Labelling Prototypes
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From: Spehro Pefhany on 5 Jul 2010 16:39 On Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:53:31 -0700, Peter Bennett <peterbb(a)somewhere.invalid> wrote: >On Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:51:26 +0100, Ian Bell <ruffrecords(a)yahoo.com> >wrote: > >>What do you guys use for labelling prototypes? I am thinking >>particularly of control panels (19 in rack mounting for example) >>containing pots, toggle and rotary switched all of which need labelling. >>So far I have looked at iron on T shirt printer paper, special >>transparent overhead projector type film with built in adhesive and >>contacted a company that does custom stick-on vinyl decals. I need >>something I can design easily myself on a PC and either produce myself >>or have produced at reasonable cost. Any one of more of the above might >>work but before I take the plunge I thought I would ask what others use??? >> >>Cheers >> >>Ian > > >How many units, and how much of a prototype? Does it have to look >professional? > >I've used a Brother label maker for one-of's. You can get label tapes >in various colour combinations, including white-on-clear and >black-on-clear. The clear tape allows the panel colour to show, and >the fact you've used individual tape labels doesn't show too badly. > >Another poster suggested Front Panel Express - I've used them many >times, for both single panels and small quantities. FPE machines and >engraves panels from their pre-anodized stock, or from >customer-supplied panels. These guys are good too: http://protocase.com/ Not cheap, but top-notch quality.
From: PeterD on 5 Jul 2010 16:36 On Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:51:26 +0100, Ian Bell <ruffrecords(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >What do you guys use for labelling prototypes? I am thinking >particularly of control panels (19 in rack mounting for example) >containing pots, toggle and rotary switched all of which need labelling. >So far I have looked at iron on T shirt printer paper, special >transparent overhead projector type film with built in adhesive and >contacted a company that does custom stick-on vinyl decals. I need >something I can design easily myself on a PC and either produce myself >or have produced at reasonable cost. Any one of more of the above might >work but before I take the plunge I thought I would ask what others use??? > >Cheers > >Ian Print to heavy paper, laminate top with plastic, and contact cement in many cases.
From: Ian Bell on 5 Jul 2010 16:57 On 05/07/10 16:51, Ian Bell wrote: > What do you guys use for labelling prototypes? I am thinking > particularly of control panels (19 in rack mounting for example) > containing pots, toggle and rotary switched all of which need labelling. > So far I have looked at iron on T shirt printer paper, special > transparent overhead projector type film with built in adhesive and > contacted a company that does custom stick-on vinyl decals. I need > something I can design easily myself on a PC and either produce myself > or have produced at reasonable cost. Any one of more of the above might > work but before I take the plunge I thought I would ask what others use??? > > Cheers > > Ian Thanks for all the ideas. To answer some of the questions and add some info: Yes, it is a one off Yes it needs to look professional. For quantities I would normally get it silk screen printed. I am in the UK I think the Avery and Brady clear label ideas are the same as the transparent film I already have. Only problem with that is I find the ink jet printing is not very dense so the label is hard to see against the (nearly black) panel paint (and yes I am using bright colours). I had not thought of silk screen printing at home. I had not realised this was possible. Is there anyone in the UK doing this regularly that can give me some pointers of what to get and where + how easy/hard it is to do yourself? Cheers Ian
From: Ian Bell on 5 Jul 2010 17:11 On 05/07/10 21:57, Ian Bell wrote: > On 05/07/10 16:51, Ian Bell wrote: >> What do you guys use for labelling prototypes? I am thinking >> particularly of control panels (19 in rack mounting for example) >> containing pots, toggle and rotary switched all of which need labelling. >> So far I have looked at iron on T shirt printer paper, special >> transparent overhead projector type film with built in adhesive and >> contacted a company that does custom stick-on vinyl decals. I need >> something I can design easily myself on a PC and either produce myself >> or have produced at reasonable cost. Any one of more of the above might >> work but before I take the plunge I thought I would ask what others >> use??? >> >> Cheers >> >> Ian > > > Thanks for all the ideas. To answer some of the questions and add some > info: > > Yes, it is a one off > > Yes it needs to look professional. For quantities I would normally get > it silk screen printed. > > I am in the UK > > I think the Avery and Brady clear label ideas are the same as the > transparent film I already have. Only problem with that is I find the > ink jet printing is not very dense so the label is hard to see against > the (nearly black) panel paint (and yes I am using bright colours). > > I had not thought of silk screen printing at home. I had not realised > this was possible. Is there anyone in the UK doing this regularly that > can give me some pointers of what to get and where + how easy/hard it is > to do yourself? > > Cheers > > Ian > I should alos have said I am aware of Front Panel Designer - the only thing that puts me off is I think the resolution of their engraving will not be fine enough for what I require. I am also aware of protocase and may well use them in the future. Thanks again for all the ideas. Cheers Ian
From: mpm on 5 Jul 2010 17:16
On Jul 5, 12:59 pm, Spehro Pefhany <speffS...(a)interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote: > On Mon, 5 Jul 2010 10:15:22 -0700 (PDT), mpm <mpmill...(a)aol.com> > wrote: > > > > > > >On Jul 5, 10:51 am, Ian Bell <ruffreco...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > >> What do you guys use for labelling prototypes? I am thinking > >> particularly of control panels (19 in rack mounting for example) > >> containing pots, toggle and rotary switched all of which need labelling. > >> So far I have looked at iron on T shirt printer paper, special > >> transparent overhead projector type film with built in adhesive and > >> contacted a company that does custom stick-on vinyl decals. I need > >> something I can design easily myself on a PC and either produce myself > >> or have produced at reasonable cost. Any one of more of the above might > >> work but before I take the plunge I thought I would ask what others use??? > > >> Cheers > > >> Ian > > >Silkscreening. Even if a one-off. > >Cheap, easy, professional-looking results. > > Eggsactly. If it's just a one-off there is so much engineering cost in > it that the small overhead to make it look just _fabulous_ is not not > signficant. I suppose I could dredge up my Dymo labeller for that > 1960-70s look, but why? > > http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/110708label-05.jpg/110708l...http://dianediana.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/blackwhite.jpg?w=500&h=243 > > >The setup I use (Speedball, I think), has reusable screens, so once > >you get going, you can change as often as your mind does. > > AFAIK, all screens are re-usable until you break them. Most have the > same process- get the material stretched onto the frame (or buy it as > such), coat with emulsion (in film or liquid), allow it to dry, expose > with bright light (or UV), develop (warm water), allow to dry, harden > (optional), and use. No really nasty chemicals other than the ink > solvents (and you can use UV cured if you like which will minimize > VOCs, but the minimum quantities for some colors are prohibitive IMHO, > like $400 a color for some transparents). > > BTW, that T-shirt screen maker has a pretty coarse mesh for doing > panel markings. Acceptable, perhaps, if you can design for it. > > >The only major investment for me was the light stand, though you could > >probably DIY roll your own. > >The lightbulb is about $10, and at least here, available locally. > >5000K, I think. A Photo-Flood #12, IIRC. > > >Good luck. > >- mpm > > Craft and art stores sell screen printing kits (eg. Speedball). They > might not be optimal for graphic arts as opposed to fine arts type > applications.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - The local arts & crafts store sells many size meshes. You will want to experiment with inks, or just use paint. As you note, for small, fine lines, you don't want ink/paint to spread much. Many years ago, we silkscreened a 19" EIA 5RU panel blank with several cutouts. The results were fantastic! I didn't select the ink, but it was of a type that would chemically bond to whatever surface was on the blank -- which was not the typical polished or painted aluminum. It had sort of a rough feel to it. Anyway, it took some doing to find the right supplies, but once we had them, it went smoothly and cheaply. Total project build: 1 unit. BTW, I recall now that the Speedball setup uses a #2 PhotoFlood, not a #12. |