Brief
Our client, a conveyor parts manufacturer, required support from Partwell for their end user, a local E Cigarette company. Their client had approached them with an idea, that that they were unable to fulfil due to their machining limitations. They had previously worked with Partwell, so they understood our passion for problem solving.
The end user required a solid black display box for their shop which included an intricately designed etching on the lid.
The Problem
The end user came to Partwell to discuss their requirement. Armed with a post-it note sized picture, of an intricate, two colour design, advised that they wanted that image etching on to the box lid.
No CAD drawing was available from either party and the design supplied was extremely small, meaning new tooling would have been required. That combined with the intricacy of the image, would have resulted in a long lead time.
The Solution
The design combined two colours, therefore, our team suggested the use of Triple Layer Plastic, a fantastic design polymer, that once CNC’d reveals a different layer of colour.
One of Partwell’s engineers, Tom, suggested to both parties that they allow him to increase the size of the design for a few reasons;
1. The small design would have been lost on the large lid, this was being used for display purposes. Therefore, increasing the size the of etching would give a better overall effect.
2. The use of larger tooling would mean that was no need to purchase bespoke tools. This reduced the cost of the finished part.
3. The use of current tooling resulted in a shorter lead time.
Our team set to work, developing the CAD design to get the job underway, once completed, the job was scheduled onto the 3 axis CNC machine.
The Result
The intricacy of the logo together with the benefit of the triple layer plastic, provided an aesthetically pleasing look to the lid. Increasing the size of the design, really made it stand out. The completed box, together with the lid, was aesthetically pleasing. Our client and their client were delighted.
