In celebration of JELD-WEN’s June Safety Week, David Yagla, Director of R&D Engineering Windows, requested a banner to recognize the Tech Center’s upcoming 730 days (2 years) incident-free milestone.
Banner placed above the Protype Shop entrance to celebrate National Safety Week.
The banner inspired team collaboration and it was decided that a sign with a digital counter was needed to keep safety first and forefront year-round. I met with the CNC Programmer to develop a sign and we created an Alder wood carved sign promoting “Safety First, Safety Always,” incorporating a digital counter, and placing it over the entrance of the Tech Center’s Prototype Shop.
One key element of the design was to use a zero-waste approach by repurposing materials available in the shop. The sign was produced inhouse quickly and seamlessly from start to finish utilizing R&D’s latest Autodesk Fusion 360 CAD/CAM software/machining package and 3Dprinting technology.
The first step was to simplify the banner design and adjust the design for a permanent placement above the prototype shop entrance.
Simplified design with mockup of digital counter.
Second step I researched digital counters that would automatically update the day to count number of days without incidents. I found a couple of options but they either didn’t have the function I was looking for, or they were too small. Finally, I found the right digital counter online at Electronic Displays.
I called customer service and promptly received an email from Dennis Holmberg – President of Electronic Displays Inc. He answered all my questions and provided tech support once I received the product.
It shipped quickly too. I was impressed by the customer service and personable response by Dennis.
The digital counter fit perfectly into the mockup of the design. Next the CNC programmer. Amber Pettit, Ran the design through Autodesk Fusion 360 CAD/CAM software/machining package and 3Dprinting technology and with a couple of adjustments we were ready for production.
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The first test we ran was on a piece of refurbished basswood. The machine ran smoothly until it came to the lettering, it fell apart and with basswood being so soft, we were going to require some finer bits. For the second test we used another piece of refurbished Alder that was mulled together. The second test proved successful.
And here is the final result!
