STUDIO KMD

Custom Freestanding Display System

Bob — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:17:08 +0000

Our most recent set of displays for SCA Americas were designed as a cost-effective solution to display products and literature to visitors entering the lobby space on the 24th floor of the Cira Center. This set of four freestanding displays use aluminum, maple hardwood, high quality PVC board, and custom laser cut clear acrylic to match the beautiful Swedish interior design of the SCA office’s.

Maple veneered slat-wall with adjustable literature holders also hold 3 maple shelves to display freestanding products while laser cut acrylic pegboard panels provide a versatile mounting solution for wall-mounted products. A “Welcome” display was designed to hold interchangeable printed material to provide information to visitors. Using a slim plastic hinge and inset magnets as a seamless “latch”, information can be easily added or removed. We also utilized our vinyl cutter, creating SCA’s logo using etched glass transparent vinyl.

All aluminum fabrication was once again expertly handled by our friends at RaceSeng Design. To get an idea of the level of detail these guys think at, check out the fastener detail on the back of the displays (pictured below). RaceSeng also sourced the powder coating, giving the bright white finish protection from UV damage in the sunny SCA lobby.

UPDATE:

Images below of the displays displaying things!

Model Building and Prototyping Shop

Amy — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:29:08 +0000

Over the past year or so we’ve been investing a lot of time and money to renovate our space and build an onsite model shop. We are excited to share with you all the amazing new tools we have and the new retrofitted space to carry out all of your model building and prototyping needs! We continue to add new tools and have plans to build a few others as well.

The tools you will currently find in our shop:
Hitachi C10FL Table Saw
Delta Shopmaster Miter Saw
12″ Disc Sander
Jet 12″ Drill Press
Rikon 14″ Band Saw

Check back for continued shop updates or visit our “What Is” section explaining our other capabilities.

Lilypad Workshop

Amy — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:41:31 +0000

Bryce and Matt were invited to conduct a workshop at the Adidas Wearable Sports Electronics Division located in Wilmington Delaware on Fat Tuesday (hence the beads). The topic of the day was the wearable and textile electronic prototyping. We had a quick introduction but most of our day was spent diving head first into the use of the Arduino Lilypad. Bryce expressed “I have never seen such an ambitious group, these guys weren’t going to settle for blinking LED’s. . . They were able to grasp the logic behind the Arduino code faster than any group I’ve seen.” The group went on to experiment with several types of digital and analog sensors with quite impressive results.

Attached is the code that was prepared by Matt and Bryce to help help solve some of the common issues they thought the newcomers might face. Of course if you need the Arduino software it is available here and don’t forget to check out the site of the developers Leah Beuchley and SparkFun.

Photo-resistor to Vibration Motor

LillyPadPresentation

Aluminum Pegboard Displays

Bob — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:30:28 +0000

UPDATE! :

The Aluminum displays for SCA Americas Dispenser Innovation Team have been completed, delivered, and quickly put to use in the team’s University City office in downtown Philadelphia. The displays came out fantastic thanks to our friends over at RaceSeng Design and have found their home in conference rooms as well as each team members individual office spaces. Look forward to seeing more projects working with these two great companies!

Pictures of the completed displays:

Aluminum displays were designed in-house at Studio KMD for the SCA AmericasDispenser Innovation Team located in Center City, Philadelphia. The all Aluminum construction provides a strong, lightweight product that is easy to maneuver with the help of 2 1/2″ Diameter twin wheel locking Urethane castors.

Five large displays were fabricated as room dividers with 47″ x 95″ of useable pegboard display area. Eight matching smaller displays were also designed to provide Designers and Researchers with a manageable display space within each of their personal offices.

These units will be utilized to display a wide range of SCA products at meetings, training sessions, and other events.

Each display has been meticulously machined, welded, painted, and constructed by our good friends at RaceSeng Design, Inclocated in Orefield, PA. Check out the entire fabrication process below:

More pictures of the finished project to come…

“What Is” a Vinyl Cutter

Amy — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:35:18 +0000

We have a few toys at KMD that we like to get paid to play with – and one of those is our vinyl cutter. Piggybacking off the experience some of our staff has had in the signage business, the studio decided to purchase a Copam CP2500 Cutting Plotter. This allows us to cut vinyl signs and graphics. Much like the laser cutter, a computer file is set up with paths for the vinyl cutter to follow and cut out.

See examples of the vinyl cutter being utilized in the projects below.

“What Is” CNC Machining

Amy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:08:41 +0000

CNC (computer numerical control) machining refers to using a computer controlled machine to cut a 3D part out of a solid material. Here at the studio we work with a CNC wood router, utilizing Solidworks and MasterCAM software programs to design and set up tool paths for the machine. It is best used for parts that need to be uniform or that require precision detail placement.

Shown in the examples below:
Lightbulb base – CNC routed out the precision fit bases
Figured Maple Displays – precision cut for uniformity and hardware placement
Letterpress Letters – detail milling for letterpress replicas

The final pictures are of the machine cutting out an aluminum piece for a recent project.

Check out these videos below of us cutting the above project!

CNC1
CNC2

Figured Maple Display Cabinets

Bob — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:04:56 +0000

Four identical cabinets were created to display a client’s wide range of products. They are fabricated out of book-matched heavy figure maple plywood which was CNC routed using Solidworks and MasterCAM programs to ensure that each display look and function identically. Brushed aluminum pegboard provides a stylish backdrop while other aluminum detailing and hardware pull together the overall appearance. Each display rolls on locking casters for portability and have the unique ability to expand for a lager display area.

Motion Tracking and Audio

Bob — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:20:37 +0000

This project was a short investigation into motion tracking techniques to be used in future development. Written in Processing and using the Minim andJmyron libraries we are able to specifically track the color red as it passes through the cameras view port. The camera view port is virtually divided into quadrants so that the presence of a red object will trigger an audio signal depending on it’s location. Although it is not a very elegant interface for a drum synthesizer the opportunity for gesture related interface and crowd tracking make motion tracking an interesting place to play. If you would like to view the source code please contact us.

“What Is” Solidworks

Amy — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Solidworks is a CAD (Computer Aided Design) software program used to build 3D computer models. Utilizing the input of dimensional parameters and 2D sketches a real to life 3D model emerges. This helps designers figure out all the details of a product as each piece is designed and virtually assembled together. Models can then be rendered for realistic presentation images or used to produce manufacturing specifications. After building the model in Solidworks the files can be directly sent to a rapid prototyping machine which creates a physical ABS model.

“What Is” MasterCAM

Amy — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:08:14 +0000

MasterCAM is a software program that helps us turn our Solidworks 3D computer model directly into tool paths for the CNC router to run. The program will virtually run the job and catch any warning spots where the bit might bottom out or a cut won’t be possible with the indicated bit. Jobs can be set up to exchange bits midway through depending on the details of the part.