Your Lightweight 3-D Displays: From a Drawing to Reality

Are you getting hammered by shipping costs to get your industrial sized displays to trade shows and back? Is the weight, pun intended, of moving your displays becoming tiresome? CalCo has an alternative solution for you and how you display your products; and it’s easier than you may think…

It all starts with a CAD(computer aided drawing) file of your product. Once we are provided with this file we can scale it down to your liking and produce a light weight 3D model for you to tell the story of your new innovating and/or always reliable product. Models are created out of a very durable ABS plastic using a Fuel Deposition Modeling method, know as FDM.

Shown below are two pump models that we recently created for a client.

All of the individual part files are printed separately and then built into an assembly using very little glue and mostly scale-version fasteners. You can see some of the parts were printed in color to highlight specific components and areas of the pump to describe features to potential users. These two units normally weigh hundreds of pounds each and can now be brought to a show in carry-on luggage!!

To get started, simply email CalCo your 3D files for a quick and helpful quotation or to discuss the opportunities that are possible today.

For more information call CalCo at 847/639-3858.   Click Here for an article with information about other lightweight options or click here for more contact information.

Manufacturing Trade Show Season is in Full Motion

Navistar Booth at MATS 2011

Spring and Fall have traditionally been the busy months for manufacturing trade shows and this year is starting off well.  We attended the 40th Anniversary of the Mid-America Truck Show in Louisville, Kentucky which was held March 31-April 2.  The auto industry problems of the last few years seemed to be a thing of the past.  With over 1000 vendors, 71,000 attendees and all the latest trends and products on display the MATS show showed great promise for the future.   There were many large displays, engine manufacturers including Navistar had large booths with all the latest technology on display.  There was a lot of conversation over the latest emissions filters for trucks.  All in all the show was a great opportunity to see new products and meet new people.

We also visited the ConExpo/IFPE show in Las Vegas,  which is always a big show due to its occurrence only every three years.  This year there were over 2400 exhibitors and 120,000 registered attendees of which 24%  were from international destinations, including 150 different countries.  While the attendance didn’t break records it was still impressive given the tough times the construction industry has endured over the past few years.  Large crowds gathered and there were some big, impressive booths with monstrous equipment. Manufacturers went all out to ship their equipment to the show in hopes of delivering big sales.  Time will tell but those exhibitors we spoke to were happy with the results. The next Con Expo/IFPE show will be held in Las Vegas again on March 18-22, 2014.  See you there!

At the beginning of May we attended the OTC Show in Houston.  This years Offshore Technology Conference was the largest exhibition since 1982 in Houston, TX with over 78,000 people in attendance. The energy levels were cautiously high and new products and developments were on display from all over the world.

CalCo sees many of their cutaways and displays end up at this show year after year, and with the high profile attendees and press coverage, it is easy to see why. With more than 2,500 companies on display, it is important to catch the eyes and attention of the right people in a way that spurs healthy conversations and ultimately attracts more business.

From working models to engine displays to hose cutaways, CalCo’s work was all over the 2 massive halls. Whether its in the oil and gas industry, the automotive sector or even the military, the importance of high quality displays is a must. CalCo has been creating the highest end product displays for almost 60 years, and all that history works for you in showing your expertise by leveraging and outsourcing to true experts in the industry.

When the details are important, the service is a must, and the show goes on with or without you, turn to CalCo and get it done right.

Hopefully the high attendance at these trade shows indicates that the lagging economy is recovering nicely.  We came away with a more positive outlook on the future of the automotive and construction industries.  If you have any information about a recent trade show you have attended we would love to hear it!  To contact CalCo call 847/639-3858 or click here.

Alternatives to Large Trade Show Displays – Animation, Scale Models and Large Scale Printing

Do you have large products to display at your next trade show?  Are the logistics of moving them around getting to you?  CalCo has some options for displaying your large products in a memorable way.  We offer animation, scale models or large scale printing as alternative options for your large products.

Our animation can show your product in action and it can be completely interactive for your customers.   They can choose whether to start or stop the animation and what information will help them or the animation can play continously.  Additional literature can also be accessed to provide more detailed information.  Our unique perspective on the way products work and the cutaway process give us good insight in to what your customer wants to see and how to achieve it.  The beauty of animation is that it can be used in multiple environments – at a trade show, on your website or on sales calls.

Scale models are another option to show your product in complete detail by using a light-weight, full color model.   We can create a cutaway section of the model as well to show the interior components and how they interrelate.  Your model is an exact duplicate of your product but in a small transportable size.  We can create a custom case to make moving it to your next trade show or sales call easy.

With large scale printing you can show your product in full size and detail with out moving it to the trade show.  We offer professional photography shoots of your product at our facility.  The photos can be used for large displays in your trade show booth or they can be utilized for brochures, banners or other internal or external advertising needs.

If the cost and headache of moving your large products are getting to be too much, give CalCo a call to see about the alternatives of animation,  scale models or large scale printing.  We can help you show your product in its best light without carrying it around with you.  Call CalCo at 847/639-3858 to discuss your alternatives or click here for contact information.

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”

For more ideas visit our website at www.calcocutaways.com ,  click here for contact information or call 847/639-3858.

Computer Simulated Cutaways

Click to see this pump in motion

As great as the minds are over at CalCo, they still haven’t figured out how to create displays that aren’t affected by gravity and the basic laws of physics; until now!

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The Case of the Eye Popping Cutaway

Recently the designers over at CalCo had a fun time wrapping their heads around a collapsible cutaway. They designed and created a one-of-a-kind collapsible display that salesmen or instructors can carry easily contained within a carrying case. Through a few simple movements, (more photos after the break), the case quickly unfolds into a desktop easel display complete with flip book of information and part of a cutaway produced by CalCo’s high definition three dimensional prototype technology.

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