Shop Can Make Cutaway Display Even If Product Is Not Available

Which comes first: the product or a cutaway display of the product? A cutaway house in Dayton, Ohio, can produce a display even before the product is available.

Dayton, Ohio – Which comes first: the product or a cutaway display of the product?

It doesnt matter, according to Mike Tsocaris of Visitech Communications, a supplier of cutaways of engines, pumps, transmissions and a wide range of other products for display at tradeshows and exhibits and in museums and corporate lobbies.

The company has produced cutaways for clients whose products are too big, too heavy or too valuable to be cut up for a display. Weve even made cutaways of products that didnt exist," Tsocaris relates, noting that Visitech technical staff can replicate products or fabricate proof of concept models from a customers drawings or electronic data files.

Cutaways can also be made from a set of parts. Visitech technicians assemble them and fabricate any missing components to produce the cutaway, explains Tsocaris. Many of the units we build are from our customers scrap bins," he notes. In addition, prototype parts can be fabricated from drawings or CAD data, to help customers bring a product to market faster, he adds.

A scale model is the solution for a product that is too large to take to tradeshows. Visitech crafted a quarter-scale cutaway model of a jet engine. The customer no longer had to risk damaging a real engine, valued at $15 million, on the show circuit. The replica featured motorized, counter-rotating blades that spun at low rpm to safely simulate a jet engines operation. A whirling sound produced added effect, recounts Tsocaris.

Visitech built a half-scale model truck chassis to enable the truck manufacturer to show a new suspension system in action inside a tradeshow booth. The reduced-size chassis, fabricated from scratch in Visitechs shop, was mounted over cam assemblies that caused the wheels to turn and the suspension to work in response to simulated road inputs, he explains.

Larger-scale replicas are often made for products that are too small to be shown in a display. We can also motorize the models, setting the internal components into motion to show how they interact," he says. A solenoid valve at 5X scale gets a lot of attention, especially if the components move." Cast iron products can be replicated in stainless steel to improve their appearance in a display.

Heavy products can be made lighter for ease of transport and to lower freight costs. Solid sections can be hollowed out to reduce weight. Replicas made with lightweight materials such as aluminum to replace cast iron produce a substantial weight savings, says Tsocaris. Recently, we cut the weight of a large gear-reduction assembly in half – from 800 lbs. to 400 lbs.," he says. We can work from plans or directly from the product."

Shipping materials and crates contribute greatly to the overall weight of a display. To minimize weight, Visitech designs and builds durable shipping/storage crates that are lightweight yet strong enough to stand up to years of use, he notes.

Visitech technicians also work with electronics and advanced-technology products. Many of the custom machines built by parent company Process Development Corp., which is co-located with Visitech in Dayton, use state-of-the-art electronics and sophisticated algorithms, says Tsocaris.

Our staff capitalizes on this knowledge and experience to devise compelling interactive displays. Once our customer clearly defines the message to be conveyed, we take over and develop a concept for the project," he says.

Animated cutaways, with moving internal components, and product demonstrators are specialties of the company. Cutaways with an interactive aspect, enabling them to respond to inputs, are also offered. Those are highly effective as aides in presentations and training, according to Tsocaris.

A cutaway of a shock absorber with driver-selectable variable damping control was turned into an interactive demonstration exhibit for an automotive parts manufacturer. A hand lever attached to the shock enabled a person to pump it, change the mode from firm to soft ride, and feel the difference. A digital readout displayed the amount of load exerted while a video showed a close-up of a shock absorber on a vehicle operating under various road conditions.

Visitechs marketing staff is technically trained and understands the language of science and technology, giving the company a competitive advantage, according to Tsocaris. Our technical knowledge is a huge advantage over other cutaway houses. It enables us to talk directly to a customers engineers, then go directly to concept development, saving time," he comments. This helps us develop and build displays right the first time with less lead-time than many of our competitors."

Completion time for a cutaway varies according to the complexity of the project, the product and the needs of the customer. Typically, completion time is 4-6 weeks. Tsocaris recounts a success story involving a vehicle manufacturer. Company management decided they wanted an engine cutaway to display at a major auto show – which was set to open in one week. Visitech technicians pulled out all the stops and met the show date," he recalls.

In addition to producing cutaways and demonstrators, Visitech Communications supplies a variety of exhibition and marketing communication products and services. They include production of collateral materials, multi-media programs, as well as design, engineering and custom fabrication services to support exhibit houses and other clients.

For more information, contact Mike Tsocaris at Visitech Communications, 6060 Milo Road, Dayton, OH 45414. Toll-free phone: 888-298-7710. Fax: 937-890-3377. E-mail: MikeT@VTCommunications.com. Or visit the companys Web site: www.VTCommunications.com. Photos are available from Richard Stewart, Stewart & Assocs. Communication Arts, 813-289-8149 or rstewart@writerstew.com.