As part of our recent mount making tender at Perth Museum, the exhibition design allowed for the display of various artefacts inside display cabinet pull out drawers.

The objects were to be mounted within a bespoke foam shape. To achieve this we photographed all objects in the orientation needed against a scale background. To ensure the most accurate shape the camera was positioned over head as high as possible to reduce the shadow angle around an artefact, then zoomed in to achieve the best view of the scale.

Once all museum objects were photographed each was then converted into a digital outline to be laser cut. 

These outlines were spaced in the required arrangement within the width and depth of a drawer. The outlines were offset to allow for a tolerance in cutting and the plastazote tension and shrinkage when cut. Meaning stable objects could be left tight and those that where fragile could be given a boarder where needed.

This was then laser cut, the internal cut outs where also kept as these could be used to raise and lower the item within the cut out.

Once at the museum we tested all items fit within the outline, then noted the depth the objects needed to be. Cutting these in 25mm plastozote meant most items were covered within this range, if needing to go deeper we cut by hand onsite through a bottom layer of plastozote using a hot foam cutter and scalpel to give a neat cut. Items not needing to go this deep could be raised by taking off the required depth from the cut out and placing this back into the plastozote.

For museum objects which were rounded on the bottom we used a bent wire attachment on the foam cutters to scope out a tapered recess.

The result meant all items where secure when the draw opened and closed and could be viewed.

This is the perfect solution for display drawers, object storage or as transport mounts