Legal Disclaimer

By purchasing or using any information from this site, the client assumes full responsibility and liability for the products use.

DC Design Studio is not responsible nor liable for any damage or injury caused by our designs and or mechanisms. This includes but is not limited to: injury, bodily harm, property damage, and or death.

The mechanisms were designed with safety in mind, but misuse, improper setup (including proper mounting), and or modifications made to these mechanisms is not the responsibility of DC Design Studio.
We urge you to follow the directions of each of our mechanisms and never make any modifications without advise from our designers. Always treat the mechanisms as potential hazards, and never use nor display where direct contact may occur.

Lastly the props (non-dc) on this website and in our book(s) have not been tested for any safety standards or regulations. Although the props are built with safety in mind, the end user of these mechanisms should use extreme caution when building as well as displaying most of the props in this site. Issues arising from use of these products, but be directed to the manufacturer, not DC Design Studio. We will be glad to help in any way by providing you with necessary contact information.

Safety tips

1. When setting up pneumatic props, never add air until the prop is mounted securely. When adding air, first check that all tubing and fittings are mounted securely, then stand away from the prop and carefully connect the valve to the air supply.

2. When working with pneumatics, always start with your air pressure low and your flow controls open to a minimum then work up the pressure until you achieve the effect you are looking for. Also always disconnect the air when working on or with one of these props. You never know when the solenoid may fire and it's not going to stop for your face or body parts.

3. All DC Props are designed to opperate between 30-120 PSI. Failure to stay within these parameters will void all product warranties, and is extremely dangerious.
4. To ensure a long life of pneumatic products, proper water traps/ filters/ lubricators and pneumatic oil should be used.

If you use common sense and protect yourself from harmful tools and chemicals, there should be no reason that you can't have year after year of haunting enjoyment with all of your fingers.

BE SAFE

Snail Mail:
DC Prop Shop
P.O. Box 132
Mountain View, CA 94042

Business Hours:
10am - 5pm PST
Monday-Friday

Phone Numbers:
For prop questions, quotes, please send us an email at info@dcpropshop.com
Phone: 1-650-962-9254 (please note, due to shop hours and different state time we reply much faster to emails)
(for custom prop design questions, quotes, please send us an email at info@dcpropshop.com)
Fax: 1-302-338-0550

DC Props Ordering and Returns Instructions:

Stock Items:

Fabrication time: Generally 10 business days
Cancellation: Cancellation after fabrication has begun will result in a forfeiture of deposit or a minimum of 50% cancellation/restocking fee. This covers all design, parts, and fabrication costs that DC has incurred.

Custom Orders (non-stock items):

Fabrication time: Varies depending on prop
Cancellation: Cancellation after fabrication has begun will result in a forfeiture of deposit or a minimum of 50% cancellation/restocking fee. This covers all design, parts, and fabrication costs that DC has incurred.

Returns:

Due to the nature of the Halloween and haunted house industry, unfortunately all sales are final.

We understand that items purchased online can not be viewed in person, so before placing an order for an item you are unsure of, please contact us for more information. We will do our best to get you the info you need.

If in the case of receiving the wrong item or if the merchandise arrives damaged or in non-working order please contact us immediately. Upon our receipt of the damaged product we will repair or replace at no additional charge.

Refused orders are subject to a 25% re-stocking fee with no refund for shipping.

Prices are subject to change and customers will be notified of increases prior to shipping.

Frequently asked questions:

1. Approximately how long does it take from when I place my order until it arrives? There is a multitude of elements that may effect shipping time, but we will do our best to have your order shipped within 5-7 business days.
   
   
2. What pneumatic products do you use in your animatronics? We generally stick to SMC for our valves, flow controls, and fittings, and Bimba for cylinders, and mounting hardware.
   
   
3. Can you integrate my cylinders, valves, and pneumatic parts into your mechanisms? We generally allow for customer supplied materials, but in many cases it is cheaper and more reliable to use our new products. Modifications to designs, using customer supplied parts, requires time and may effect the build total.
   
   
4. What PSI do you recommend for your mechanisms? We design our mechanisms to operate between 30-120 PSI, but depending on the weight of your prop, you can adjust the PSI to fluctuate the speed.
   
   
5. What is the max PSI of your pneumatics? All of our products are rated up to 125-150 PSI. Larger cylinders and valves may be higher, but nothing we use is rated at less then 125 PSI.
   
   
6. What size air compressor do I need to run your mechanisms? For single props, we suggest a compressor that has a 3-5 gallon reservoir and ability to maintain a 80 PSI pressure. For multiple prop setups, 20-60 gallon compressors are suggested.
   
7. How often will my compressor turn on (cycle) during normal operation? The cycle frequency is hard to estimate since there are so many variables. Mainly the PSI pressure, number of cylinders, size of cylinders, frequency of triggering, and size of compressors storage capabilities will determine how often your compressor will turn on. It is safe to assume that if you are using multiple pneumatic mechanisms that are constantly running, your compressor will also be constantly on to supply the required pressure.
   
   
8. How many props can I run off of a 5 gallon compressor? The amount or frequency relies solely on the size of your cylinders. Each trigger dumps and fills the cylinder volume, so calculation of individual cylinders is needed to estimate volume displacement and frequency of refill.
   
   
9. Can I run your mechanisms off of C02? Yes, but we do not recommend it due to potential hazards, and added expense. If you do choose to use compressed air, consult with a professional in acquiring regulators that do not allow for over 120 PSI output.
   
   
10. Do your products have a warranty? All of our products are built to last a lifetime and are guaranteed against all mechanical failure for 90 days. The pneumatics have a 30 day warranty. If a product does break (we've never had one returned to date) we will be more then happy to repair the part at no cost. Please email us prior to returning anything to DC.
    
    
    If you have additional questions, please email us at info@dcpropshop.com with as much info as possible.
    DC understands that many people are unfamiliar with pneumatics, so we will be more then happy to answer any pneumatic question you may have.