Any Pressure Vessel Modelers around anymore?

[ProcessSales]

Our company is going to start doing trade shows and one of the ideas that we had was to lug around a model(s) of some of the main items we manufacture. I know in the good old days, when I'd go to my dad's office at Fluor, they had guys dedicated to making plastic models of the plants they were designing. With the advent of 3d modeling on your screen, this art has kind of gone by the wayside. Does anybody know of a company that still makes models? I know they must exist, because in the lobby of one of my clients, they have some really nice models of fcc units and such. Any leads would be appreciated!

 

[Unotec]

Can't you look at the models in your client's office?

<<A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend
will be sitting beside you saying ” Damn that was fun!” - Unknown>>

 

[pennpiper]

Which Fluor office? And when was that? I have Fluor in my history from 1954 to 1999. Southern California, Houston,TX, Greenville, SC, Marlton NJ.

Why not contact them now and see if one of their offices still has the capability.

 

[ProcessSales]

Unotec: If that were the case, I would have done that; however, the models there only have a plate with the date, project and unit name.

pennpiper: Mid 70's I'd go to my dad's office off Braeswood in Houston, then Sugarland. I've talked to some one of the main mechanical guys there that's been there since early 70s and he stated they did most if not all of their modeling on computers now.

There must still be a handful of guys still doing this.

 

[JStephen]

I think there are people that do this specifically for sales efforts such as you mention, rather than as a means of design. It's not uncommon to see such models at trade shows, in some cases made cut-away to see the innards. It's not cheap. Come to think of it, people do stuff like this for the movies, too.

 

[ProcessSales]

On the off chance anybody else is interested, after a LOT of googling, I've found 2 companies, but have yet to hear back from them to see if they can do the models we desire.

http://www.2scale.com

http://www.searails.com

If anybody else comes up with something, please post it!

THANKS ALL!

 

[vesselguy]

Codefabricator,

Know what you mean.. when I first started in this business in 88, I worked for Fluor. I remember seeing the models they were building for their projects. It was great. There is nothing like seeing a real object to get a sense of space and dimensions. Anyway, there are no more mainstream model builders for petrochemical plants. I suggest you contact an architectural model firm in your area to help you with your need. My friend works for one in Vancouver and I know for sure they can do this. Good luck.

 

[SnTMan]

codefabricator, at my previous company one of the drafting guys was a model railroad hobbyist, and he made several small models, say 6-8 in. long, of heat exchangers for the company. Some of them had a removable "channel" and held paperclips, etc, inside.

Depending on the extent of what you need, a hobbyist may be able to help out. Call a hobby shop?

It would probably be pricey, but if you have 3D CAD models already a rapid prototype might be an option.

Good luck, keep us updated.

Mike

 

[LOUDOG]

Contact your local university. I know a lot of them have rapid prototypers. It would also be great to support them with a project like that could be done by students.

 

[JStephen]

Here's one that a quick search turned up:

http://www.technical-models.co.uk/

 

[doct9960]

codefabricator,

Do a search in the Company Directory of APMM

https://www.modelmakers.org

Here are some that might be applicable to your case...

http://www.coleman-associates.com/

http://www.modelbuilders.net/

http://www.3-dtechnicalservices.com/

 

[zdas04]

Try a Google on "Rapid Prototyping". I got dozens of interesting hits on the first couple of pages.

David

 

[chicopee]

Have you cheked out newly graduated architectural students to do models? These people have to do models before they graduate.

 

[ProcessSales]

I got EXTREMELY lucky! We not only hooked up with 2scale.com and got a quote, but we also hooked up with a gentleman who is still working for B echtel as a modeler and is quite familiar with what I'm looking for. I am very, very optimistic. We also decided to make a 3d model of the unit to run as part of the video we'll have. I'm excited!