Client Build: A Custom Mobile Demoulding Trolley for a Perth Concrete Studio

From Sketch to Factory Floor in About Two Weeks

Our client is a Perth-based design studio that handcrafts premium concrete products. Every piece is cast and finished by hand, and their factory runs on precision.

Earlier this year they came to us with a sketch and a problem. They needed a mobile, heavy-duty support trolley for their demoulding process, something that could carry fresh pieces around the factory and give their team a dead-level working frame. Their existing steel trolleys were doing the job, but they were heavy and hard to move.

We took their concept, refined the design with them, then built, assembled and delivered the finished trolley to their factory, ready to roll straight into production.

The Brief

The studio's design director sent through a concept drawing with a clear set of requirements. The trolley needed to:

• Be fully mobile, with heavy-duty lockable castors at each corner
• Carry heavy concrete pieces safely during the demoulding process
• Stand at a finished working height of 800 mm
• Be an open frame with no tabletop, so the top rails themselves form the support surface
• Keep those top rails level, because even a couple of millimetres of difference shows up in the finished piece

The client also asked a smart question up front: was the profile they had nominated the right choice, or did the base need a rectangular section for extra strength? That kicked off the design conversation.

Engineering the Frame

4080 for the main rails. To answer the client's question: yes, a rectangular section was the right call for the long spans. The three 3 m main rails are 4080 profile. At 40 x 80 mm, it has twice the depth of 4040 and far more resistance to sagging over a 3 m length, which is exactly what you want under a load of wet concrete.

4040 for the uprights, bracing and top rails. The rest of the structure uses 4040. The nine top rails that the work sits on are our 2-slot, 2-flat-wall 4040 in black with an anti-scratch textured finish. The flat top faces give a clean bearing surface for the pieces, and the slots on the sides stay available for clamps or stops.

Designing around stock lengths. After a phone call to talk through the design, the client spotted that our 4040 profile is stocked in 1 m lengths and offered to narrow the trolley from 1200 mm to 1000 mm. It was a great catch. It cut waste, reduced cost and removed one top rail from the design without compromising the function. This is the kind of back-and-forth that makes custom builds work.

Rigid, square joints. Every joint is fixed with die-cast inside corner brackets with gussets, using high-tensile socket head cap screws and spring washers to hold tension in a busy factory environment.

Castors: Getting Mobility Right

The first quote specified four castors. When the client approved it, they asked for two changes: larger 125 mm wheels, and extra castors under the middle uprights. Both made sense. Bigger wheels roll more easily over a factory floor, and centre castors stop a 3 m frame from flexing in the middle under load.

We suggested one refinement of our own. The four corner castors would lock, while the two centre castors would be non-locking. Four locking points are more than enough to hold the trolley still, and the centre castors are there for support and easy movement, so this kept the cost down without giving anything up. It also turned out to match how the client's existing trolleys were set up.

Delivery, Feedback and What We Learned

From the client's first email to a fully assembled trolley on site took about two weeks, and we hit the date they needed it by.

A couple of weeks after delivery, we checked in for feedback, and the client gave us an honest answer. The centre top rails had been cut about 2 mm too long, so they sat slightly proud of the others. For most jobs that wouldn't matter. For a precision concrete workshop it did. Their team trimmed the rails and reinstalled them, and the frame came up level.

We appreciated the candour. We shared it with our fabrication team, tightened our cutting tolerances and added a final level check across the top rails before any build leaves the workshop. One of the advantages of T-slot is that a fix like this is quick and needs nothing more than a saw and an Allen key. But on a precision build, getting it right before delivery is our standard.

Six Months On: The Client's Verdict

We caught up with the client again in August to see how the trolley was holding up in daily production. Their answer:

"The trolley is working well … the team in the factory is very happy with it and I'm always super pleased to move it around as it's so easy compared with our heavy steel trolleys."

— Design Director, Perth concrete studio

They also noted that we turned the project around very quickly, which mattered for a working factory.

Why T-Slot Works for Production Equipment

Light but strong. An aluminium frame gives the stiffness the job needs at a fraction of the weight of steel, so the team can move it around the factory without a fight.

No welding, no rust. The trolley bolts together, won't corrode in a wet concrete environment and needs no painting or coating.

Adjustable and repairable. Rails can be repositioned along the slots, members can be trimmed or replaced, and accessories can be added later without starting again.

Built around your process. Because every part is cut to suit, the equipment fits the workflow rather than the other way round.

Got a Sketch? We Can Build It.

Thanks to our client and their factory team for trusting us with a piece of their production line, and for the honest feedback that made our process better.

Whether you need a production trolley, workbench, machine frame or something that doesn't exist yet, send us your sketch. We can supply the profile and fittings in kit form for you to assemble, or design, build and deliver the finished piece ready to work.