Sign60

This page is merely an introduction to a new way of thinking about the humble signpost, and a repository of some test results from a short research project in mid 2019, with some discussion ...

As of 2020 Flexiroof Ltd is letting the IP mature, ( the utility patent is looking very promising ) and is quietly looking for a suitable Kiwi company partner to develop and market this technology internationally ...

IP summary and contact details are at the bottom of this page

Take me to a video now!

T60 post to gravel roadway in Pukekura Park

There are links to many other "Test Videos"at the bottom of this page - these videos look at material and implementation options ...

What is the problem?

Posts for road signs and real estate both take too long to install

Time is money

Currently a give way sign takes 45 to 90 minutes to install, but of course the actual cost of the installed post is the total cost of materials plus the labour to install it

Many real estate agents out-source sign installation as it is too problematic, energy-sapping, and time-consuming ...

The year is

(actually it is 2020 now)

The signs we use today are completely different to yesteryear, but the posts are still installed via the same two principles used for 2,000+ years

Basically the options are:

Dig a hole for the post, or
Hit the post very hard ...

But of course not only are posts currently slower & harder to install ... they are also problematic to remove, or adjust when that is needed ...

Demo Videos

These little amateur videos demonstrate the installation of a T60 post ... which is ready for sale now

T60 post to gravel roadway in Pukekura P ark
(same video as at the top of this page)
T60 post to regular soil

Hello Sign60

This new design will allow posts to be installed to all manner of substrates, in as little as 60 seconds for a smaller sign, hence our brand name

A standard give way sign will be able to be installed in 5-10 minutes, instead of the current 45-90 minutes. A chevron sign in 3-5 minutes, and a temporary road sign in .... well ... 60 seconds ... Hello Sign60!

Core Concept

Basically multiple smaller poles are quickly rotated into the ground - with an 18V battery drill for smaller signs - and then a sleeve (post) is locked to them - via a set screw

For our larger R60 extrusion, designed specifically for the likes of a give way sign, a drive adapter tool has been designed for larger 20mm poles, and will be used with a commonly available SDS battery drill

Sign60 Post Extrusion

We have two designs, both made in super strong 6061 T6 aluminium

T60 post is available for sale now and suitable for smaller roadside signs such as temporary warning and chevrons

R60 is designed for signs such as direction, stop, permanent warning, and give way signs and will work with standard 60mm 'SignFix' fittings

T60

A T60 post set consists of:

1 x 1200mm T60 extrusion - anodised silver, with an M8 tapped hole 100mm from one end
2 x 500mm 12.7mm 6061 T6 aluminum poles
1 x M8 stainless steel set screw

At this stage the best options for T60 poles are looking like

12.7mm fibreglass for lowest cost - one or several use situations
12.7mm 6061 T6 aluminium for medium cost - one or multiple* uses
12.7mm Nylon66 GF30% for super frangible posts - one or multiple* uses
12mm Galv Spring steel for semi frangible posts - one or multiple* uses

*By "multiple" we mean >100x

R60

Our R60 post will be available as a production extrusion in September, with pre-production product available now. Testing regarding implementation options will takes some time to work through here as we have a number of valid options.

Pricing will be determined later

At this stage the best options for R60 poles are looking like

20mm fibreglass for lowest cost - one or several use situations
20mm 6061 T6 aluminium for medium cost - one or multiple* uses
20mm Nylon66 GF30% for super frangible posts - one or multiple* uses
16mm Galv Spring steel for semi frangible posts - one or multiple* uses

Design Goals

There are specific endpoints to deliver here

Simple & super fast installation,
Frangible post design able to flex on impact,
Very very resistant to vandalism attempts,
Ideally non-conductive,
Installation into the ground requiring no more than 600mm, but ideally 400mm,
Able to be installed in any ground condition, including gravel, clay, asphalt, and concrete, and
Much lower total cost of installation, considering both labour and materials.

Pole Design

There are many options here:

Fibreglass - cheap and strong, but can be damaged with repeated use.
Steel rebar (plain not deformed) - strong, but heavy, will deform, and possibly needs galvanising, and is conductive.
Polycarbonate - almost impossible to break or plastically deform!, but higher cost, and perhaps too frangible even in 20mm diameter?
6061 T6 aluminium, light and corrosion resistant, but can be plastically deformed by vandals, and is conductive.
Galvanised spring wire - very strong and will not plastically deform, but is conductive.
Nylon 66 GF30% - strong and durable, (more durable than fibreglass), and can be injection molded.

Test Videos - looking at design and material options

The following videos explore options, particularly relating to (1) frangible design, (2) durability, and (3) resistance to vandalism ...

Sept 20 2019
Next step is to work on refining implementation. To this end some parts have been ordered from Canada oddly!
Sept 3 2019
Great news today in that I received notice a patent is to be granted in NZ. A patent will be filed beyond NZ soon.
Aug 15 2019

"Swinging test #2" of R60 post with 3 x 19mm fibreglass poles to the ground with a longer lever this time - In this test we used a 2.5m post as opposed to 2m a couple of days back, and finally managed to break something - at the end of the video a crack is heard - it is the aluminium not the poles ...
Aug 13 2019

"Swinging test" of R60 post with 3 x 19mm fibreglass poles to the ground - This rather extreme test certainly suggests fibreglass posts are a good option!
Aug 8 2019 T60 post with 3 x 12mm spring steel poles about 500mm into the ground - This video shows that if the pole material is too hard that the grub screw is unable to reliably secure to the poles. Other metals have all been fine. It seems that spring steel is not. A cone point grub screw may be an idea ... but at this stage this looks like a problem for spring steel ...
Aug 2 2019 R60 post - 3 x 20mm Nylon 66 GF30% poles 500mm long wound into the ground with a “mini dovetail” layout - Whilst these are wound in just 300mm the result is promising - more dovetail (just 5 degrees here) and perhaps 500mm in may be very good?
Aug 2 2019 R60 post - 3 x 19mm fibreglass poles 750mm long wound into the ground 600mm - Great for ease of installation, frangible character, durability, cost, and rigidity, but not for pull out - and due to the very rigid nature dovetail is not an option ...
July 29 2019 Test of a single 16mm glass-filled nylon pole - 400mm into the ground - ok but of course not resistance to twist - oddly could not be pulled out even though just 400mm in
July 26 2019 T60 post - test #2 defining curves to the path of the poles via a device to force things - a fail but promising/interesting - certainly worth investigating more
July 25 2019 T60 post - with 6 x 7mm spring-steel poles - very promising - certainly worth more testing
July 24 2019 T60 post - with 3 x 10mm glass-filled nylon poles - a fail - but demonstrates the material is very robust
July 24 2019 Test of winding a very light weight 10mm glass-filled nylon pole - successful, but the pole is far too flexible for actual use, but clearly even a damaged & light pole is still robust
July 24 2019 Test of winding a 16mm glass-filled nylon pole - very successful
July 13 2019 R60 post - with 3 x 20mm polycarbonate poles - interesting, but later testing showed polycarbonate is too flexible
July 13 2019 3 x 20mm polycarbonate poles - certainly very very durable, but too flexible in 20mm (could be that polycarbonate comes into its own for R76 or R100 later?)