For those born in the technology age, every wonder what people did before? How did people communicate without phones? What was it like having to travel by boat to cross the ocean? How did you keep track of hazardous chemicals on trains? We learned a lot about the last question from maker, Don Wittmuss. He came in hoping to replicate an ancient train placard to use as a casting or a mold. A train placard is a small sign that is placed in a noticeable location that tells what the car is carrying. This is used a lot of the time in relation to harmful chemicals that may be in the car. This small placard let anyone who was loading or unloading that car to be careful and wear protective gear. Mr. Wittmuss wanted us to model and design at the lab a 119 train placard. The numbers 119 signified that the train car was holding compressed gas that was both flammable and poisonous. Guru, William Jones, was able to design this small placard from scratch in just under an hour. The final product looks amazing! Mr. Wittmuss is now going to take our 3D designed and printed model to make metal and wax castings of the placard.

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