Pattern review with the designer
A machined pattern sent to the landscape architect for sign-off on the cap radius and rope pitch before any moulding.
Project record · Public realm bollards
Bespoke bollard tooling for a marina regeneration.
A landscape architect wanted a mooring-post-inspired bollard with a rope relief band for a marina frontage. A split polyurethane mould with a silicone relief insert gave the precaster a dense, salt-tolerant cast every time.
The brief
The brief in one paragraph.
A precaster had won the street furniture package on a marina regeneration. The landscape architect's design was a squat bollard shaped like a mooring post, with a rope-effect relief band below the cap. The run was large enough to justify proper tooling and the precaster wanted two matched moulds to keep pace with the programme.
The problem
The shoulder, the rope and the salt.
The cap overhangs the shaft, which creates an undercut a one-piece rigid mould can't release. The rope band needed fine detail that polyurethane alone would soften over a long run.
The setting was coastal, so the designer wanted a dense, well-compacted face with no blowholes on the relief where salt could get a foothold.
How we solved it
How we approached it.
Split on the hidden line
A two-part polyurethane body split along the back of the bollard, facing the kerb, so the line never faced the promenade.
Silicone rope insert
The rope band cast as a silicone insert seated in the polyurethane, so the fine detail stayed sharp across the run.
Vent and vibration plan
Vents at the cap underside and a vibration regime agreed with the precaster to keep the relief face dense.
Matched pair
Two identical moulds from the same pattern and material batch, labelled as a set.
The outcome
How it worked out.
The precaster ran both moulds in parallel through the programme. The designer approved the first cast at the yard, and the council's maintenance team now have a documented route to a matching replacement when one is inevitably struck by a vehicle.
Lessons
What we'd tell the next person with this problem.
On public realm pieces, ask early which face is seen and which faces the kerb or the wall. It's the single most useful fact for placing a split line.
Related
Read another job.
Get in touch
Send us a photograph of the panel or the elevation.
One photograph tells us what surface you're chasing, and one line about the mix tells us what silicone or polyurethane will survive it.
Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Construction, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
- A real Warwickshire workshopUnit 15, Waterloo Park, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester B50 4JG.
- Real people on the phoneCall the team on 01789 224228, Monday to Friday.
- The same team on every jobDesign, production and aftercare come from the people you see here.
- Part of TCI GroupFive specialist brands, one engineering team. Visit TCI Group.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare