Rowmark ColorCast Panels
Rowmark ColorCast Panels
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I did a project for the local FAA region that required a front panel. Aluminum panels would be the usual choice but having small quantities of machined, painted aluminum panels is cost-prohibitive. Although I eventually went on to build about 50 units, the FAA would only commit to ten units at a time with no promise of additional units.
I found a solution that makes even one-off panels cost effective. Rowmark ColorCast Acrylic has a thick (⅛") clear layer of acrylic with a thin color layer on the back side. Text, lines and other artwork are laser-engraved in reverse on the back side of the panel, cutting through the color layer. Those engraved areas are then filled with acrylic paint to form the panel labels and artwork. The paint can literally be slopped on, since going outside the lines doesn't matter. Each engraved area can be filled with different paint colors if desired. The picture on the left shows black paint over the engraved areas – the engraved areas are amply covered to ensure no light will shine through. The picture on the right shows the result.
The ColorCast colors are shown here. The "A" shows an unpainted engraved area - sort of a frosted area. When filled with acrylic paint, the paint color will be very rich. We'll come back to engraved unpainted areas in a bit.
ColorCast features a hardcote touch surface that's very resistant to wear. The painted artwork, being on the back of the panel, isn't subject to wear or scrstching. In my application, the ColorCast panels look virtually brand new while the paint on aluminum panels has worn through. Matte or gloss surface finish is available.
This is an example of one of my panels. It's ⅛" almond ColorCast, with color-coded paint. Three 15mm 7-segment digits are behind the gray windows.
A quarter sheet of ColorCast is 11.75" x 23.75" and costs about $50 making the material cost for this 6.5" x 4" panel about 11 bucks. Laser cutting/engraving was about $10.
But there's more!
But there's more!
Those non-painted engraved areas look like frosted areas on the panel; visible, but not too apparent. Add LEDs behind the panel for indicators. In this case I traded about $200 of difficult-to-obtain industrial switches (from what I eventually dubbed TDTWWSC - The Difficult To Work With Switch Company) for longer-life 12mm tactile switches and LEDs. The result is a very custom look, and a surprisingly good feel at a greatly reduced BOM cost.
Rowmark's main distributer is Johnson Plastics. They carry the ColorCast and many other interesting acrylic sheet materials. The ColorCast material has some quirks when laser cutting and engraving. Rowmark has excellent application notes, and great technical support if you have problems.
A key point to keep in mind is that you're cutting and engraving from the back side. You must mirror your artwork to have it read correctly from the front.
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