London Engnieering Company Ltd

Steel traffic and mariner signal totem

London Engineering won the contract to design and detail all the architectural mild and stainless steel elements for the Poole Twin Sails Bridge. The totems are constructed from mild steel internal frame and then housed in stainless steel perforated cladding panels. All connections from mild to stainless parts are isolated with a 2mm neoprene pad.

Solid cladding panel vs perforated area

Working very closely with Industrial Electrical Services (I.E.S.) ensured that all the required electrical components fitted within the totem and that all necessary holes for electrical cabling were present and in the right location. One of the most challenging tasks encountered when creating the model were the perforated cladding panels and the need to show our client the solid part of the cladding panel along with the perforated area (shown transparent). The totem cladding is actually made from different sized cones and cut in such a way that it gives the appearance that each panel has been pressed in two directions rather than being rolled in one direction.

By using several coned panels and some complex cuts the border was modelled, as well as the perforated area and even the red man aperture. New section profiles were created by importing a cross section from Autocad to create the red man part of the cladding panel. The Totem model was issued for client approval as a 3 dimensional DWG file for the architects and engineers and the 3D model was interrogated in the web viewer by the principle contractor and the client Poole Borough Council. Both parties were impressed with the speed and accuracy of the Tekla software and the Totem model when showcased at monthly review meetings.