Beechcraft Ltd

OUR CUSTOM DESIGN SERVICE

As we are accredited with ISO 9001 we are confidently able to offer not only guidelines and help with product design advice but also a fully controlled and inclusive design service right through to finished product.

We can provide initial rough concept drawings through full colour design illustrations to detailed working drawings, in 2D or CAD format for final customer approval.

Our long experience − over 30 years in this field − enables us to maximise the styling potential of PU with optimum functionality in a cost-efficient format.

We use both cast resin-aluminium composite tools or fully CAD machined aluminium mould tools for higher anticipated quantities.

Cast Resin-Aluminium Composite Tooling

- A low-cost, quick-start, yet fully production-orientated option to produce custom designed enclosures.

- With a typical 6 to 8 week turnaround from go ahead to first-off samples we offer a guaranteed minimum of 500 impressions − yet often twice or three times this amount can actually often be produced from a single tool before refurbishment or replacement is required.

- Utilising an SLS or SLA, CAD-generated pattern, oversized to allow for shrinkage, our in-house toolmakers will produce an accurate and highly finished mould tool complete with pin-locations so that threaded inserts can be moulded-in, ejector pins, and any side-cores called for by the design.

- This tooling option is an attractive option when higher annual quantities are anticipated. These tools, fully machined from approved CAD data, are finished to a superb degree and capable not only of producing well over 5,000 minimum impressions but of being updated or modified to an enormous degree.

- Timescales for this option are generally from 10 to 12 weeks from go ahead to first off samples.

WHY CHOOSE PU?

What is it?
Our PU (or RIM) is a rigid, self-skinning, thermosetting, expanded foam system specifically blended to produce tough, rigid and structural mouldings.

What is it good for?
Low-run batch quantities, from two or three, up to two or three hundred, moulded covers, instrument cases and awkwardly-shaped components that have to perform strongly, be very cost-effective and still look great!

What’s the process?
We inject a reactive mixture of resin polyol with an ISO curing agent into a closed mould-tool. The mixture instantly reacts and greatly expands, filling the tool cavity to a density of around 600 kg/m3 and at the same time forming a hard, solid resin skin all round.

Why is it cost-effective?
For small batches of mouldings for high-value products PU is extremely cost-effective due to the low start up costs of our resin/aluminium mould-making process − considerably less than for injection moulding tooling.

- Many enclosures require some degree of EMC protection and we provide this by spraying (after thorough surface abrasion) RFI coatings to internal surfaces as required.

- Our standard nickel/acrylic based RFI paint is a popular coating providing standard level of EMC protection down to a resistivity of <5 ohms square, adequate for normal purposes.

- If necessary, other protective materials such as silver/gold coatings can be applied which will provide a much higher level of EMC protection.

- All our mouldings are thoroughly abraded by grit-blasting prior to making good any surface blemishes (visible to the eye at arms length), and then primed before applying one or two coats of two-pack PU enamels.

- Various finishes can be specified using these paints varying from the popular traditional hard-wearing spatter/texture right up to a variety of high gloss
level finishes.

We can screen print multi-coloured logos and type matter in surprisingly fine detail and registration, even on to curved surfaces providing these are no smaller than say, a 400mm radius. Just provide us with artwork, or film positives plus a drawing reference for location.

We also offer a range of non-standard finishes for those extra-special applications sometime called for by clients. These include various texture-simulating finishes and wet-transfer 'hydro dipped' high-gloss finishes such as marble, wood or carbon-fibre effects

It is always preferable to mould-in our standard brass inserts for maximum security − an M4 insert for example will typically provide a pull-strength of around 140lbs (65 kilos) when moulded-in with 3mm of material moulded around it. This would equate to a 12mm diameter boss for an M3 or M4 insert.

Tappex Yardley C type inserts (blind to minimise PU ingress) are our preferred choice although shorter or through inserts can be used where appropriate to
the design.