CADENAS Logo as Glass Pad Project by Dalibor Pejicic

The purpose of this article is to show how you can turn your company logo into something practical and original. Our CADENAS employee Kornelija Milic came to idea to make glass pad using our logo. Considering we are 3D modeling company, the goal was to add 3D effect to a glass pad and to achieve something unique with a purpose and keep it typical for us.

Visit http://www.shapeways.com/ for quality 3D printing.
Josip Jakubiv made 2 models of a glass pad using PARTsolutions software; flat and high version. The flat one can be used for juice/water glasses and the high model can be used for tall glasses, cans and coffee cups with handle. You can even glue the high glass pad model somewhere in your car and use it as a cup holder.

Rendering is done. It looks great. You can change or adjust some parts if you wish, before you start with 3D printing. Choice of colors will be changed in our final version. Models are published on PARTcloud web site:
http://b2b.partcommunity.com/community/partcloud/index#!part?name=CADENAS+glass+holder&model_id=5735

3D printing has started. We are using MakerBot Replicator 2. It will take approximately 4 hours for each model to be printed. Plastic support will be added to higher part of glass pads, so it has to be removed later on.

Glass pads are done and we are satisfied with the result. Plastic support is removed and both models are sanded using sand paper and a rasp. You have to be very careful when sanding models, because you could break some parts, so take your time.

Before painting, two thin layers of plastic primer were applied. Paint will stick much better to a surface and it will not peel off later on. Three layers of silver and black paint are used in this case. Black is used to achieve more “relic” effec, considering we will use an old technique called “gold leafing”. Our models need several hours to get dry.

In this step, we will use silver leaf for the flat glass pad and bronze (cooper) leaf for the high model. But, before that, models will need an adhesive specially made for this kind of technique. It takes 5-10 minutes before it gets dry. Leaf by leaf will be glued to models and cleaned with a special soft brush. This is a very messy job, so we recommend to do it somewhere outside, like in your garage, or to keep a vacuum cleaner beside you!

It is time for airbrush technique and special candy paint. Candy paint is a transparent paint, so all leaf structure will be kept, but in a different color. Light blue candy is our choice for the flat-silver glass pad and candy red is a good match for the bronze-high one. 5 thin layers will be applied and it takes 15-20 minutes between each new layer of paint to get dry. Final step is clear coating: 3 thin layers of high-gloss clear coat are enough with 15-20 minutes break time to make it dry. Both glass pads look “relic” and “alive”, because the contrast is achieved.

Several different glasses are used in this photo-session. Our goal was to see what shape will fit the best. Quite impressive and original glass pads, but also and glass or can holder, too!

Our CADENAS logo became an original glass pad. This was just an example how you can turn a logo (or anything els) into an every-day and one-of-kind thing just by using your creativity and imagination. A lot of other great 3D models are available on PARTcloud, so give it a try!
 
http://b2b.partcommunity.com/community/partcloud/index#!index?page=1&order=most_liked