Flag artwork verification
We started from the official Union Jack proportions rather than the yard's supplied artwork, which had drifted through several redraws. Small correction that made a big difference on the finished planter.
Project record · Seasonal decorative range
A garden yard's Union Jack planter mould.
A seasonal decorative planter with a Union Jack embossed on all four faces. Silicone tooling for the flag detail, polyurethane surround for the bulk of the planter, cast-in drainage in the base.
The brief
The brief in one paragraph.
A garden yard added a seasonal Union Jack planter to their range in the run-up to a major national anniversary year. Four faces of the planter carried the embossed flag; the base needed a moulded drainage feature that would drain without pooling. Batch quantity of around 300 planters over the season.
The problem
The problem was the flag reading right at planter scale.
A Union Jack embossed at planter scale is harder than it sounds. The diagonal cross bars of the flag are all different widths in the official proportions, and any drift in the moulding blurs the reading. The yard team had tried a rubber sample from another supplier and the flag had looked hazy on the finished planter.
The drainage also needed a proper solve. A drainage hole cast straight through the base creates a permanent weak point; a designed drainage feature moulded into the base gives structural integrity and controlled drainage together.
How we solved it
How we approached it.
Two-material tool
Silicone flag inserts on all four faces, set into a polyurethane surround for the planter walls. Same principle as the bollard job.
Cast-in drainage feature
A moulded drainage boss in the base with a shallow well, cast crisply from a silicone insert. Drains reliably, stays structurally sound.
Batch production
Full batch of 300 planters run through the yard over the season. Yard team comfortable with the two-material handling by planter 20.
The outcome
How it worked out.
The seasonal range sold well and the yard has re-ordered the tool for a repeat season. The flag detail held sharp across the full batch; drainage worked as designed. The two-material tool paid for itself several times over compared to going all-silicone.
Lessons
What we'd tell the next person with this problem.
Never trust supplied artwork without cross-checking against the source. A flag, an emblem or a logo that's drifted through five redraws will look wrong on the finished concrete, and it's cheap to correct at pattern stage. Also — cast-in drainage almost always beats cast-through-hole drainage for structural life.
Related
Read another job.
Get in touch
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One photograph tells us what surface you're chasing, and one line about the mix tells us what silicone or polyurethane will survive it.
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