Dedication plaques are typically made of solid bronze in a foundry. Molten metal is poured into a mould, allowed to cool and then burnished or polished before being shipped out. While many advancements have been made, there are still a few problems with this process:
Solid bronze is heavy, very heavy — something that is impressive when you hold it in your hands but once mounted, it doesn't count for much. But weight does make a difference in shipping and handling often times requiring special packing, delivery and safety precautions. Once you get your solid bronze plaque, installation becomes a challenge. Depending on the size and thickness, just bolting it into the wall isn't going to be an option. Instead, special substrates and mounting brackets need to be considered, sometimes even requiring the services of a structural engineer. All this should be factored in to the overall cost of your dedication plaque initiative.
We've already talked about the effect of weight on your budget but this is on top of the raw material cost. Bronze is an expensive metal. Even a small plaque can cost a lot of money. Some foundries address this issue by making thinner plaques using less bronze at the expense of overall presentation. Another alarming trend to be considered is theft with unscrupulous "recyclers" stealing plaques for their scrap value.
Working with molten metal results in emissions of harmful and poisonous gases, dust particles, and generation of waste pollutants. In terms of sheer volume, gaseous emissions are the largest source. Other types of pollutants include: liquid emissions, solid waste (from moulds), casting waste, and cleaning room and slag wastes. Finally, the energy required to create molten metal leaves behind a considerable carbon footprint.
FusionCast offers an alternative. Our cold casting technology combines metal with high density urethane at the molecular level. This Patented process results in plaques that use less metal and are therefore much lighter and less expensive to manufacture. The signs are virtually indistinguishable from their traditionally made counterparts and are just as durable with long warranties against warping, staining, scratching, flaking, abrasions and mould. They can stand up to the toughest of weather conditions making them ideally suited for public spaces like golf course, historical buildings, monuments, etc. FusionCast's technology results in virtually no pollution, no harmful emissions or physical waste. In fact 95% of the products used in the process are re-used or recycled.
We can work with your designs or offer the services of our in-house art department and can come up with anything you can imagine from logos, to colour, texture, different metals (bronze, copper and aluminum) and even images done in relief. So before you order a bronze dedication plaque, give FusionCast a call and discover the advantage of our technology.
To get a quote or more information, call us toll free: 1-877-858-0558 Or send us an email: info@fusioncast.com
Mailing Address: 45 Saltsman Drive,Cambridge, Ontario, N3H 4R7
To learn more about us, visit "Who We Are" or watch our video entitled: "What is FusionCast".