Going Global With Insignia!

With a motto of “Helping you leave your mark on the world,” Orange, CA sign shop Insignia was well suited to tackle the massive 3-D globe project proposed to them by DOW Chemical.

DOW requested the globe be lightweight enough for customers to lift, which was no problem for the creative minds at Insignia. According to owner Joseph Westbrook, “We worked pretty closely with DOW to make a lightweight sculpture for their trade show exhibit. Because it needed to be so light, we decided to use Precision Board Plus PBLT-6, which is lightweight, but would still allow us to retain a high degree of durability.”

With the concept completed, the next step was blueprinting the design and planning the most efficient assembly build process. “The most challenging part of this project was figuring out how we were going to cut and assemble it as a whole,” states Westbrook. “Through collaboration with Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, we ultimately decided to CNC rout the Precision Board in many different sections – 16 to be exact – which took a lot of time. Our CNC router ran day and night to get all the pieces cut.”

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With so many pieces to assemble, putting the project together was a little like a game of Tetris. “We used Coastal’s PB Bond-240 adhesive to put together the different pieces of the globe. After we assembled the entire thing, we used a combination of FSC-88WB Primer/Filler and FSC-360WB HDU Filler to fill in the joints where it came together.”

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After painting the entire project with 1Shot Paint, it was ready for delivery to DOW. As this picture shows, the goal of making the project light enough to lift was a success – through the use of a hollow globe, the globe weighs only 50 lbs.!

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Additional information about Insignia and other creative ventures they have tackled can be seen at: www.leavingyourmark.com.

Topographical Modelmaking In A Nutshell!

With millions of data points and tolerances tighter than some high-powered engines, topographical modelmaking, or digital elevation modeling, is a learned art requiring a keen eye for details.

Topographical models are frequently used by a variety of industries including geologists, architects, construction firms and land developers. They are often seen in museums and visitor centers, and are a great way for people to get a “Bird’s eye view” of a large area to analyze anything from geological changes to potential construction sites.

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We recently had a chance to speak with topographical model maker Donn Arrell, owner of Clinton Systems, about some of the beautiful models he has made over the years. Donn’s first step before building a model is securing an accurate data source. This can be in the form of a CAD drawing provided by the customer, or a drawing acquired from a source like the National Elevation Dataset (NED).

After selecting the resolution and scaling the drawing (which is a lot more work than it sounds), Donn will run a simulation which will indicate how long it will take to CNC machine. It’s then a matter of selecting the material (Donn uses Precision Board Plus), and starting the CNC on its course.

Most of the models Donn produces can be finished in a day or two, but occasionally large projects require a week or more of running the router day and night! (Which didn’t surprise us after seeing some of the models!) Many of these models will then go onto another professional Modelmaking shop who may paint it and add LED’s or even moving parts.

Mars HiRise images of sites in Gale Crater at 600 data points per inch. Models represent areas of about 3 miles x 8 miles (8″ x 22″).

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Donn prefers using Precision Board Plus HDU for his topographical models because:

“Precision Board offers a broad density range. Hard to damage touchable models can be made with the higher density foams. Cost sensitive projects gain cost benefits with lower density foams. Having a single source provider for these materials is a great advantage.”

Clinton Systems has been in business for over 20 years and specializes in high quality, high-resolution topographical models. Be sure to take a look at their website for more info: www.clintonsystems.com.

All of these models are made out of Precision Board Plus HDU.

Model of a recent NASA Mars Rover landing site in the Gale Crater. Carved into Precision Board Plus PBLT-20 at 600 data points per inch resolution. Using high resolution data from a Mars HiRISE image.

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The “Couteau”, a region of North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota. Made using Precision Board Plus PBLT-20.

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A site study model for new construction in in Guam from survey data. Made using Precision Board Plus PBLT-10.HDUTopographicalModel

 

A 15′ rendering of Sinnemahoning State Park based on the USGS 3 meter high resolution Lidar data. Made in 3 height matched sections from Precision Board Plus PBLT-20.PrecisionBoardElevationModel

Small architectural base model for easy transport. Note the recess for inserting a 3D building model in the lower right hand corner. Steps clearly show drainage and grading. The data source is an architectural CAD rendering. Precision Board Plus PBLT-20.
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Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Ski resort with some vertical exaggeration to emphasize the ski slopes. Data from the USGS National Elevation Database. Precision Board Plus PBLT-20.

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Base for a site development presentation model, 8′ x 12′ made from Precision Board Plus PBLT-6 in 3 height matched sections.
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Design For Manufacturability in the Architectural Field

Having a vivid imagination in the design world is an asset, but being able to realistically apply it in the real world is a learned skill.

Within the Department of Architectural Technology at the New York City College of Technology (CUNY) , the Introduction to Computation and Fabrication course aims to teach students introductory CNC techniques, with added focus on Design for Manufacturability.

Using parametric software such as Grasshopper in combination with RhinoCAM, students are taught to create their own tool paths. These tool paths are then “proofed” on a CNC machine using a variety of materials, such as Precision Board, to analyze the design for imperfections or errors.

If the student has designed a complex tool path with many tight, narrow valleys, they may realize as a consequence that the machining time is far too long – with the result being a design that no customer could afford.

If the tool path proves successful, the design is then produced on materials including Precision Board Plus HDU. The goal of this is to teach students that when they design something, they should also have a pretty good idea of the output technology required to bring their design to life.

Additional information on the Introduction to Computation and Fabrication course, taught by prof. Anne Leonhardt and Zach Downey, can be seen at: http://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/compfab/.

Brian Ringley, Technology Coordinator for the National Science Foundation ATE Fuse Lab grant program which initiated the course, sent us pictures of several projects featuring Precision Board donated by Coastal Enterprises from their exhibitions.

These pictures show student-created projects made using Precision Board Plus PBLT-4, PBLT-6 and PBLT-8 for the Intersections 2013 exhibition:

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This project was created by esteemed artist and designer Francis Bitonti as part of a student-artist collaboration exhibit called “Intersections” held in 2012. The project is titled the “Schistose Mirror” and shows Precision Board Plus PBLT-10 mounted onto Trupan MDF being cut on a CNC router. After it was CNC cut it was professionally painted by an auto body shop. See more work from Francis Bitonti at: http://francisbitonti.com

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Racing In The Mud: The Baja SAE Experience

As far as school clubs go, it doesn’t get much cooler than the Baja SAE off-road vehicle team. Earlier in the year we wrote about Cal Poly Pomona and the rugged BAJA SAE car they built for this year’s competition. We have since been in touch with Jessica Ghareebo, Cal Poly Pomona Baja SAE President, who was able to update us on what makes the 2013 vehicle tick.

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The goal of this year’s project was to lower the car’s center of gravity and decrease total vehicle manufacturing time by 30%. To start, students created a vehicle model in SolidWorks and analyzed it for aerodynamics. After finalizing the design, CAD models were sent to local company ADM Works, who donated time on their massive CNC machine to cut out molds using Precision Board Plus donated by Coastal Enterprises.

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After receiving the machined molds, they were primed and sanded to a smooth finish. Students then applied a mold release before creating negative molds using a fiberglass layup technique. Finally, carbon fiber was laid up onto the fiberglass to create the finished body panel part. All molds for the body panels were made using Precision Board Plus PBLT-6, while PBLT-40 was used to create the mold for the fuel catch.

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According to Anthony Cerrato, Electrical and Composites Captain, “Working with Precision Board saved the team a lot of time. After receiving the molds back from ADM Works, the cuts were so clean that finishing time was reduced.” At the time of competition, the project goals of lowering the vehicle’s center of gravity and decreasing manufacturing time by 30% were successful.

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The Baja SAE competition is quite popular among university/college students. Many, many teams compete in the strenuous competition that includes uphill races and rock crawls. Cal Poly Pomona managed to do quite well in both competitions, placing 11th overall out of 100 teams in the Baja SAE East competition, and 6th overall out of 87 teams in the Baja SAE West competition. Coastal Enterprises would like to congratulate all students involved and wish them luck again for next year!

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Cal Poly’s 3000 MPG Supermileage Car

George Leone, Student Project Facilitator at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA, sent us pictures of a fascinating project one of the student teams is undertaking. Cal Poly students are designing a “Supermileage” car to compete in the Shell Eco-Marathon as part of a class project. The Shell Eco Marathon is designed to challenge high school and college student teams worldwide to design, build and test energy efficient vehicles. The winners are the teams that go the furthest distance using the least amount of energy.

Precision Board Plus PBLT-6 was cut on a CNC router and coated with Duratec to make carbon fiber molds for the body. They then added a 50cc engine for utilizing a tactic known as “burn and coast”, where they let the engine run for a short time and then coast, allowing them to achieve much higher miles per gallon. The MPG goal for this car, named “Lamina”, is 3000 Miles Per Gallon!

Lamina is not completely finished (they are working out final details on forming the windshield), but we have some great pictures of their progress. Additional pictures, including a video of Lamina’s maiden test voyage can be seen here. Stay tuned for a future update with finished pictures!