Dan Sawatzky’s Robot Table for Coastal Enterprises ISA Booth

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to announce a series of guest blogs written by Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, which will be posted on the Precision Board Blog at the end of each month.  In his debut entry, Dan tells us how he created a robot table out of PBLT-4 and PBLT-30 that will be part of the Coastal Enterprises booth at the ISA International Sign Expo Trade Show in March.

Space in a trade show booth is always in short supply and so I decided a small 24″ x 24″ table to display product samples would be just the ticket. Coastal Enterprises makes Precision Board, glues and primers which we use in our shop exclusively. I did up the concept, not worrying too much about details. We would work this out as we went along.

dan sawatzky

The project is made of three pieces…a base pedestal with Coastal Enterprises’ logo routed into each side, the strongman robot, and the tabletop. I designed the routing files in Enroute. The sides of the base had the Coastal enterprises logo routed into them. I’ll be hand texturing the faces and top and add the rivets using sculpting epoxy. For the feet of the robot I drew the vectors of the feet on top of the base top to get the scale right and to make sure it didn’t overlap our company ID.

dan sawatzky

The routed sides and top of the base were screwed to a plywood box which I had previously built. It was fastened to a 1/4″ steel plate which I cut on the MultiCam CNC plasma cutter.  The feet of the robot were done in two layers which stacked on top of each other to give me the 3″ depth I wanted. These were fastened to the base top. I then hand sculpted the detail over these forms using Sculpting Epoxy.

I’ve stated many times that we use 30 lb Precision Board exclusively in our shop. This is true when it pertains to CNC routing… but when we are hand sculpting high density urethane that will be coated with sculpting epoxy we sometimes use four-pound foam. It is so soft I can practically carve it with my hands which makes roughing out basic shapes a whole lot easier!

The rough armature for the robot body was a great place to use this less dense foam. It needed to be fit around the welded steel armature and then roughed into shape. I used three layers of 3″ four-pound foam. Since I was going to coat it in sculpting epoxy I wasn’t concerned with gaps or rough edges. I used PB Bond Fast Set which cures in only one hour. I glued it up before I went to lunch and when I returned I was able to remove the clamps and get busy sculpting over the new form.

I used crumpled tinfoil to fill the gaps and holes and then pressed on a layer of sculpting epoxy. Once this had set I did another layer that was detailed. In a few hours, I did the legs and the bulk of the front of the robot body. Rather than my usual rivets I opted to sculpt flat head screws for more of a retro feel.

As an extra little feature, I added a window hatch with some small details inside using short lengths of wire, a spare air pressure gauge and some bits of hose. The detail will be a reward for the few who take the time to look at the back of the robot table. I also added an on/off switch above it as well – just for fun.

dan sawatzky

The upper arms were routed from two pieces of 1″ thick 30 lb Precision Board with a slot cut into them to fit around the 1″ X 2” structural steel. I routed the table top in four pieces. The main part of the top was built as a lower and upper section. I routed a cross slot in the top to accept a welded 1″ X 1″ square tubing frame. I applied some PB Bond fast set glue to the two halves and then screwed them together. Two more pieces for the front and back of the table top were then fastened to the top. These two pieces had the words ‘Precision Board’ routed into them. I then sculpted a layer of sculpting epoxy over the arm pieces to add detail and add the fingers and thumb to each arm. The table top was textured on all sides with an air powered die grinder.

We decided to go with a colourful retro colour scheme with heavy patina and aging. This is a well-used robot that’s been around a long time. We started with a thick coat of Coastal Enterprises FSC88-WB primer. We purposely left plenty of random brush strokes in the heavy bodied primer to add more texture. This adds a lot of character and makes adding the glazes later a whole lot easier!

Then it was on to the base colours. We use 100% acrylic house paint for the most part. Things looked pretty garish at this point but we would fix that in a hurry. Once the base colours were on and dry we started in with the glazes which we custom mix using a 50/50 blend of clear base paint (without tint) and the colour of our choice. The glazes are brushed on and then judiciously wiped off with a terry towel rag, leaving it in the crevices and in the texture of the piece. Amazing effects can be done with this technique. The top was only glazed in the letters as we wanted the square shape to look similar in colour to raw Precision Board when we were done, but have the lettering jump out.

dan sawatzky

The end result of efforts was a funky little table which should draw plenty of interest at the International Sign Association EXPO in Orlando in March. If you are at the show drop by and take a look!

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.

You can get free samples of Precision Board HDU, request a quote, and sign up for the monthly Blog Roundup from Coastal Enterprises.

RELATED:

Signing Off (Dan Sawatzky’s Blog)

Why Dan Sawatzky Exclusively Uses PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU

Imagination Takes Flight: Our Interview With Dan Sawatzky

 

Chuck Miller Featured on Composites World Podcast

Chuck Miller, President of Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, was recently featured on the Composites World podcast. He discussed his background and involvement with the evolving world of composites and tooling from his time as a Manufacturing Engineer on the Saturn S-II, the second stage of the Saturn V Moon Launch Vehicle (fabricated by North American Aviation in Seal Beach, CA) through the founding of his company, Coastal Enterprises, and into what the future may hold for composites.

chuck miller

Chuck Miller, founder and president of tooling board manufacturer Coastal Enterprises, details tooling board technology and how it continues to evolve. 

Listen to the podcast on the Composites World website HERE or find it on iTunes and Google Play.

CW Talks: The Composites Podcast is a biweekly podcast that highlights the people and technologies shaping the world of composites. Interviews feature guests with expertise and insight about where composites have been and where they are headed.

CompositesWorld is a business-to-business media brand that produces a monthly print magazine, digital media, research and live events for the global composites market. The CompositesWorld editorial team and expert contributors produce information on new product technology, operational best practices, market intelligence and industry news.

Check out some photos from Chuck’s time on the Saturn program as well as some photos from the early HDU tooling board work he was involved with in the aerospace industry.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”2″ gal_title=”Chucks NASA Photos”]

UPDATE: Check out the blog post that Composites World did on the podcast!

Coastal Enterprises is a privately held company founded in 1973 by Mr. Chuck Miller, President, after his participation in the Saturn S-II Space Program at Rockwell International. The Saturn Launch Vehicle used polyurethane foam as its exterior fuel tank insulator, and it was at this time that his experience with this unique material began.

Products manufactured by Coastal Enterprises and sold internationally since 1973 were primarily for the machining industry. They were high density urethane blocks used to “proof” computer programs on numerically controlled milling machines. Ease in machining and lower cost made urethane the preferred choice over proofing on the actual steel used for the part being machined.

Initial development of Precision Board began in early 1989. By redesigning the chemical formulation and manufacturing methods of our machining product, Coastal Enterprises developed Precision Board Plus fabrication material with physical characteristics to meet the rigorous demands of an artist’s creation and the machining standards of today’s 5 axis milling machines alike.

You can get free samples, request a quote and find technical data and information sheets at PrecisionBoard.com.

Architectural Ceiling Design for American Girl New York

When American Girl wanted a unique architectural ceiling design for their new store in New York, they got in touch with Moss Retail and Environments who, in turn, contacted Jim Dawson at Synergy Sign and Graphics.  He consulted on the design and mounting for about six months and once the designs were approved, Jim got the go ahead to make this creation a reality.  Dawson fabricated the design out of large sheets of Precision Board HDU at his shop in Ohio, which were then broken down into smaller, shippable pieces that were sent to New York and then reassembled.  We talked to Jim to get some tips on the architectural applications of Precision Board as well as how they mounted the intricate designs on the ceiling.

architectural

“We used PBLT-18 in both 2 inch and 3 inch thicknesses,” said Dawson. “These shapes were cut from several large sheets of Precision Board from 4′ x 8′ up to 5′ x 10′,” he added.

Synergy was sent auto cad drawings of the ceiling and the individual profiles. They used Enroute Pro and nested everything to cut out the individual pieces. There was a “Part A” and “Part B” which resulted in the fabrication of a lot of small pieces- 60 of one part for example.

Dawson said, “For the large complicated petals, we cut the 10′ by 10’ designs in half so the pieces were smaller for shipping and then reassembled. Installers used Bondo to reattach them after shipping and then touched up the seams.

It was at this point that the individual pieces of Precision Board HDU had to be mounted to the ceiling.

When Moss and Synergy designed the pieces, they wanted an install method that would be completely hidden and wouldn’t need a ton of touch up in the field.  PBLT-30 Precision Board pucks were created that were attached to the ceiling via screws and zip toggles.  They routed corresponding pockets in the backs of the petals so the pucks could drop inside.  The petals were then glued to the ceiling using fast set epoxy.   It made for a completely hidden mounting system.

One small issue that Dawson had was finding a bit that they could use to cut the material. “We did a lot of testing because it’s hard to find bits long enough to cut 3 inch material. We did speeds and feeds calculations and it turned out that one of the cheapest bits we bought worked the best.”  Jim used a ½ inch diameter x 5” long four flute low-helix spiral bit from Hartlauer that was classified an end-mill. He spent $25 on it.

The entire project took three days of routing and 4 days of finishing / packing and was shipped in just short of 1 week.

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!

Chuck Miller, the President of Coastal Enterprises, was recently in New York and stopped in to the American Girl store to snap a photo of how the ceiling looks with a store full of happy customers.  Check it out!

Check out our Precision Board architectural ceiling design at the 1:27 mark in this video released by American Girl about their NYC grand opening.

You can get large sheet sizes of Precision Board HDU up to 5′ x 10′ in any increment from 1/2″ up to 24″.  Get a quote or request free samples today to see if Precision Board is right for you.  We’d love to hear from you!

Faux Wood Grain Texture Using Precision Board HDU

There’s something nostalgic about a wood sign, so it’s not surprising that people want to have signs that appear to be made out of wood, but without the drawbacks- rotting, warping, or deteriorating. Brian Quinter of Quint Creative Signs has created so many faux wood grain textured signs from Precision Board HDU that it’s become almost second nature.  They even have names for it- ‘Basic Wood Grain Texture’ and ‘Super Realistic Wood Grain’.  Quint Creative has fabricated hundreds of signs that look like wood and dozens with the Super Realistic Wood Grain. We talked to Brian to get some tips and tricks for making faux wood signs from Precision Board HDU.

faux wood

Brian Quinter first started making faux wood signs seven years ago that looked like sandblasted wood signs.  That changed when a job came to him about four years ago for The Barrel House. They wanted something that looked like an old sign that may have been found in a barn with deep wood grain and a natural wood finish. That was when he started making the Super Realistic Wood Grain textured signs.

To achieve their super realistic wood grain Brian uses Vectric Aspire. He creates 3D components from two different bitmaps of wood grain. Brian often finds a texture first on the internet and uses it to create a 3D Component.  The second he creates using Corel Draw, which he converts to a bitmap and edits in Corel Photopaint.  He uses an Eye Candy plugin to make his grains look how he wants and then creates a 3D Component. Brian then bakes both textures together as one 3D component and finishes the design in Vectric Aspire. He uses a 3D Finishing toolpath with a .25 Ballnose bit.

“I usually include elements like knots and often bring the texture and faux painting onto the framing of the sign. I find having some machining lines help make it look even more like wood when we do the glazing after we paint it,” said Quinter.  “I do basic textures using Aspire’s Texturing Toolpath tool, but I like to do Full 3D wood grain for the higher end signs,” he added.

Brian prefers Precision Board HDU over actual wood because he can control what he makes.

“If I’m using wood and trying to expose the natural grain, I don’t know what I’m going to get. If I hit a knot, it can mess me up.”  He added, “I can deliver what I’m designing without worrying about problems during fabrication and my client gets what they have been shown in a proof.” (Ed note: the above photo is an example of a proof- the one that Brian showed to Hawk’s Nest)

Hawk’s Nest is his most recent faux wood design for a sign.  They were looking for rustic, so they wanted something that looked like wood instead of going with flat plastic or aluminum.  The sign was fabricated using PBLT-15 that was 1.5” thick for the background.  The letters were also made out of PBLT-15 and were 1.5” thick. Nova Color paints and glazes were used for the entire project, including the metallic silver and gold.

Brian used convex letters to give the sign some highlights and shadows. If you look at the letters, the sides are painted black and the front is painted the main color for the letter.

“There’s a lot of little touches that help bring it together that may not be noticed by the normal person,” says Quinter.

Brian has some advice for those just starting out with faux wood signs.

“The hardest thing is color choice when you start painting it. Some of that is experimental to achieve the wood look.” He added, “Prime it. Give it a base coat with a mustardy color. Glaze it and then wipe it off to give it highlights. Start with lighter and work to darker colors. Textures also help when glazing and leaving some of the darker colors of paint set in the texture”

Quint Creative just recently did another faux wood project for the local park system.

“We just replaced some wood signs for Tipp City Parks that were faded and deteriorating and used Precision Board HDU made to look like wood,” Brian added.

The signs were rotting and the client wanted them updated with something sturdy and weather-resistant. The results speak for themselves!

In the end says Quinter, “going with a faux wood textured Precision Board sign will give you a classy, traditional sign that stands out and lasts forever.”

Quint Creative Signs creates one of a kind signs that help set any type of business or organization apart from others. With attention to detail and knowledge of what really works in sign design, QCS signs get noticed where ever they are installed.  Give them a call at (937) 615-9332 or visit their website.  You can check out a lot more photos of Brian’s faux wood work in galleries here and here.

Make sure to sign up for our monthly Blog Roundup to get more content like this sent to your inbox for reading when it’s convenient for you!  Request free samples of Precision Board HDU or any of our companion products, including adhesivesprimers and coatings.

SEE ALSO:

Using EnRoute Software’s “Rapid Texture” on Signage

HDU Vs Wood Signs

Cold Jet Dry Ice Cleaning of Precision Board Tools

Are you considering dry ice cleaning of a Precision Board HDU tool, but not sure if it can handle the pressure? We had Cold Jet, a pioneer in dry ice blasting and global expert on dry ice technology, dry ice blast a PBLT-70 tool coated with FSC-88 WB Primer.

The results? Dry ice cleaning removed the primer and left the Precision Board HDU surface smooth and with no visible surface deterioration.

The test replicated cleaning contaminants off of a fouled mold without damaging the material, allowing for multiple cycles of cleaning and resealing of a Precision Board tool. Read on for technical settings and comments from Cold Jet on dry ice cleaning of a Precision Board tool.

dry ice cleaning

Dry ice blasting is similar in concept to sand or water blasting, but dry ice blasting uses non-abrasive media in the form of recycled CO2 pellets that will not damage surfaces. The combination of dry ice blasting’s kinetic energy and thermal effects break the connection between the contaminant and surface, lifting it away. Unlike blasting with other media, dry ice does not leave any secondary waste, because the dry ice particles sublimate upon impact – converting from solid to gas.

Dry ice cleaning can help meet strict industry demands by providing a composite tool cleaning solution that is fast, delicate and does not use chemicals or solvents. It is a non-abrasive cleaning solution that extends the life of molds and equipment by eliminating the need for harsh chemicals, wire brushes and coarse pads.

Tooling used for, but not limited to, compression molding, resin transfer molding, extrusion, pre-pregging and wet-layup are all exceptional applications for dry ice blast cleaning.

Testing was done on a sample of Precision Board PBLT-70 partially coated with FSC-88 WB Surface Primer. Cold Jet used the i3 MicroClean, with conventional block dry ice, MC88 nozzle, and 60 psi blast pressure.

According to Steve Wilson, Director of Global Business Development for Cold Jet, “the contaminant on this sample required a little less pressure than the uncoated sample of PBLT-75 that we also tested, but could be dialed in to clean quite nicely.” While it cleaned a bit slower than the second sample, the process can be adapted for larger nozzles with the SDI Select-60 machine from Cold Jet.

“The blast pressure is on the very low end of the process capabilities,” said Steve. “There is plenty more cleaning capacity if needed. From visual, 400X photos and calibers, I can see no deterioration to the Precision Board sample surface.” Steve added, “about 2/3 of it has been cleaned so that you can see the comparison between before and after. The surface of the part still feels very smooth.”

BEFORE (400X magnification):

AFTER (400X magnification):

Testing on the second sample of Precision Board, PBLT-75 with no coating was also done with Cold Jet’s i3 MicroClean machine, using the following settings: conventional block, 80 psi blast pressure, MC88 nozzle, 0.6 lbs./min. federate, 2” stand-off distance, 3-4”/sec. traverse rate.

With more than 30 years of experience dedicated to dry ice blasting technology, Cold Jet has unparalleled experience in developing and recommending dry ice solutions to match any need. Cold Jet offers the widest selection, most reliable and most dependable Dry Ice Blasting Systems, Dry Ice Production Equipment, Engineered Systems, and Nozzles on the market.  Visit their website for more information or contact them to get more information about HDU tool cleaning.  We thank them for taking the time to test our material and recommend them for dry ice blasting of Precision Board HDU tooling.

With its roots in Aerospace, Precision Board Plus HDU Tooling Board is specifically engineered to meet the demands of a broad range of tooling and tool-making applications. Both PBLT Tooling Board (up to 200° F) and PBHT Tooling Board (up to 300° F) possess excellent machining characteristics and dimensional stability for tool-making. It is ideal for soft tooling and rapid prototyping because it can be more rapidly machined and it is more economical than alloy or epoxy-based alternatives.

Interested in trying your own test on Precision Board?  You can get a free sample or call our technical team with your questions at 800-845-0745.