1. 36 THE BIG PICTURE SEPTEMBER 2014
As the official signage and graphics provider of the Na-
tional Hot Rod Association (NHRA) we get to be a part of
some great events and some big meetings that take place in
the race world throughout the year. The NHRA is the gov-
erning body of drag racing; with more than 40,000 drivers
and millions of fans, it’s a $120 million dollar annual busi-
ness, and we’ve been their exclusive large-format graphics
partner since early 2013.
For this year’s NHRA Sponsor Summit in Napa, Califor-
nia, bluemedia was commissioned to do something truly
special that would not only be a showpiece for the NHRA
but would also be a great opportunity to showcase our
latest design and custom fabrication capabilities to NHRA
members and the Association’s sponsors, including Coca-
Cola, Harley Davidson, Goodyear, GMC Truck, Prestone,
Chevrolet, Traxxas, Lucas Oil, and Motel 6, among others.
The client asked us to produce an NHRA-branded custom
fabricated podium that would command attention at the front
of the meeting space, and give the various speakers through-
out the day something to lean on and/or stand behind.
Forging
A New
Road
Ahead
Fabricating a custom-branded podium
to drive attention at the NHRA Sponsor Summit
By Joe Holt
STEP
1
Getting Ideas on Paper
Hand-drawn sketches were produced by our vice
president of marketing, then expanded upon and
further refined by our structural team. From there, several
3D mock-ups were created using Rhinoceros Version 5
Nurbs Modeler “Rhino,” and further narrowed down with
photorealistic renders generated in Keyshot 4.
After minor adjustments and revisions from the team
and executives, one version became the clear stand-out and
was finalized in “Rhino” and Adobe Illustrator CC 2014 64-
bit as a CAD drawing. Next, we had to decide on materials
to craft the approved piece.
STEP
2
Making It Rugged, Durable,
and Affordable
Although we knew from the start that the piece
would only be used for a few days, we designed it to
last – hopefully returning home with one of the NHRA
members to stand in an office lobby, greeting guests for
years to come. Because it needed to look rugged and be
durable, we chose heavy duty materials.
The structure features an internal design center, cre-
ated using 1/2-inch aluminum sheets for the sides and
base. Chrome hardware was used to accent the piece,
including chrome lug nuts and stainless steel rods – all
mirror-polished to a high shine.
For the stand that holds the speaker’s notes, .080-inch
thick aluminum was used, and holding that in place, four
rods from an actual Top Fuel Dragster were brought in
and again polished to a mirror-shine. They’re what also
holds the Sponsor Summit sign, which was printed on
our Mutoh 64-inch ValueJet 1618A using our in-house
brand BMP Long Term vinyl and adhered to the 1/8-inch
aluminum before being secured to the rods behind it.
The eye-catching red, white, and blue NHRA logo was
cut from three 1/8-inch colored acrylics, and the blueme-
dia logo was cut from 3/8-inch aluminum, then mirror-
polished and adhered to the bottom plate. Once the
materials were selected, it was time to produce the piece.
www.bigpicture.net 37

2. step-by-step
STEP
3
Routing, Polishing, and Painting
All of the aluminum pieces – and there were
many of varying thickness – were routed us-
ing the Biesse Rover CNC machine in bluemedia’s
70,000-square-foot fabrication shop. The colored 1/8-
inch acrylics were routed on our Zünd G3 L3200.
Once completed, the aluminum pieces were hand-
routed using a 1/8-inch roll-over bit on a Bosch variable
speed router, and hidden microphone holes were cut
into the speaker’s note stand, to accommodate a pole-
mic to be inserted at the event.
Next, the chrome accents and DSR Top Fuel Drag-
ster connecting rods were meticulously hand-polished
to achieve a mirror-finish, and the aluminum base and
uprights were spray painted in our paint lab using Mat-
thews Acrylic Polyurethane system.
STEP
4
We Love It When a Plan Comes Together
Finally, we began assembling the piece. The stain-
less steel connecting rods used in the center of the
structure were drilled and then tapped for attachment to the
aluminum sides using the chrome lug nuts. The 3/8-inch
polished aluminum base was mounted and then spot-welded
to the aluminum side rails using a Millermatic 350P, while
the polished bluemedia logo was adhered to the base using
3M Silicone and Bron double-sided pressure sensitive tape.
The aluminum Sponsor Summit sign was connected
to the connecting rods using specialized tabs our fabrica-
tion department created and spot-welded from the same
aluminum material. It was as simple as locking down the
existing connections on the rods to the newly-crafted tabs
on the back of the sign.
To complete the assembly of the colored acrylic NHRA
logo, a plot pattern was generated using Adobe Illustra-
tor to improve installation accuracy. Assemblers simply
laid out the pieces on the plot pattern and adhered them
together, layer by layer, using 3M Silicone and Bron double-
sided pressure sensitive tape.
STEP
5
If We Build It, We Can Ship It
When all assembly of the piece was completed, it
moved over to our quality control department and
was examined by our team for workmanship or material
defects. No issues were discovered and the podium was
brought to shipping.
A custom crate was built to house the piece using high-
grade wood and packing materials, including custom-cut
foam insulation for further insurance the piece would
arrive safely in Napa.
Because our team begins each project with the end goal
in mind, we try to anticipate any issues that may arise dur-
ing production and shipping when we’re still in conception
and planning. With that in mind, we built the NHRA logo
so that it could easily be taken apart from the podium for
shipping, with Velcro on the back securing it to the alumi-
num presenter top.
This feature worked flawlessly and helped to make the
overall crate dimensions fit as small a profile as possible.
This not only saved money during the shipping process,
it also helped when the installers on the other end had
to maneuver the piece through hallways and doorways at
its intended destination – had the logo been permanently
adhered, it would have been too wide to fit through most
walkways or entrances.
STEP
6
A Platform For Success
The podium was well-received at the Sponsor
Summit, being used throughout the day by
the various speakers, sponsors, and attendees, and it
appeared in dozens of photographs taken at the event.
Those photos will appear in NHRA sponsor email
updates, and other various online platforms throughout
the next few months.
And, just as we’d hoped, the piece made it all the way
to the NHRA Headquarters building in Glendora, Cali-
fornia. One of the NHRA board members, not wanting
to take it apart and worrying that it would be damaged
during a second shipping process, loaded it up into his
vehicle, and drove the piece to the lobby of the NHRA
building, where it now stands.
Joe Holt is the marketing manager for bluemedia
(bluemedia.com) in Tempe, Arizona.
Equipment and Supplies Used
Hardware and Software: Mutoh ValueJet 1618A
printer, Zünd G3 L-3200 digital cutting system,
Adobe Illustrator CC 2014 64-bit, Rhinoceros
Version 5 Nurbs Modeler, Keyshot 4, Onyx
Thrive RIP, Biesse Rover CNC, Matthews Acrylic
Polyurethane system, Millermatic 350P spot
welder, Bosch Variable Speed handheld router
Materials: bluemedia in-house BMP Long Term
vinyl, ½-inch aluminum sheets, Chrome hardware
(lug nuts) .080-inch aluminum, 3/8-inch
aluminum, four rods from Top Fuel Dragster, 1/8-
inch colored acrylics (red, white, blue), stainless
steel connecting rods
Tools and Miscellaneous: Screwdriver, wrench,
Velcro, 3M Silicone, Bron double-sided pressure
sensitive tape
38 THE BIG PICTURE SEPTEMBER 2014 www.bigpicture.net 39