AeroVironment has had two buildings in Simi Valley for a while, however, they needed new signage because they were updating their logo. Each building has a building sign and a monument sign so we made them a total of four signs. The building signs we made were non-illuminated reverse channel letters, and the letters on the monument signs just needed to be replaced so we made them exterior dimensional letters. Both signs were non-illuminated because they didn’t feel the need to have to advertise the business location at nighttime.
Reverse channel letters are opaque metal letters. The backs, faces, and returns are all made separately and attached together so the inside of the letter is hollow. If you choose to have an illuminated sign, LEDs are installed inside of the channel letter, the backs are clear, and the letters are mounted spaced off of the wall so the LEDs have room to shine onto whatever the sign is installed on, whether it is a wall or a backer panel. Since these signs were non-illuminated, we just used aluminum for the backs and the letters were mounted flush to the wall. The backs were cut from .063 aluminum, and the faces were cut from .080 aluminum that we painted duranodic bronze. The returns were made from .063 aluminum that we also painted. The faces and backs are welded to the returns and then sanded before they are painted.
For the monument sign letters, we used 1/2″ thick aluminum that was painted duranodic bronze. We start with a sheet of 1/2″ thick mill finish aluminum and we route the letters using our CNC router. The letters are then routed and then tapped with studs so we can install them.
Both signs are stud mounted which means that we drill holes into the wall or monument sign first, fill them with silicone, and then push the studs into the holes. The monument sign letters were mounted with spacers so the letters sit 1/2″ spaced off of the monument sign.