Shadow Boards

[jchase63]

Hello Garage Journal friends
I am setting up a new business and am writing in to ask your advice. The business is OSAAP see our website at www.osaapamerica.com.. I found them in Germany at a hand tool show and really liked them and the technology they developed for Shadow Board design. After some research, I have setup a Joint Venture with them here in the USA.

All you need to do is to take a picture of the tools you want shadow board control over (with our light box) and load the image into our FREE software to design your own board. When done email us the layout file and we will send you a quote to make it for you. Typical cost for a board is about $80/each.

Here is a link to a video that shows the process

If anyone has any feedback on this business idea please pass it along.

I need to find dealers that want to sell our shadow board solution as well - ideas on how to find them would be a big help as well.

PS: We own KokenUSA as well

 

[Stuart in MN]

You need to fix your website link...there's a comma in there instead of a period.

Looks like an interesting service.

 

[jchase63]

Thanks and done

 

[gotham]

Cool. I have a drawer that could definitely use this. You send me the illumination board? For free? What size shadow board is ~$80? Are all the tools set to the same depth?

 

[jchase63]

12" x 18" is $85 for qty one and goes down if you buy more of the same layout.

Like I said, we are trying to find dealers around the country, but until then we could ship the light box for free, with a deposit on a CC, and customers paying shipping. CC deposit would be released when returned or charged in full if the light box is not returned.

I could send you the full price list if you pass back an email address.

One idea is for small dealers to go to local car & tool shows with the light box and a laptop to do shadow board layouts for free if customers purchase boards from them. We offer a nice discount for distributors.

 

[Saw]

I worked for a major window manufacturer a few years back as a maintenance carpenter, built many shadow boards for their work stations. Used plywood, boards, metal, Lexan, plyron, PVC, and various screws, nails, whatever would work to hold tools, gauges, whatever was needed at each station. I would arrange most used items closest to operator to help with efficiency.

Plywood shadow boards would get painted safety yellow first, allowed to dry, masked off with masking tape, items laid out on board in desired locations, traced outline off on masking tape, cut out outline with Xacto knife, peel off background area and painted the area black. Once dry, peel off shadow area to reveal shadow. Add holders for items, be it nails, screws, PVC, L hooks, whatever is needed for individual board.

Did a few foam cutouts but most shadow boards were vertical mounts. It was interesting to work with operators to develop functional, efficient shadow boards.

Chances are that if you have double hung windows from a particular window manufacturer that's logo is black and yellow, I built the shadow board that held the tools used to put that window together.

 

[jchase63]

We offer 30mm, 60mm & 90mm thick.

The 60mm works very well when bonded to a hard backing material for vertically mounted shadow boards.

 

[Krash Kadillak]

Seems to me the hassle of having to use the lightbox is a drawback. Isn't there some way you can use a digital image just taken against a bright white background - say a piece of construction paper?

 

[gotham]

I imagine the light box gives the image a scale for the software to work with and the back light gives good edge contrast

 

[jchase63]

Correct. Our software scales the image based on the dimensions of the frame of the light box.

With that said we are working on a iphone app. The app will require a scale (small ruler) included in the image. This app is in BETA now and should go public in 2015