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Thread: IndustriAL Uses for the CW

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    NE PA USA
    Posts
    9,984

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    Well 6 days ago I got started on this project and I just put the last tag in the UV Oven at 2AM... Took Monday off so 5 work days and so far 57 hours at about 11 hours a day of actual work...

    I am down to about 1/4 cup of Epoxy and that has about a 5 day lead time as they make it to order... Called this morning when I lifted the Gallon Can and it was Lighter than I expected... Used about 3/4 of a Gallon of Doming Epoxy for 535 Tags.

    All that is left is to spin on 535 one inch rings and clips... I hope I have enough rings?.... Should order some in the morning...

    Could ship on Saturday..... That is a lot of Rings.... My thumbs will be a little tender...

    On the IndustrAL side of things.... I made 2 more Handles for my Friend at NMFD as two boards got damaged in shipping... I should have used a bigger box.... I will know next time.... Told him to ship them back, I will pay shipping back. I have 3 blanks to make 2 boards in the next day... I need to order a few big $heets soon.... I did insure them but the outside of the box looked good to him.... I will just make new boards and send them... Part of the Learning Curve.... I believe I was wrong not UPS....

    Like having to print 12 tags from scratch at 1 AM.... I took them out of the Heat Press too soon.... Before the Timer.... Hence a lighter color of Orange tag.... Well, they will make good samples, they are perfect just look like Tangerines instead of Oranges.... The re Prints came out Great....

    Old Dependable cut the Wood Handles the other night without a Whimper... Christine is doing a good job....

    AL
    Favorite Saying.... "It's ALL About the Brass Roller"..... And "Use MASKING TAPE" for board skipping in the X or breaking bits.

    Follow ME on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Accoun...50019051727074

    www.PoconoDigitalWoodshop.com

    www.AccountabilityTag.com


  2. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Snellville, GA
    Posts
    1,475

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    Evening Al,
    I may not be the only one who does not know . . . would you please explain doming epoxy. I've missed it somewhere in all the posts. Thanks
    Fair winds,

    Capt Bruce
    Kinney deSigns http://kinneydesigns.us
    CarveWright START U Team Member.

    30 year USN SEABEE, the original Weapons of Mass Construction.
    Designer Ver 1.187 and 2.007, Ver.3.001 One 2009 B CW w ROCK and a 5th Year Anniversary C CW
    Rotary Jig, 2D and 3D, Tracing Probe, DFX and STL Importers

    .

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    NE PA USA
    Posts
    9,984

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    Capt Bruce,

    In that picture in the previous post I take the Printed Tag and with a big plastic needle squeeze epoxy that is like corn syrup on the tag. The Static Surface Tension of the Epoxy makes it forum a Dome like a water drop on a waxed car. The trick is to get just enough epoxy on the tag to make a full dome and not too much that it rolls over the edge. I then put the tags into a UV Oven made from 4 foot Home Depot Black Lights and Shop Fixtures. The UV Light Cures the Epoxy to a very hard durable tag. The only reason I use the Dome is that the Tag is printed with Sublimation, the Heat Press Process. If a tag is colored RED and the edge chips slightly then the white base material shows through... Doming just looks better.... On the back I try to always use a white background to eliminate the Epoxy on the back for both sides... The First 2 orders I did with Epoxy Dome I put Reflective Vinyl on the back with the Station Number. I then Domed over the back. The problem is when the Epoxy runs over the edge it makes a WORT on the under side. It happens in the oven while it is curing and I don't always catch it... When cutting the Wort off, it leaves a UGLY spot that is not clear... When I did that first Hemlock Farms and Blooming Grove order I had about 50% defect with Worts.... It drove me nuts having to do the tags over from the beginning.... So Epoxy is Finicky to work with... But once you master it... It makes a GREAT Product.... You see Doming on Car Logos and Manufactures Logos.

    There is 2 kinds of Epoxy for Doming... The UV one part Cure that I use and the 2 part that you mix from a needle tube mixer or pouring 2 together and mixing. I have both and like the simplicity of the UV Cure...

    I buy my Epoxy from www.Epoxies.com and use the 60-7155RCL-22 at about $200.00 a Gal and use a mustard pump from Wally Mart to fill my Syringe. I have a 3 Gallon Painting Pressure Pot that I plan to set the gallon inside and a fill tube to a hose and valve. I will pressurize the pot to press the epoxy out of the gal can. I could pressurize the Gallon Can but if a seam split I would loose my Epoxy.... This way the epoxy stays inside the gallon can inside the paint pot.

    There are some really great Videos on you tube about doming... My favorite is this one.... Turn up the Volume...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qOU95LmiL8

    After seeing this video and others I traded in my US Cutter Vinyl Plotter un opened for a Graphtec FC7000-60 with the Photo Eyes that let you put a printed sheet back in the machine and with the registration marks on the corners cut out the stickers.... I can print registration marks from Corel Draw and drive the Graphtec with Corel Draw. If someone here is looking for a new money maker... It is a Vinyl Plotter.... They pay for themselves 4 or more times a year if used... I have paid for my plotter about once... As I don't use it as much as I could.... TOO many toys...

    IF you use a Ink Jet to print on Sticker material and add registration marks for the Graphtec to cut, know that the Ink Jet ink has a UV Inhibitor in it and if you use the UV Cure like I do... The Epoxy will not cure at the surface of the sticker.... That will result in the Hard Epoxy sliding off like Snow on a metal roof.... The FIX is to place a sheet of CLEAR Vinyl over the printed stickers to act as a barrier... Then Cut in a plotter and Weed leaving just the stickers on the sheet to dome.... Liquid Lens used a 2 part Epoxy that mixes in the long tube needle as you press... The Downfall is the price of the Liquid Lens.... WAY more Expensive..... The UP Side.... I will resist Yellowing in Direct Sun for a long period of time.

    That is why I am getting excited about sometime in the future I buy this $41K Direct UV LED Cure Printer.... I could make all kinds of proiducts... Mimaki UJF-3042 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U-Rr-oge6U


    SO Capt. Bruce, that is the LONG answer about Epoxy Domng.... Over 2 years of Trial and Error has gone in to this post with tips and tricks.... The Doming has made my Fire Tags stand out over my Competetors... So far I am the only one doing this for Fire Tags....

    Thanks for asking.....

    I took pictures of the BIG order today.... Slept in until NOON... so I missed the post office.... Got caught up on my sleep...

    AL
    Last edited by Digitalwoodshop; 02-26-2011 at 04:43 PM.
    Favorite Saying.... "It's ALL About the Brass Roller"..... And "Use MASKING TAPE" for board skipping in the X or breaking bits.

    Follow ME on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Accoun...50019051727074

    www.PoconoDigitalWoodshop.com

    www.AccountabilityTag.com


  4. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Snellville, GA
    Posts
    1,475

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    Thanks so very much Al for that detailed post and the links and photos of your perfected process that you've provided. I guess that now that I know how these domed parts are produced, I know I've seen thousands of them in application but never really understood how they were made. It's amazing to watch the Static Surface Tension cause the domed effect. You are the Master of the Art once again Sir. Thanks for once again helping me learn at least one new thing every day.
    Fair winds,

    Capt Bruce
    Kinney deSigns http://kinneydesigns.us
    CarveWright START U Team Member.

    30 year USN SEABEE, the original Weapons of Mass Construction.
    Designer Ver 1.187 and 2.007, Ver.3.001 One 2009 B CW w ROCK and a 5th Year Anniversary C CW
    Rotary Jig, 2D and 3D, Tracing Probe, DFX and STL Importers

    .

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    NE PA USA
    Posts
    9,984

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    Edit: I took the pictures off this post from earlier with the Tag Pictures of the North Dakota Bid as we will be designing different looking tags and I did not want to confuse the issue. Got the Bid and will go with Photo Tags.

    Speaking of making Money.....

    Is anyone is interested in becoming a salesman for my tags please contact me....

    I would set you up with Sample Tags and Boards... You knock on doors looking for customers or set up the tags at your craft show. Get a Nibble and you send a 3 way email to me... You, the new customer, and ME... I give them the prices and take it from there. When the tags are done I Invoice or Bill the Customer Direct with Shipping it to them. You don't mess with it...

    When the bill is paid I send you a check for $1.00 per tag and 10% of the Up Sell stuff like Accountability Boards, Hitch Covers, Clocks.... If you sell $2000.00 worth or $2000 paid to YOU in a year I must issue you a 1099.

    It is a Honesty System... I send you a copy of the Invoice with the check.

    Interested let me know.... What I like to do is when I am first contacted is get a photo of them and a photo of the patch. I like to make them a Custom Sample Tag with THERE info on it... I don't charge for the Sample Tag.

    I want to be in touch with the end user as I have a Lifetime Warranty on the Tags and want them to be able to find me....

    I have sold tags through a Fire Store and was FIRED 2 weeks ago... I was late on 6 tags... I was sick and way behind... I take responsibility for being fired as a vendor....

    The Bummer is that I do not have the end user info on the tags I have sold them for Warranty.... I will research each one and find them.

    So that is why my Business Model is having Factory Direct Salesman looking for Business for me.... I am SWAMPED with requests and I am working through it.... But April to November is the SLOW season for Fire Stuff... So the more people out there beating the bushes for me the better... I am going to blow off the Craft Show Side of my Business this year for the most part and concentrate on Fire Tags....

    One member asked what the tags are for?... Well like Brass Tags on a board in a Coal Mine keeping track of all the Coal Miners, the Accountability Tag is used by the Fire Dept to keep track of the Fire Fighter. Names, Numbers, and Colors show Qualifications... I started adding the Picture Tags... FULL COLOR TAGS.... The FIRST in this Industry... At best is the County ID Tags made from Credit Card Material is a big 2nd place to my tags.... I can do a Traditional Photo Tag in a 2 x 3.5 and on the back take a Scan Image of the County Tag and put it on the back.... I have some FD's interested but no orders like that yet.

    So if you do Craft Shows or have Fireman Friends... Here is another Income Stream....

    That last big order for 535 tags would have resulted in a check for $535 Tags.... And when I talked to the Chief the other day and asked him what happened to the 1170 Tag order we had first talked about..... He said He wanted 4 tags per Fire Fighter and they cut it back to 2 tags and will see how it works. But if the Chief has his way they will order the additional 535 tags in the future....

    Contact me through my web pages on the bottom. The Samples I send you will NOT have my Website on them.... They need to contact YOU.... Then YOU contact ME...

    AL
    Last edited by Digitalwoodshop; 03-06-2011 at 04:06 PM.
    Favorite Saying.... "It's ALL About the Brass Roller"..... And "Use MASKING TAPE" for board skipping in the X or breaking bits.

    Follow ME on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Accoun...50019051727074

    www.PoconoDigitalWoodshop.com

    www.AccountabilityTag.com


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