Poster Display Monolith

thingiverse

As technical program chair for IEEE SoutheastCon 2014, my challenge was to decide how short paper posters would be displayed at the event. My goal was to find an affordable, quick-to-set-up and visually impressive solution that also ensured better traffic flow than traditional poster arrangements. Thus, I created freestanding, triangular-shaped monoliths with a 8-foot height and 4-foot width. Each monolith required three 4'x8' sheets of black sound insulation board, totaling less than $30 and held together by nine 3D-printed clips. These clips allowed for easy assembly or disassembly in a matter of minutes without requiring any tools. Posters or other materials were mounted on the textured black board surface using standard push pins. The inspiration for this concept came from an earlier project my group did at IEEE/ACM SC2002, where we used duct tape and 1/2" thick foam insulation board. However, the duct tape proved to be less than ideal and the material lacked enough mass to stay in place. To improve upon this, I opted for black sound-absorbing panels available at Home Depot, Lowes, and other similar stores. These panels were slightly cheaper than the foil-backed foam boards and offered a nicer appearance and sturdier feel. The 3D-printed clips played a crucial role in holding the monoliths together without the need for tools. Each monolith required nine of these clips, which were easy to attach with just seconds per clip. Handling the large 4'x8' sheets was best done with two people, but attaching the clips was a quick process. The clips had teeth on the inside to grasp the board better and compensate for thickness variations in the boards. The design of the clips required only light filling and featured 45-degree rectangular fill to provide strength. They were easy to print, with no issues encountered when printing a set of nine at a time on a MakerGear M2 at 120mm/s with 0.25mm extrusion. In summary, the freestanding triangular monoliths created for IEEE SoutheastCon 2014 provided an affordable, quick-to-set-up, and visually impressive solution for displaying short paper posters while ensuring better traffic flow than traditional poster arrangements.