WELCOME!

It is hard to believe that it was almost ten years ago I witnessed a CNC router in action for the very first time. I was fascinated and simply had to have one! Although I had been in the creative end of the three dimensional sign business for most of my life I didn't really know what I would do with one of these machines - but I just knew it could do fantastic stuff.

Along with the CNC router I discovered the wonderful material called Precision Board and the glues, primers and other companion products they offer. Since then we have gone through many tons of the material using it in most signs and projects we tackle. This journal will chronicle our many adventures both past, present and future. I'll talk from the perspective of someone who pushes these products to the creative limit on a daily basis. I'll be adding to the stories two or three times each week. -dan

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

White board that is anything but plain white

The MultiCam board room needed a white board to facilitate the training that will happen there. No ordinary white board would do. It stumped me for a while but as always an idea eventually came to mind. I would hide it behind a door. A little research on the web gave me the images to start with. I scribbled up an idea in my sketchbook first. The door would be simple with plenty of rivets of course. 
Then I created the vector file with the drawing tools in EnRoute. It only took a couple of minutes. Just after I took this screen capture I decided to add one more small detail...  'Yarrow Shipyard' would be my subtle way of signing the room.
The door was cut from 1.5" thick 30 lb Precision Board. A second layer was cut from 3/4" MDF to add strength. I also welded up a hinged steel bracket from two pieces of angle iron to make sure the door stays attached to the frame forever. A sheet of 3/4" plywood is screwed and glued to the back of the door frame for firm attachment to the wall. 
There is still plenty of details to come, texture of course, lots of rivets, the handle, perhaps some barnacles and the rust finish to blend it into the rest of the room. One more detail is now well underway. As I worked on the whiteboard I was thinking of the primary eye candy for the room. I think I have it all worked out in my head and on paper. But I'll leave that for the next installment...

-dan