If you are tired of hauling, moving and paying for heavy freight to get your displays to your trade show booth then scale models, lightweight duplicate parts, acrylic displays or animation are some options when trying to create a lightweight display of your product. As technology improves the ability to duplicate products becomes easier and finally cheaper. While still more expensive than making a display from your actual product the money that can be saved when shipping these displays around the country and the world can add up quickly. Some can be transported on the plane by your salespeople. Let’s explore the different options more in-depth to see the benefits of each kind of display.

Scale models are a great option if you want to reduce the size of your product or make it lighter. The size is reduced using a 3-D CAD file to create an exact duplicate that is just smaller and lighter. Since a three dimensional computer file is used these models can even be made as a cutaway to expose the internal parts of the product for your customer to get a better understanding of how it functions. The models are made from a plastic composite and can be made in full color. This type of display used to be so delicate that the costs often outweighed the usefulness but as technology improves so do the materials and the durability of the models.

Another type of lightweight model is a molded part. Using a mold, your part is copied using a plastic composite. Any part of your product can be duplicated and painted to match the original. Then it can be affixed to the actual product to lighten the weight or so that it can be moved without injury. Any number of parts can be duplicated and attached to create your display. Once painted to match the original product it is hard to tell from looking which part is real and which weighs a fraction as much but you will be able to tell as soon as you try to pick it up.

Another option is to simulate the environment in which your product works. For example, if your product is part of a larger unit, like brakes on a car, and you want to show the whole unit you can create a lightweight copy using acrylic. Using layers of acrylic to form a car or rods to simulate the axle you can give the illusion of the car and then affix your part to show the position and function. Your product also stands out from the rest of the display since it is real and it becomes the focus of your customers attention.

Finally, to save costs on shipping altogether you can create an animation showing your product in action. The animation can be any length from a 15 second shot showing one aspect of your product to a long video including all aspects of the product and its functions. Your marketing and sales department get to direct the customers attention to the features they want to emphasize so your onsite salesmen can spend more time focusing on the customer’s needs and how your product will work for their situation. With the new interactive displays your customer can stop and start the animation or review a part which interests them. Collateral marketing materials can be included and discs with copies can be given away to prospective customers for review after the show. The materials can be posted online through your website so you get more exposure to your customers than just a trade show environment. Freight charges are unnecessary if you rent the video screens at the trade show site rather than bringing your own and often technical help is included. Many exhibitors are including animation as an addition to their trade show booth rather than a replacement but either way it is a great tool to get your message across and to make your product memorable.