Each assembly was comprised of 5 individual parts that were either fire rated and rigid or flexible. Hundreds of assemblies were cast in-house using silicone tooling. Our silicone tooling lasted for roughly 40-50 sets before the quality of the castings would begin to degrade. The resins we selected are made to withstand commercial use and were cast in-color with molded-in brass inserts for accurate and repeatable assembly. As a final touch, the inside of the housings were sprayed with a copper EMI electrical shield coating.
With short run production parts going out to customers, we used learnings from the client’s customers to make design changes and update the CAD. We then created new rapid prototypes, finished the parts and new silicone molds were made that reflected the upgraded designs. After several design and tooling revisions, our team helped Barco source a manufacturing partner located in the United States and provided the manufacturer with initial QC, finish painting and EMI coating services until they were up to speed and prepared to take over those tasks.
Throughout the life cycle of this project, which spanned 7 years and over 400 sets, we were able to address our client’s needs to fill orders and make slight changes to the geometry to perfect the design prior to committing to production tooling. This arrangement worked well for Barco, our client, and Priority Designs. Our client has now committed to production tooling, but provide support as final QC and continue to mold urethane feet for the assemblies.
