Administrators RTz Posted April 1, 2007 Administrators Share Posted April 1, 2007 I'm trying something a little different on this next Wolf installation. I wanted to avoid the fuse box route and opted to use aircraft circuit breakers instead. The housing itself is mounted in the passenger footwell, adjacent the OE fuse box. I need to label the circuit breakers and I'm interested in your thoughts/experiences/opinions on the most suitable method(s)? Pictures of the installation.... . . . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 well, since the housing is aluminum you could take it to a local trophy shop or engraving shop and have some nice labeling engraved in the cover. the aluminum will shine through the black paint and look very nice. You might have to take a cover that has been cut out but not bent into shape though as most engravers tables are flat and wont accept odd shaped pieces. or you could remove each breakers button and label them A, B, C etc and then create a sticker guide and but it on the glove box door. of course you could do the same in illustrator and create a graphic represntation sticker. lots of options. I personally like 1 the best, but it more that likely means that you have to start over again and create a new case. I was going to use those circuit breakers on my project when I found a heaping pile of them at the EAA fly in last year but even the prices for used ones was a little steep for me at the time (that and I didnt have a list of what I needed and didnt want to come home short one or two.) is there a good (affordable) online source for those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Nice install! Trophy shop is a great solution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexideways Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Take a look at P-touch machines, (small keyboard that prints on small ribbons) they have all kind of neat materials you can print on, metalic, transparent... Very nice, if you buy good quality ribbon, it'll stick for ever. That's what I used to label my RB harness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted April 1, 2007 Author Administrators Share Posted April 1, 2007 well, since the housing is aluminum you could take it to a local trophy shop or engraving shop and have some nice labeling engraved in the cover. I think that would be a classy solution if it had a normal finish. I coated it in VHT wrinkle finish as its tough and inexpensive. I'm afraid it would be to thick for engraving. is there a good (affordable) online source for those? Thermal circuit breakers come in a huge variety of prices (and quality). These particular models are fairly inexpensive.... under $10 each. They are what you find in the typical '80's Cessna. Aircraft Spruce is one of the more popular vendors.... http://aircraftspruce.com/menus/el/circuitbreakers.html Take a look at P-touch machines An acquaintance of mine has one of those machines. It does work pretty well, hmmmm.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted June 26, 2007 Author Administrators Share Posted June 26, 2007 I decided to bite the bullet and have an actual sticker made. Signs Now did a nice job, affordably... I designed the label on CAD, printed it actual size, they scanned it and reproduced it verbatim. Doing a single costs a bit... $15 set-up and approx. $4.5 each sticker made, thereafter. The results were worth it, IMO. Testing the waters, I also had them do a small batch of interior window stickers... this could get addictive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbesheer Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 That looks pretty cool. and as for aircraft spruce... GRRR their actually about a mile away from me and they wouldn't hire me as a purchasing assistant!!!!. But quick question, you said you had it in wrinkle finish, will the sticker stick to that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted June 26, 2007 Author Administrators Share Posted June 26, 2007 But quick question, you said you had it in wrinkle finish, will the sticker stick to that ? The adhesive they use is pretty stout... I'm sure it would stick. I probably won't though as I believe the texture will show through. I'm leaning towards sticking it to an aluminum plate and riveting it on... unless someone has a better idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostmonkey Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 Mask the part to the OD of your sticker and beadblast the paint off. If you go the rivet route, solid rivets look way better than pops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbesheer Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 The rivet idea seems like it would look pretty cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannji Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 This is not an economical solution, but if you have the the ability to share the initial expense with others who might need it.... take a look at the SurfOx, distributed through Walter Abrasives. It is used for finishing stainless welds, instead of grinding and pickling them. When run across a stencil over stainless, it leaves a permanent "patina" of text or graphics, looks very clean and professional. If you do any amount of stainless welding, this might be a good multi-purpose solution for weld passivation and product marking. Try as I might, I was unable to find any images of a stenciled item online... but I have seen it and done it... very nice machine, for those who need it. http://www.jwalterinc.com/walter_us/servlet/ProdSummary?measure=M&franchise=surfox&criteria=prod&category=126&cbopgroup=127 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I have used a lazer to "etch" in to steel and aluminum it looks pretty killer. Maybe you can befriend a local sheet metal shop and get them to do protos for you. Doesn't pop as much as the sticker but it sure looks neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 wow that looks soooo nice! excellent work and craftsmanship! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatMan Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Man, they spelled the FIDDLE circuit wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted May 16, 2008 Author Administrators Share Posted May 16, 2008 Man, they spelled the FIDDLE circuit wrong! Fast idle "they" be me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 http://www.frontpanelexpress.com Not cheap, but they make some nice pieces and can engrave that piece for you if you want. Lots of guys use them when building DIY audio gear for great finishing touches. Evan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted May 16, 2008 Author Administrators Share Posted May 16, 2008 Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I love the downloadable software for designing your panel. Evan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Scrape the VHT off with a razor where the sticker is going to be. I use a P-Touch for all my labels. I used to have access to a laser coder. Laser coders can pretty much etch text and graphics into any material. We used to code glass bottles and sometimes we etched our names into our wrenches. Laser code on glass: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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