Han Solo Continued…

Jan 23, 2014 |

  The Control Panels are all cut.  We’ll do some handy work on these later with LEDs and Acrylic faces.  Now its time to complete the sculpting of Hans clothing.  I’m using Magic Sculpt.  This material is great – its a two part sculpting compound that is really easy to work with and hardens to steel! If you look closely I’m using my Iphone case as a reference for the detail.  

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The Han Solo in Carbonite Project

The Han Solo in Carbonite Project

Jan 23, 2014 |

There is never enough time in the day to get things done.  So when it comes to side projects to dress up the studio it’s almost impossible to find any time at all. Our Current project is to replicate the Han Solo in Carbonite prop from “The Empire Strikes Back”. This might take a long time but it will be a great piece to hang on the wall. So the first thing I need to do is build the box.  I’ve scaled up my drawing in Enroute and have created the “control panel” holes.

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