So I was looking for ideas about what to make for the demonstration of the NewCNC machine on April 12, and @Lex suggested we might need a sign out front to better identify the building. Well we have 1/2 a sheet of 15lb SignFoam which is manufactured for that purpose.
I mocked one up in photoshop with the width matching the widest part of the foam we have. It seems that there is a limit of 10sqft without a permit from the city (please correct me if I’m misinterpreting the ordinances) and this one is about 7sqft. What does everyone think of the idea?
This sounds like a great idea, and I’d like to help if there is the need. I think we need something a little more eye-catching so that people can find us.
One caution though - we may want to check with the landlord before we start drilling holes in the outside walls.
I dig this! Would a sign above the door where the triangular roof peaks be more visible? Tipping the square logo onto a corner so it’s diamond-shaped may look pretty sweet too.
I thought about this too. It seems like the trees might obscure that area in the summer. Also, this spot on the wall is lit by a recessed light right above it so the sign would be visible at night. Interestingly, Fluid Chillers had their sign in the same spot, with another small logo sign above the door like you suggested.
I think this is a great design. And if Fluid Chillers had their sign there, the landlord probably won’t object. There may already be holes there we can use as well.
As for your design question - I’m not familiar with SignFoam. I assume it’s some sort of foam product - lightweight, rot resistant, easy to machine? How durable is it? Would a strong wind break it, or could birds peck at it? (I ask because apparently woodpeckers are boring holes in the siding of my barn. Grrrr…)
Can the foam be fastened directly to the wall? If not, I’d probably mount a rectangle of treated 2x4s on the wall, and fasten the sign to that. Or mount just a few small blocks of wood, and fasten the sign to that. This would give the illusion of the sign floating an inch or so off the wall.
It’s just a rigid foam meant to last outdoors and be easily machined and painted. Here is a brochure: SF4-brochure-readerspread.pdf (678.9 KB) I’ve read you can machine it as fast as your CNC will move in some cases.
They recommend drilling holes with countersinks in the foam and using screws to attach it directly to a wall. The countersinks can then be filled with spackle and painted. I could program in some screw locations. I think your idea about it floating a little bit if it is attached to some wood pieces would be nice too, but the wall is likely flat enought that we could skip that step if we wanted to.
I’d say look at the wall and see what remains of the former sign, then go from there. Either floating or flat would work - I’m not strongly inclined to either. We have some talented and creative people, and we could probably come up with several options (backlighting, anyone?) But at the end of the day, they probably aren’t necessary.
If no objection, I can move forward with the design/programming. As Tony mentioned, I assume we would want to run it by the building owners. My plan at the moment would be to use 4-6 Tapcon screws into the cinder blocks on that portion of the front wall.
I think this sign is ready to go up. Would anyone like to help me hang it out front? I think we should do it this Friday, May 24 6pm at the cleanup/prep event. @Tony cleared some of the bushes out to make it easier to access the spot where it will go. I found some concrete screws, and drilled the corresponding holes in the sign. We will just need to hold it up level, mark the screw locations, drill the holes, fasten it, then paint the screw heads.
