Complicated signage

Blair Image engineers Mercedes-Benz sign able to go horizontal in a hurricane

Mercedes-Benz is known for high level engineering.

One might not think that making a sign for the German vehicle firm would also involve high level engineering, but that would be incorrect in the case of a job being done by Blair Image Elements of Altoona for a Mercedes-Benz factory near Charleston, S.C.

The sign is in the shape of the iconic

Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star, 28 foot tall, 20 foot wide, on a 10 foot base, on top of a roof 90 foot high, designed to rotate constantly, change from chrome-colored during the day to whatever color the client wants at night -- and be capable of going horizontal when a hurricane threatens, according to Blair Image officials.

"It's definitely very unique," said Dakota Leamer, senior design engineer for Blair Image and the author of the Mercedes-Benz sign design.

The sign is rated for 90 mph winds when vertical, 141 mph when lowered by factory employees, who will need to go onto the roof, make some adjustments, unlock some mechanisms, lower the structure and batten down the end that was formerly on top to prevent lifting by the wind, Leamer said.

The capability of going horizontal is necessary both to protect the sign and to protect the roof structure to which it's attached -- as the plant wasn't designed initially to hold something like what Blair is installing, according to Blair Image CEO Phil Devorris.

The sign has a hybrid framework consisting of both steel and aluminum.

Initially, it was going to be all steel, but that would have been too heavy for the roof, Leamer said.

In the redesign, the lower third is made of steel, the upper third of aluminum, Devorris said.

The lower third handles most of the stress, while the upper third is much lighter than it would have been.

A contract firm designed the mechanism that allows for rotation of the sign, but Leamer designed the attachments to the roof, which depend on stanchions that penetrate the surface and attach to multiple roof framing members below it, Leamer said.

The material that covers the frame of the sign is polycarbonate, which in turn is covered with a chrome film manufactured by 3M, Devorris said.

Internally, there are red, green and blue LED lights that in combination can create any color, so that plant operators, for example, can have a red and green logo for Christmas, Devorris said.

Intricate engineering challenges are much more common nowadays for Blair Image than in the old days, he said.

They're plentiful in the case of big pylon signs the company makes for Sheetz, like one it installed in London, Ohio, Devorris noted.

That sign is 150 feet high, with a logo component that is 20 feet tall and 43 feet wide, and a large cabinet sign below it for gasoline prices, said Devorris and Joe DeLeo, vice president of logistics, estimating and field services.

Wind pressure calculations on such a broad expanse of sign material probably mirror the sort of engineering calculations involved in construction of sailing ships in previous centuries, Devorris said, adding the Ohio sign "is like a giant sail."

The foundation for that Ohio sign is 30 feet deep and required 300 cubic yards of concrete, he said, adding, "I was blown away" with the network of rebar in the hole that was as impressive as any other component.

A Blair Image crew installed the Ohio sign, although a contract crew constructed the foundation, he said.

Blair Image has about 400 total employees, with about 50 in the Engineering Department.

In addition to its Altoona facility, the company has locations in Knoxville, Tenn., and Tampa, Fla., as well as field service managers in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, Texas, Missouri and Florida, Devorris said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.