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pcb assembler + injection molding

Hi,

I want to hire a company to assemble the elements of a PCB for me and
I also need to find an injection molding company, who can provide me
with a housing for the product.

My quantities are not very large (about 400 units per month).

Does anyone know of any company that does this kind of work well and
affordable?
I am located in toronto canada, but depending on cost I don't mind
outsourcing the job oversees .

Anyone have any recommendations?


Thank you
 
B

Boris Mohar

Ron,

For PCB assembly try http://www.dtek.ca/
They are in Mississauga.


For injection molding try Impact Analysis ( I think)
Garry Isberg at 416 967-7783 or 416 543-0402


Hi,

I want to hire a company to assemble the elements of a PCB for me and
I also need to find an injection molding company, who can provide me
with a housing for the product.

My quantities are not very large (about 400 units per month).

Does anyone know of any company that does this kind of work well and
affordable?
I am located in toronto canada, but depending on cost I don't mind
outsourcing the job oversees .

Anyone have any recommendations?


Thank you


Regards,

Boris Mohar

Got Knock? - see:
Viatrack Printed Circuit Designs (among other things) http://www.viatrack.ca

void _-void-_ in the obvious place
 
R

Robert Baer

Hi,

I want to hire a company to assemble the elements of a PCB for me and
I also need to find an injection molding company, who can provide me
with a housing for the product.

My quantities are not very large (about 400 units per month).

Does anyone know of any company that does this kind of work well and
affordable?
I am located in toronto canada, but depending on cost I don't mind
outsourcing the job oversees .

Anyone have any recommendations?


Thank you
Your quantity does not support the making of a unique housing, even
if the mold was a cheap plastic one.
I suggest you find one off-the shelf that is close to what you need;
it will be a lot less expensive.
PCB assembly houses are all over the US (and Canada as well), and
likely there is at least one within an hour or so from where yoy live or
your facility; look in the yellow pages for them.
Picking ahouse nearby means you can keep a close watch as well as get
faster turn-around (been there, done that).
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

Your quantity does not support the making of a unique housing, even
if the mold was a cheap plastic one.

The cost of a decent set of steel injecton molds for a housing
assembly generally starts in the mid-to-high five figures. Offshore
suppliers can cut the cost by perhaps 30-50% without much loss in
quality, but beware very low quotes. If the tool is poorly designed it
might have any or all of a whole series of cosmetic and structural
defects (flow lines, weak spots in knit lines, splay, etc. etc.) and
still be considered (by them) to be acceptable. Some suppliers will
attempt to quote you low on MUD inserts and lock you into to using
them for part production at whatever price they want, because you
don't really own the tool.
I suggest you find one off-the shelf that is close to what you need;
it will be a lot less expensive.

Maybe, but perhaps not if it limits the market. Certainly 5K
units/year is enough in some cases, although injection molding doesn't
really start to shine until you get over 100K pieces total production.

Generally you're looking at several suppliers- a part designer to
design a moldable housing (with features, style and knowledge of
'rules' to follow to assure manufacturability), a mold designer to
design the molds themselves, given your parameters (SPI mold class and
so on), and a company to actually run the molds themselves (typically
a "custom injection molder"). It's almost an analagous process to
hardware circuit design, but with the additional step of tool design.
PCB assembly houses are all over the US (and Canada as well), and
likely there is at least one within an hour or so from where yoy live or
your facility; look in the yellow pages for them.
Picking ahouse nearby means you can keep a close watch as well as get
faster turn-around (been there, done that).

Yes, it's certainly easier to start with a local supplier.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
P

Paul Mathews

Hi,

I want to hire a company to assemble the elements of a PCB for me and
I also need to find an injection molding company, who can provide me
with a housing for the product.

My quantities are not very large (about 400 units per month).

Does anyone know of any company that does this kind of work well and
affordable?
I am located in  toronto canada, but depending on cost I don't mind
outsourcing the job oversees .

Anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you

If you don't require wide temperature range, high stiffness, or
transparency, you can get started with single cavity molds cut from
aluminum rather than steel and choose a material that does not promote
mold wear. Examples include ABS and styrene. This can bring tooling
costs down to the $10K range. There are many companies that now
specialize in prototype and short run tooling of this type. The most
well-known in N America is Protomold. However, they charge very high
prices for the parts after hooking you in with their low tooling bid.
Some of their competitors are geared more toward charging somewhat
more for tooling and dramatically less for the parts. I've had good
luck with ProtoCAM. If you can generate solid models of your housing
parts, it's incredibly easy to get competitive quotes on the web.
Paul Mathews
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

If you don't require wide temperature range, high stiffness, or
transparency, you can get started with single cavity molds cut from
aluminum rather than steel and choose a material that does not promote
mold wear. Examples include ABS and styrene. This can bring tooling
costs down to the $10K range.

Keep in mind that with a cheap mold you'll also likely be severely
restricted in the type of side action (if any) that is possible, which
is a serious design constraint. Almost all consumer product molds have
some kind of side action in most or all of the component parts.

Material selection should also take into account suitability for
regulatory approvals, if required, such as UL, CSA and NSF.
There are many companies that now
specialize in prototype and short run tooling of this type. The most
well-known in N America is Protomold. However, they charge very high
prices for the parts after hooking you in with their low tooling bid.
Some of their competitors are geared more toward charging somewhat
more for tooling and dramatically less for the parts. I've had good
luck with ProtoCAM. If you can generate solid models of your housing
parts, it's incredibly easy to get competitive quotes on the web.
Paul Mathews


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
P

Paul Mathews

Keep in mind that with a cheap mold you'll also likely be severely
restricted in the type of side action (if any) that is possible, which
is a serious design constraint. Almost all consumer product molds have
some kind of side action in most or all of the component parts.

Material selection should also take into account suitability for
regulatory approvals, if required, such as UL, CSA and NSF.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
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- Show quoted text -

Certainly true that slide/cam adds cost, but you can still get going
for less than $10K for many relatively complex parts. The important
point is that tooling is less expensive when it's not made from
hardened steel. There are many compatible UL V0-rated materials,
including ABS polycarbonate mixes, that are highly moldable and gentle
on soft tooling. In many cases, you can count on 100K pieces or so
before you have to refurb the mold. Most of the rapid proto slash
limited production houses now offer at least 1 side action for very
little extra tooling $.
Paul Mathews
 
R

RHRRC

Hi,

I want to hire a company to assemble the elements of a PCB for me and
I also need to find an injection molding company, who can provide me
with a housing for the product.

My quantities are not very large (about 400 units per month).

Does anyone know of any company that does this kind of work well and
affordable?
I am located in  toronto canada, but depending on cost I don't mind
outsourcing the job oversees .

Anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you

You give no idea of the complexity/technology level of either the
'tronics assembly or the molding.
Making certain assumptions about both at 5K pa it would be more
economical to use a custom molding than a proprietry housing. China
and India are your friends here but you *must* have a proven design,
properly documented with tool and manufacturing drawings, production
test criteria etc so that an Asian contractor can understand what you
want.
Sourcing from Asia is comfortable provided you have a fully
'professional' approach and will, I suspect, be surprisingly
competative for you
 
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