Custom Laser-Cut Marine Trim Plate for Key West Boat

One of our favorite tools to use in our shop is our Thunder Laser Nova 63. We find all sorts of uses for it in cars, boats, and side-by-sides. It makes cutting and etching quick and easy for us.
An area we find the most use for it is that of marine trim rings. Whether it is a speaker ring or a full custom dash, we have had many opportunities to help our local boating community. In the case of this Key West boat, the client needed us to make a marine trim plate adapter for his Fusion radio.

Marine Trim Plate Design

The first step in a project like this is getting precise measurements. Our laser is very accurate, to one-quarter the thickness of a human hair! With that precision at our disposal, it is up to us to input cutting measurements to the best of our ability. For most of our measuring, we use either our 8″ or 12″ precision digital calipers. When it comes to radiuses, we have a few sets of radius gauges to choose from.
In the case of this marine trim plate, we would be using the calipers and radius gauges. We first measured the dimensions of the radio chassis. This let us know what size the opening in the plate should be. The next step was to measure the amount of area we needed to cover on the dash. The previous trim ring had left an imprint on the fiberglass dash, so our piece needed to be slightly bigger. When it came time to make our plate match the rest of the trim rings, we called upon our radius gauges. They let us measure the radiuses on the existing panels so we could use the measurement on our new plate.

Cutting, Installation, and Cleanup

A small KW logo was also used at the top.

We had room to add the Key West logo and our shop name on the plate.

Once we had the plate layout designed in our laser-cutting software, it was time to add a little flair to the piece. We added a Key West logo and our shop name below it. Both of these were programmed to cut thinly into the acrylic, not cutting all the way through, but enough to be visible. The result is a low-key accent that doesn’t detract from the overall aesthetic of the console.
It didn’t take long to install the plate once it was cut, and all that was left was to clean up the console and deliver the boat back to the client. He loved the clean look and perfectly straight lines of the new marine trim plate. If you need to clean up or rearrange the gauges on your boat, stop by with it, or contact us here, and we will work with you to provide the upgrade you desire.