Marine Panels: Designing Custom Instrument Panels for Boats

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Mike_Barone]Mike Barone
Building custom boats requires careful planning and execution. Without the right materials and design approach, the design process can be delayed by rework and, in some cases, become too expensive. To minimize design cost, custom boat builders look for opportunities to outsource specialty design projects to companies that handle niche aspects of marine design for boats, such as the design of instrument panels for helms, utility areas, and cabins-to name a few.
Areas for Instrument Paneling
The type of paneling a boat requires depends on its interior and exterior design. All motorboats require paneling that covers wires and apparatuses in the helm console. Other areas where paneling is needed include:
Industrial Equipment Controls
Industrial and commercial boats often feature a variety of equipment controls. Examples of equipment that could require a custom boat panel include: deck winches, davits, cranes, and anchor windlass systems.
Circuit Breaker Panels
Most commercial and industrial boats have breaker panels. Unlike standard breaker panels, these panels might require marine design that minimizes the level of moisture they encounter.
Alarm Controls
Alarm controls for boats range from small keypads to large control panels that feature several data channels. In either case, custom designed paneling can be used to accommodate ergonomic control design.
Cabins and Common Areas
Cabins and common areas on private boats contain aesthetic paneling that is usually easy to design, but is often made with materials that require special workmanship, such as fine wood or stone.
Designing Custom Instrument Panels
Custom marine panels are traditionally designed by hand. However, computer numerical control (CNC) technology is increasingly replacing manual machine and hand methods. Today, most instrument paneling is designed with a CNC router that can cut wood or metal. Unlike standard routers, CNC routers are computer controlled, offering incredible cutting accuracy and the ability to replicate multiple work pieces. In addition to producing a better product, the efficiency of the CNC process can also produce savings for the customer.
Some producers of instrument paneling allow the customer to participate in the design process. Using a free software download, the customer can design panels through a program that expresses design data in a solid CAD model. Because solid CAD models can be directly manufactured, the transition between the design and production of a piece is seamless. The design model can also be retained to produce replica pieces, or pieces that contain alterations.
Conclusion
Custom boat building involves numerous design considerations. When it comes to designing instrument panels, outsourcing to a panel producer that uses a CNC production process and allows customers to design their own pieces offers three advantages:

The accuracy of CNC technology creates a superior product
The efficiency of CNC technology reduces production cost
The customer plays a greater role in the design process

If you are designing a boat that requires custom paneling for equipment controls, circuit breaker panels, alarm controls, and/or cabins and common areas, consult with a panel producer that offers a CNC based, customer integrated production process.
In my research on custom [http://www.frontpanelexpress.com]marine panels, I studied the benefits of a CNC based, customer integrated design process for creating a [http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/service/design-service/index.html]custom boat panel.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Marine-Panels:-Designing-Custom-Instrument-Panels-for-Boats&id=6619666] Marine Panels: Designing Custom Instrument Panels for Boats