5forty design

JP Desk

admin — Sun, 30 May 2010 18:56:06 +0000

This steel-framed African Mahogany desk was recently completed and delivered. The carbon fiber-covered aluminum channel in the top keeps cables organized while the sliding keyboard tray allows the user to sit at either end of the desk. The frame is finished with a flat black powder coat and the mahogany is oiled and waxed.

Lockheed Martin Display

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:50:00 +0000

displays up and running

5forty design and Lyall Design Architects had been trying for about a year and a half to find a project to collaborate on and Lyall finally came up with the perfect opportunity. These display panels for Lockheed Martin needed to be designed, fabricated, and installed within 4 weeks. After getting the go-ahead and drawings from Lyall, it took about 3 weeks to design and build fixtures, weld the frames and posts, have aluminum skins laser cut, and get everything powder coated and then installed. The system consists of 2 units made up of 4 7′x7′ panels each. The panels are attached to hinges on the center posts so that they can be rotated through 180 degrees and each panel has a flat screen monitor on the outside, and a laptop controller stowed on the inside. The frames and skins of the panels are all aluminum. The skins are held on with nearly 700 button cap screws. The center posts are welded steel tube and plate and have bronze bearings on the hinges.

post base and hinge pin

one of the aluminum frames in the welding fixture

heavy duty hinges

welded center posts

installed frames and posts

attaching aluminum skins

"z" configuration

seated presentation configuration

Woods Fountain

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:51:36 +0000

This fountain was designed and fabricated for Woods Financial in Chesapeake, VA. The 3″ diameter turned aluminum tubes fill with water that then cascades down their sides giving just the right amount of noise, with minimal splashing. The uplighting from the submersible lights is refracted by the ripples and creates mesmerizing patterns on the walls and ceiling of the room. The African mahogany and aluminum basin ties the design into the existing decor.

The completed fountain

Acacia Desk

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:25:06 +0000

This acacia desk was recently completed and has been gracing the 5forty storefront. It has a very unobtrusive steel frame that really shows off the solid wood top. The slab is 4″ thick making for a very sturdy and hefty desk!

Dimensions: 78.5″x33″x31″

Weight: Approximately 300lbs

Price: $2,300

Peg-Lock

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:16:43 +0000

Originally developed solely as a means to secure firearms for another on-going project, the Peg-Lock system has proven to be far more versatile than we imagined. The pegs lock into the blister board with a quarter turn and each peg can support 30lbs. The boards can be screwed, glued, or riveted to just about any surface without framing, shimming, or furring. The best part is, the pegs stay put when you remove the object that they were holding! To keep production costs down, the pegs were designed in two parts to avoid undercuts. Peg-Lock is now in production and can be ordered from JKM Associates.

Working out the molding issues

The first FDM prototypes

The original intended use of Peg-Lock

Peg-Lock in the shop

Dani Table

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:28:52 +0000

5forty intern Dani Gershon designed and built this end table as her summer project. It has a solid acacia top, a welded and powder coated steel frame, and a frosted glass surface below.

Reagan National Wall Art

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:36:09 +0000

5forty designed, assembled, and installed this wall art for an aviation consultancy in Northern Virginia. The design is based on the FAA airport diagram for Reagan National Airport in Arlington, VA. The client wanted a piece that was sufficiently abstract to not be instantly recognizable as being aviation related. The transparent backing is made of Glass Green acrylic CNC routed and flame polished by Norva PLastics in Norfolk. The steel for the runways and terminal buildings was laser cut by Advanced Machine and Tooling in Virginia Beach. 5forty then patinated the steel and put it all together.

More pictures after the break.

The FAA diagram

The diagram after vectorizing.

The initial rendering sent to the client for approval.

Rough dimension sheet of the steel parts.

View of the installed piece across the conference table.

Closeup of the components.

Kitchen Table complete

admin — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:53:33 +0000

The MB kitchen table is now complete and has been delivered.

More pictures after the jump.

Gift Gloss

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:08:11 +0000

One year ago, the Foof Queens (Rocky, LuAnn, and Betty) came to 5forty design for help designing a new product. The Gift Gloss dispenser is the result of that collaboration. It is perfectly suited to their creative gifting style. More can be found on their website www.foofqueens.com which goes live Wednesday, August 19. Below and after the break are pictures of the ideation process, some renderings of an early version in various color schemes (including the glorious Maroon and Orange), and some pictures of one of the first production pieces.

The production Gift Glosser is injection molded and is made from 4 parts. The top and bottom shells and the rail were designed to be 2-part molds to reduce costs. The manufacturer was able to reduce the part count by 1 by co-molding the rubber cut-strip into the bottom shell.

Buoy Bike Rack!

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:47:08 +0000

The design by 5forty design and Thom White, AIA, was selected by the Downtown Norfolk Council to be one of four Public Art Bicycle Racks to be installed in the Downtown district of Norfolk, Virginia. The DNC put out an RFP for four sculptural bike racks to be placed around the city to promote alternative forms of transportation, in anticipation of the 2010 arrival of the Tide light rail system. Our proposal speaks to both the nautical heritage of the port city and the future means of navigating the city by modes of transportation other than by car. The sculpture/bike racks are scheduled to be installed Spring 2010. Check out our proposal boards below!