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Hottest Thing On Four Wheels

America's love affair with the car has just gotten more intense. First, you take an F150 pickup truck (which just happens to be Ford's hottest selling model) then you add interior accouterments worthy of a premier luxury car and top it off with a trim package made from Corian. The result? A down and dirty luxury pickup.

The truck, which took first place at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show, features a Corian Fossil trim package. The gauge mask, instrument panel, center console, door panel inserts, center stack mask, and even the shifter handle were made of Corian. Most of the material was cut on a CNC, thermoformed, polished and sized. The shifter handle was turned on a lathe.

Fabrication of the material was done in-house by Prefix Corporation of Rochester Hills, Mich, which designs and builds concept and show cars made to order for the major auto manufacturers. "At first we were concerned about getting enough heat-sink into the material prior to thermoforming," says Prefix's Marc Gerstenberger. "We simply cooked it overnight in one of the big ovens, and that solved the issue. Overall, workability of the material was phenomenal -- it's really nice to work with."

Let There Be Light

When American Standard renovated its headquarters in Piscataway, N. J. the architect specified an undulating wall of Venaro Corian to act as light sconces in the elevator corridor. The experts suggested it couldn't be done. That didn't stop Eagle Fabrication.

Using DXF files supplied by the architect, the folks at Eagle designed and constructed a mold made from 1-in. thick MDF for reproducing the contoured shape of the sheets. Because the mold was 9 in. high and the gantry on Eagle's CNC has a height limit of 7 in., the mold was constructed in pieces. Before thermoforming, each 1/4-in. Venaro White panel was cut precisely to size and the grain book-matched in much the same way as with wood veneer. Each sheet was numbered in order to maintain the grain direction.

The panels were lightly sanded on both sides to clear any markings that would show when the panels were back-lit. The sheets were heated in the thermoforming oven and draped over the mold. Both mold and sheet were then placed in a membrane vacuum press for the prescribed period of time. The length of time was determined through several tests in order to be sure the sheet was pliable enough to conform to the mold without discoloring in any way. It took four men two days to complete the installation.

"Our careful calculations on the front-end made for an easier installation on the back-end," says English. "The installation also included several v-grooved right-angle pieces that formed either side of each elevator door. These pieces married into the curved panels, and were cut to accept the elevator button panels."

Everything Down To The Kitchen Sink

Who says the only way to get thick edges in quartz surfacing without a visible seam line is to use 3cm material? Certainly not the folks at Erbi B. V. located in Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands, who now use v-grooving technology in quartz surfacing fabrication for everything including undermount bowls made in matching material.

"The sides of the sink were v-grooved in order to get a larger surface area for the glue," explains Norman Saarloos of Erbi. "The bottom was glued flat using a special polymer that is known for its strength and flexibility. The sinks are mounted on a supporting shelf inside the cabinet for this project, but we have also developed a special sink support system for other clients."