Waterjet Cutting Ideas for your Product Display

For nearly 60 years the art of cutting away products to cleverly and professionally show their internal workings has been evolving with the available technology. One such technology that is finding many new uses every day is WATER JET cutting.

The water jet cutting process utilizes water instead of noxious gases or liquids and is a cold-cutting process so there is no danger of melting the material that is being cut. Ultrahigh pressure water is used to cut through metal, stone, plastics, composites, glass, ceramics or rubber up to 8 inches thick.

There are many applications for waterjet cutting and at CalCo we use it primarily for displays and signage.  Below we cut a corporate logo into a stand which was then lit from within.

We cut this product display in acrylic

Do you have an idea for a waterjet cutting project?  Let CalCo try something new and different just for you!  If you are looking for a way to imprint your logo, create unique signage or create a unique display give CalCo a call and see if waterjet cutting could be the answer for you.

2009: The Year in Review

As is typical at the end of the year CalCo is reflecting on the past twelve months. There were some unique and creative product displays, cutaways, 3-D models and POP displays created this year.  A few of them are included below for your enjoyment:

And finally, some believe that 2009 was a year down the toilet, although that was not the case at CalCo we still spent some time with one….

CalCo looks forward to another interesting year!

CalCo’s New Brochure is Now Available

Fresh for 2010 Calco has developed a new brochure showing all of the services offered and some examples of the quality craftmanship that is synonymous with the CalCo name.  CalCo has been offering quality tradeshow displays and cutaways for over 50 years, especially to industrial product manufacturers.   Now see some of the other services available such as 3-D models or prototypes, working models, special lighting, custom bases, corporate gifts, POP displays and other tradeshow or marketing products.  You can count on CalCo as a turn-key solution for your sales and marketing needs.

The front and back cover of the new brochure are shown below, and the full PDF can be downloaded here. (right click and choose “Save As”)

To get a look inside our new brochure please send your information (name, company and address) to brochures@calcocutaways.com.  You will receive one in the mail right away so CalCo can help you start the year right with some new ideas to show your product in its best light because “Your Product is Our Profession”.

The Buck Stops Here

Your company uses a variety of vendors for certain products or services every day, making make life easier for everyone. So do we.

Your company probably uses a few providers that actually make life more difficult for you or your coworkers. Same here.

On Monday one of our primary vendors emailed to let us know that our project with them was complete. . .Great.

This was typical and expected. . .

However, the details on getting the order back to us were left out, forcing us to stop what we were doing, contact them about it and make these arrangements ourselves. Done.

Once the items were received, we found quality issues on practically every piece that was delivered. Where was the quality control??

We would have sent the entire order back to be redone from scratch, except that we needed these pieces for a larger project that our client was expecting on time. We had to stop what we were doing (again) and fix every mistake and flaw to bring this project back up to our high standard of quality, (which our client expects).

Everything worked out in the end, our client was thrilled with the final result and his coworkers were equally impressed with the craftsmanship and attention to detail, (and the shipping was arranged without our client’s involvement whatsoever).

So the extra effort on our end resulted in a great experience for our client. We love that.

The vendor’s actions, on the other hand, had to be managed, monitored and corrected.   Is this the case with some of your providers?

Communication and responsibility are the landmarks of a company you can trust for the long term. The reason companies like CalCo have been around for over half a century, is because they are trusted, respected and are the go-to guys when quality and professionalism are important.

Did you know that CalCo can handle your POP displays, your screen printing, your photography, your display storage, your prototyping, your sales cases, your website design, your 3D animation, your metal finishing, your large format printing, your digital image manipulation, and many of the other items you struggle with every day?  It’s true.

Please call or email to see if your project can be handled correctly this time by CalCo, let us handle the problems so you can just sleep easy for once.

Finish Types and Options for Industrial Products

Let CalCo Finish Your Product

Sometimes pumps, valves, engines, bearings or other industrial equipment don’t start off as beautiful show pieces. With CalCo’s help that can all change. Imagine your product as a colorful, shining display pulling in potential buyers and selling itself. That is what a good display or cutaway can do. Your product looks exciting, new and its true function can be seen and admired.

Let CalCo take your product from plain to dazzling with the following options:

Our Standard Show Finish is durable, very attractive high gloss finish.  All parts are disassembled and prepped for finish and our standard automotive paint finish is administered over an etching primer.  Cost-effective plating options are available for metal fasteners and key components .  Many additional options are available including clear coat finish as well as minor grinding and smoothing of casting seams and imperfections.

Our Euro-Deluxe Finish is used primarily for trade shows, product introductions and corporate lobby installations. All surfaces are ground and smoothed to remove imperfections from casting or welding. These surfaces are then prepped repetitively with several stages of filler and hand sanding. Finally, the display is finished with multiple automotive paint steps and a clear coat finish. Metal fasteners are carefully polished by hand then chrome plated and polished again to a mirror finish.

Training Finish surfaces are prepped and painted but not treated to remove casting imperfections. The finish is attractive yet durable and is easy to maintain. For displays that are needed for working models, we may recommend electro less nickel-plating to enhance component movement.

In addition to having the surfaces of your product ground and painted CalCo can take the hardware on your product and make it shine too with a number of plating options:

Anodizing is an attractive way to prepare aluminum and is available in a variety of colors.

Electro-less Nickel is durable, minimal-build plating that covers evenly with very good lubricity and hardness.

Metal plating – Copper, nickel, gold and industrial hard plating are also available.

Chrome plating is available in bright, polished or satin finishes and can be applied to any metal.

Black Oxide for steel or iron parts is used when a blue/black matte finish is desired.

Once your product looks great it can be mounted on a standard aluminum base or a custom base can be created.  We make custom shipping containers to protect your product in transit too.

Contact CalCo at 847/639-3858 if you would like to discuss your product and learn how CalCo can help show your product in it’s best light.

Damaged Freight? CalCo Has You Covered.

Does this picture look familiar?

Products get damaged during shipping all too often. Fortunately, at CalCo we can make your damaged product look as good as new. There is nothing more frustrating then getting ready to go to a show and finding that your display piece has been scratched, dented or severely damaged while it was being shipped.

If you need to have your product repaired , repainted or rechromed give CalCo a call at 847-639-3858 and have it made to look like new again.

CalCo reworks displays to look as good as NEW

If you have a display or cutaway that is beginning to show its age we are happy to rework it. After being shipped from show to show and being handled and touched by countless people every display can begin to show some wear. Whether it needs a new paint job or you want to add a cutaway section you can send it to us and feel confident that we will do our best to make it look as good as new even if we didn’t do the original work. Save some money on shipping and do it when you are at a show near Chicago!

If we can do this…….

                       Before                                                                                After

                                                                                                                                                         then we can do almost anything!

                     Contact us at news@calcocutaways.com or 847/639-3858

Cut face paint, where the Outer meets the Inner

When opting for a cutaway, the point is to show off the internal components and passageways that are typically hidden from view.

Alongside this process is that peculiar area that gets exposed which is actually the area inside the metal that gets exposed.

In this area CalCo applies their signature cut face paint for a number of reasons:

1. To let the audience know that the display is actually a cutaway
2. To cover up any minor casting imperfections that may appear
3. Help prevent this newly exposed metal from showing signs of corrosion over time

CalCo knows the difference between professional looking displays and basic showiness. You can be rest assured that CalCo cutaways will draw people in to talk about your great products and the benefits that the cutaways are showing.

Try on some Gold Plating for that Stand-out Project

When trying to add that extra touch of extraordinary to your products or components, why not Go for the Gold!

CalCo has a special process that turns ordinary parts (of almost any material) and transforms them into crown jewels, for a lot less than you would think.

The above photo shows how this process looks on both polished and unpolished surfaces, and doesn’t that make quite an unexpected impression?

Whether you are looking to visually represent ‘the best’ or create a special display for unique individuals, gold is unmatched in appearance and symbolism of value.

Turn Recycled Products into Brand New Training Equipment

Why use brand new equipment to create product displays when used and even broken equipment can be transformed into spectacular training and even show displays?

CalCo uses every trick in the book to effectively downplay and minimize any imperfections and create a stunning cutaway or display that works especially well as a training aid. Oftentimes CalCo can even source a used engine or pump for you when one is presently unavailable.

This rework process works just as well with your older show products that may have been damaged or changed configuration over time. Click here to see some additional Before and After examples of how CalCo can help transform your products.