Sonbuilt Logo - Part 3

We often wear a number of hats in our line of work and this project was no exception: designer, sculptor, programmer, engineer, plumber, electrician, painter, and probably a few more. But, that is what keeps this job so interesting!

Once the file came off the CNC router it was time to use some old fashioned tools. We trimmed the background piece down to size with our table saw, then cranked the blade over to forty-five degrees and cut the back sides at an angle. A sawzall whacked out the hole for the water pump and trimmed the bottom corners away to make room for the wiring. Then we drilled a hole through the middle and a groove in the back to accommodate the low voltage LED wiring.

Then it was time to play plumber. We always keep a few pieces of PVC pipe and fittings on hand, and luckily we had everything we needed here in the shop. We used a ball valve to regulate and throttle down the water flow. Then we used angle fittings to drop the pipes down and around to where the water would come out. We also flattened the pipes by heating them up a little before shaping them.

We used a bit of sculpting epoxy to fasten the LED lights in place, angling them slightly towards the background. Then we cut an opening in a piece of 30 lb. Precision Board HDU to form the top of the display. The hole in the centre will be the lake into which the water falls. The submersible pump will be just under the water.

Now the hard part is done and the fun begins!

To check how it will appear when the logo sits in the finished cabinet we cut a hole in a piece of MDF which we’ll prop up in front, from time to time, to check our work.

Next instalment, we’ll get started on the scenery.

MultiCam Boardroom - Part 13

At this point, the room was nearly finished.

The last of the details for the TV surround were nearly complete. We used the CNC router to cut the ornate brackets for the pipes with come down behind the TV. The brackets and rivets were cut from 40 lb. Precision Board. One pipe actually carries the low voltage wires for the LED's which light up the gages around the TV. The rest are purely for decoration.

At this point, the curved and riveted ceiling look fantastic, well worth the many hours of work it took to accomplish. The cork floor (still very dusty in the photographs here blends into the whole scheme of things marvelously.

We've yet to route, paint and install a base board shoe to cover the edges of the floating cork floor.

Once we hooked up the wires for the LED's around the TV it was instant magic!

Multicam Boardroom - Part 12

With the painting in the MultiCam boardroom nearly wrapped up we turned our attention to the rooms smaller details.

For instance, a large LED TV needed to be mounted to the end wall opposite the white board. We measured the television carefully and set to work designing a frame that will fit into the theme of the room. Importantly we made certain not to block any venting or disrupt the operation of the TV controls.

The vector and routing files for the tv surround were created in EnRoute. To continue the theme, an 'M' was to be embossed into the face of the gages. Our plan was to print some faces for the gages and glue them in (behind plexiglass) as we assembled the TV surround.

As we often do, we mocked up the various bits and pieces of the TV surround as soon as they came off the CNC router. Everything was routed from 30 lb. Precision Board. The gages are cut in two pieces and had a red LED inside to give them a nice glow.

We wanted the green liquid in the tube beside the TV to be translucent so we could light it from the bottom. We used gel candle wax. The wax is clear and forms bubbles when you poured it. It took a couple of tries to get the colour right. We needed to ensure that the LED at the bottom of the tube needed to thew light but was not be visible through the liquid.

As for the gauges, we hogged out enough space for the LED's in the bottom of the gages and drilled a raceway to thread a hidden wire to all the lights, angling them up at a 45 degree angle. Once we strung the wire through the frame, it looked pretty cool.