tech talk
with a router to form perfectly shaped pieces. A common problem for any designer is coming up with a design. The Smart Templates allow a fabricator to take a number of appropriate shapes into the trunk, door panel, or console area of the vehicle and see if they will work. One note about using the Smart Templates: Sure, there are times when it is great to use the entire shape as the basis of a design, or to add a little quick flair to a project. But the goal should always be to come up with a design that integrates with the vehicle. Do not go overboard using too many tem- plate shapes in one build! A newcomer to the fabrication tool field is Sonus Car Audio. Micah Williams at Sonus has developed a unique set of tools for the fabricator. His recently released EVOL Imagine Tooling set pro- vides the fabricator with a variety of shapes that can be interlocked to form the lines of the design. As with the Smart Templates, after the design is decided, these pieces can be used to create smooth lines in the desired substrate using a router. The pieces interlock with a piece that looks like a dog bone and that Williams has aptly named the “boner.” Because different pieces can be linked, the shapes that can be created are only limited by your imagination. Having dynamic pieces that can be modified to fit specific areas and shapes is a definite
56 Mobile Electronics May 2014
plus and one of the things that sets this product apart.
If you want to learn how to use the
products these companies sell, or just improve your precision and profitabil- ity in fabrication, you are in luck! Both Mobile Solutions and Sonus offer training classes. Another shop now offering fabri- cation training is Kingpin Car Audio. Now, whether you are from the East Coast, the West Coast or the midland states, you don’t have far to travel to up your fab game! These classes are multi-day affairs that submerge the student deep into the world of efficient layout, design and fabri- cation. The tips and tricks taught at these classes are shared by masters of the craft and will benefit attendees daily.
Tom’s Part: Plan of Attack After assessing the vehicle and con- sulting with the customer, we now have a general feel for the colors, materials and shapes that we want to use to create a cohesive design. Now we can take those notes and begin to lay out a plan of attack for the next phase of the project. This is where we will need to call on both sides of our brain as we meld the creative with the critical, becoming both designer and engineer. The layout phase is perhaps the most crucial part of an installation. Here we will decide how to fit our products into an unfriendly environment. We will
focus on building a foundation that is square, level and precise. We will decide how these items will be fastened so that they will remain secure and serviceable. And we will choose the proper materials for construction based on the environ- ment in which they will be used.
Symmetry and Precision The human eye has an uncanny ability
to detect symmetry. If the spacing is not perfect, or if the left side is even slightly higher than the right side, our brains detect that. This often happens at a sub- conscious level. We’re not sure why, but things just don’t look right. During the layout phase, we are build- ing the foundation for our project. It is absolutely crucial at this point that we maintain a high degree of precision and symmetry. We need to make sure that everything is squared up, and that all measurements are as precise as possible. A missed measurement at this point can cause everything that follows to be out of alignment. This can cost you hours of work to correct. And if you don’t correct it, it will lead to panels and elements that lose symmetry. So throw away that old measuring tape that’s being held together with duct tape, and invest in some quality measuring devices. I strongly rec- ommend using a quality digital caliper whenever possible.
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PHOTOS BY JON WEBB
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