working cutaways

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Design - Designing a cutaway or display is an interactive process involving the client and our designers and engineers. We can lead in the design process or consult. It is best to have the hardware available during the design process. In instances where hardware is difficult or impossible to obtain, we can work with engineering drawings to produce the design and quotations.

Finish - The finish of a product will have the largest impact on appearance and cost. We offer a range of finishes to meet every need. All of our finishes start on the parent surface of the product. Products that arrive with production paint are striped. The surfaces are carefully degreased, and coated with a high quality metal etching primer. Following are brief descriptions of our finish options. For complete details on finish, please contact us.

Training/Production - This finish provides a durable yet attractive look. It is usually selected for products intended for service training or a high quality production look.

Training/Production PLUS - This finish is similar to the above Training/Production finish except higher quality paint is used.

Semi-Show - The semi-show quality finish is an excellent choice for large products. It is also a good choice for products that have large cast (iron and aluminum) surfaces. Smooth areas on the product are finished to provide a "Full Show" look. The cast surfaces retain the cast look but are smooth and silk to the feel.

Semi-Show PLUS - This finish is the same as above except the cast surfaces will be ground and sanded, but not to the quality of the Full Show finish. The intent of this finish level is to provide a near full show finish at a lower cost.

Full Show - Show quality is traditionally used in trade shows and product introductions. All surfaces are ground smooth. Surfaces are ground and hand sanded to a precise smoothness. The final finish is hand rubbed and detailed to rival the highest quality European automotive surfaces. This is our highest quality finish.

Plating - We currently offer several plated surfaces. Chrome is the most common plating we utilize. All surfaces to be plated are carefully prepared so the final surface is exceptionally smooth and extremely durable.
For show quality products, we always recommend at least chrome plating the fasteners (nuts and bolts). If more chrome is desired, we carefully select components that will take chrome well and provide the visual impact desired.

Bases and stands - A great looking, show-finished product can totally lose its impact if mounted on an unattractive base. Mounting a component intended for training on a show type base can have the same consequences. We design and build many types of bases and stands utilizing a wide variety of materials ranging from wood and acrylic to laminate, aluminum, and steel. Small products and components usually have a tabletop mount. Components in the 500 lbs plus range are mounted on stands with casters. For large show quality components, we usually recommend a single point type mount. The single point type mount makes the product appear suspended in space. Single point bases also allow rotation. Rotating displays work well in trade shows because they allow complete viewing while standing in one location. We have experience with design and fabrication of rotating bases capable of handling 50,000 pounds plus.

We also produce many two, three, and four post-mounting stands, as well as other custom design stands.

Shipping containers - Techcom produces a number of different types of shipping containers from reinforced plywood to complete steel units. Sizes for these units range from small hand held to large containers that have a gross weight of thirty-forty thousand pounds.