Industry Cases
Consumer Electronics
Appearance and structural prototypes: surface quality, panel gaps and feel in the hand all judged in physical form before tooling is cut.
Consumer electronics is judged in the hand
No render settles how the weight sits in the hand, how a button travels, or whether the gap between two shells is even. Those need a physical part. In consumer electronics prototyping, validating appearance and feel is often worth more than validating function.
Surface quality demands are high: one faint tool mark or a small sink shows up under light. So finishing passes and post-processing follow cosmetic-part standards, not structural-part standards.
Gaps and fit
Whether the parting line is even and the button gaps consistent depends on consistency of mating dimensions. Send the assembly relationships, not only individual part drawings, so we can identify which dimensions need close control.
For pilot runs of tens to hundreds of units, vacuum casting gives appearance and feel close to injection moulding with no tooling cost.
Why Us
Forming Processes
| CNC machining | Aluminium and plastic cosmetic parts, internal structural brackets. |
|---|---|
| Vacuum casting | Pilot runs of appearance parts with no tooling cost. |
| 3D printing | Early styling checks and internal interference checks. |
| Sheet metal | Shielding cans and internal brackets. |
Surface Finishes
| Blasting + anodising | The standard route for metal cosmetic parts — even texture, good wear resistance. |
|---|---|
| Painting | Plastic cosmetic parts to a specified colour and gloss, multi-coat if needed. |
| Brushing | Directional metal texture, common on frames and back plates. |
| Screen print / laser marking | Logos and key legends; laser marking wears better. |