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11-15-2016, 09:55 PM
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#1
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Guru
City: Quebec
Vessel Name: Bleuvet
Vessel Model: Custom Built
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 4,375
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Dashboard switches label
Hello,
I am looking at redesigning my lower helm dashboard layout. Instead of using a pre made rocker switch panel I want to create my own with switches, led light etc that I can layout the way I want.
I would like to label my switches so my question: what are you using to nicely, cleanly label your switches?
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11-15-2016, 10:56 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 392
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Label maker
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11-15-2016, 11:33 PM
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#3
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Guru
City: Adelaide
Vessel Name: Kokanee
Vessel Model: Cuddles 30 Pilot House Motor Sailer
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 3,218
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Depends on your budget. If you really want it to look flash, you could get it etched or digitally printed onto a custom made panel.
Here's on company that does it.
Control Panel Plates - MPC
Actually - I remember reading a post a few years ago that a TF member had a laser cutting setup and he made panels as a sideline. I can't remember who, though - or if he did labeling.
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11-16-2016, 09:19 AM
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#5
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Guru
City: Philadelphia, PA
Vessel Name: Revel
Vessel Model: 1984 Fu Hwa 39
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,024
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I replaced the pressed aluminum dashboard panel in my 1972 Volvo 164E with a varnished walnut panel. This allowed me to cover ragged holes cut by a PO. I made the labels using 'Letraset' transfer letters then laid on one more coat of varnish over the letters. Worked well, looked good. (Bought that car in about 1979, sold it in about 1985, and the pictures are buried in slide boxes.)
I made a sign for an interior room divider in about 1986: cheap plywood, laminated burl veneer, oak trim, Letraset letters. (I was the tame architect for a construction company before it was discovered that liability insurance for the business model was unaffordable.)
Letraset - Letraset Transfers
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11-16-2016, 02:07 PM
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#6
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Guru
City: Fort Lauderdale. Florida, USA
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 21,449
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In Fort Lauderdale, Wards will make anything you want. Plates, labels, whatever.
Also, many trophy shops can do it.
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11-16-2016, 02:10 PM
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#7
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Guru
City: Rodney Bay Lagoon
Vessel Name: "Dragon Lady"
Vessel Model: DeFever 41
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 681
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One of the main problems with making instrument/switch panels is that the coloured sandwich material used for engraving signs is too thin to take the weight and stress of gauges and switches. Plywood tends to be too thick - especially for the necks of the switches, and aluminium takes a lot of hard work.
A sign-making company here introduced me to a material they call "styrene". They cut and form it into the big signs on the side of buildings etc. it comes in sheets about 1/8" thich and in various colours. It is surprisingly strong and lends itself to being cut, drilled and even painted. The sign-maker cuts it to shape with a CNC router. This means you can specify the dimensions of your panel and the exact position and diameter of each hole, even rectangular ones, - it cuts them perfectly.
It would have been possible to have the labels engraved into the styrene, but it doesn't come in the colour sandwich material.
__________________
Mike
If all else fails, read the instructions
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
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11-16-2016, 04:03 PM
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#8
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Guru
City: Cary, NC
Vessel Name: Skinny Dippin'
Vessel Model: Navigator 4200 Classic
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,841
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Sign shops, trophy shops, and even framing stores can be good resources. I tend to like the black and white etched labels like the military has used for decades. They are the 3-layer material and you have full control of font and size.
Here is a screen grab of the panel I did on our last boat. I had these done cheaply at a framing store near the house. Not the best pic... Sorry
__________________
2000 Navigator 4200 Classic
(NOT a trawler)
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11-16-2016, 04:18 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
City: Tokyo, Japan / Tampa, Florida / Washington, Virginia
Vessel Name: Mondai Nai
Vessel Model: Nordhaven 55 - 45
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 328
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I had good luck going to a large trophy shop to make labels and special panels. In some cases they used a thin aluminum sheet that can be any color desired. Draw a detail drawing of what you need, that will make it easier in making sure you get what you want.
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11-16-2016, 06:57 PM
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#10
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Guru
City: Quebec
Vessel Name: Bleuvet
Vessel Model: Custom Built
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 4,375
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Thank you very much to everybody (sorry too long to name you all! ). I would have never thought to trophy shop though, this is a very good idea!
I saw that Dyno is making a Rhino model for industrial purpose (model 4200), able to print on vinyl tape or even on heat srink tube for cable identification. Does anybody have any experience with this? I am questionning myself about the vinyl one, is this durable and does it stand well in high temperature difference? Here in winter my ship will typically experience -30 and in summer when I am far and everything is closed under the sun it will be +40 and higher. As I already got some glued thing that just fall with melt glue I am not sure a sticker will last.
Any advice is very welcome!
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11-16-2016, 08:54 PM
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#11
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Guru
City: Beverly Hills
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,371
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Thanks Larry M, been looking for a source for missing labels. Do the Blue Seas come with adhesive backs ?
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11-16-2016, 09:36 PM
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#12
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Guru
City: Miami Florida
Vessel Name: Possum
Vessel Model: Ellis 28
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 5,308
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HiDHo
Thanks Larry M, been looking for a source for missing labels. Do the Blue Seas come with adhesive backs ?
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Yes they do.
Take a look at Bernard Engraving Identi Plates Identi-Plate, Bernard Engraving
__________________
Parks Masterson
Retired from Hopkins-Carter Marine Supply
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11-17-2016, 06:00 AM
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#13
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Guru
City: Annapolis
Vessel Name: Ranger
Vessel Model: 58' Sedan Bridge
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 7,088
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lou_tribal
Hello,
I am looking at redesigning my lower helm dashboard layout. Instead of using a pre made rocker switch panel I want to create my own with switches, led light etc that I can layout the way I want.
I would like to label my switches so my question: what are you using to nicely, cleanly label your switches?
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Google Contura switch actuators. The switches themselves are made by both Blue Seas and Carling, probably others, you can order actuators pre-labeled with boatloads of choices.
-Chris
__________________
Chesapeake Bay, USA
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11-17-2016, 06:07 AM
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#14
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Guru
City: Annapolis
Vessel Name: Ranger
Vessel Model: 58' Sedan Bridge
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 7,088
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry M
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Our AC/DC panel labels are both inletted (?) and backlit, and those Blue Seas labels worked for when we added a couple circuits. I had to slightly trim the Blue Seas rounded corners to fit the square inlet areas. The typeface is slightly different, but that wasn't a huge deal. The backlighting shows through the lettering nicely.
-Chris
__________________
Chesapeake Bay, USA
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11-17-2016, 11:32 AM
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#15
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Guru
City: Southern Maine
Vessel Model: Prairie 36 Coastal Cruiser
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,717
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lou_tribal
I saw that Dyno is making a Rhino model for industrial purpose (model 4200), able to print on vinyl tape or even on heat srink tube for cable identification. Does anybody have any experience with this?
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Yes, I use my Dymo 4200 a lot. You can buy different types of tape. The vinyl is pretty good. It's held up on my upper helm, which has a full vinyl enclosure and can get pretty hot in summer when nobody's on board to open it up. I will say it's not as nice as a traditional etched label, and the material is thin and takes some patience to get it on straight.
As for panels, I've been using a place called Front Panel Express. They offer free software that lets you design the panel, see how it will look and what it will cost, and then buy it with a few clicks.
Here's a small one I did to install a new rotary swich and exhaust alarm where there was a blank plate near my electrical console:
You can do things like radius the corners and edges, too. I always "personalize" them a little; on this one I added the stars of the Northern Cross, part of the constellation Cygnus (the name of the boat.)
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11-17-2016, 11:45 AM
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#16
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Guru
City: Quebec
Vessel Name: Bleuvet
Vessel Model: Custom Built
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 4,375
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptTom
Yes, I use my Dymo 4200 a lot. You can buy different types of tape. The vinyl is pretty good. It's held up on my upper helm, which has a full vinyl enclosure and can get pretty hot in summer when nobody's on board to open it up. I will say it's not as nice as a traditional etched label, and the material is thin and takes some patience to get it on straight.
As for panels, I've been using a place called Front Panel Express. They offer free software that lets you design the panel, see how it will look and what it will cost, and then buy it with a few clicks.
Here's a small one I did to install a new rotary swich and exhaust alarm where there was a blank plate near my electrical console:
You can do things like radius the corners and edges, too. I always "personalize" them a little; on this one I added the stars of the Northern Cross, part of the constellation Cygnus (the name of the boat.)
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Thank you very much for your testimony much appreciated. I will get a 4200 as I will use it also to add identification to some wires.
I will take a look at front panel express as it looks very interesting too.
Thank you very much!
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11-17-2016, 04:30 PM
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#17
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Guru
City: Sarasota/Ft. Lauderdale
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 5,438
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11-17-2016, 05:07 PM
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#18
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TF Site Team
City: California Delta
Vessel Name: FlyWright
Vessel Model: 1977 Marshall Californian 34 LRC
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 13,728
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http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s...els-16836.html
I had this panel made to my specs by an online company...can't seem to remember the name, but it cost about $75. If I find the old post, I'll post a link here.
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11-18-2016, 06:04 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
City: Baltimore, MD
Vessel Name: Starshine
Vessel Model: 1989 Bayliner 3288
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 366
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AusCan
Depends on your budget. If you really want it to look flash, you could get it etched or digitally printed onto a custom made panel.
Here's on company that does it.
Control Panel Plates - MPC
Actually - I remember reading a post a few years ago that a TF member had a laser cutting setup and he made panels as a sideline. I can't remember who, though - or if he did labeling.
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Your probably thinking of Mike, username is SomeSailor
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