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CUSTOM CONNECTORS
Built to your
specifications! (Custom Cable Assembly) From our connector catalog we offer a very
extensive line of connectors and leadwires that can be configured in
nearly any arrangement you require.
Our Sales staff and R&D
engineers will provide you with any assistance to define a
product design to meet your needs. We can work
from your drawings or start with just a sketch. If
necessary, we can provide an off-the-shelf sample or we can create a
functional prototype cord for your testing and evaluation.
The majority of our customers pick connectors from our standard line
of products, but please be aware that only our most popular connectors and lead
wires are featured on our web site. We continue to add to our
site, so if you do not see a product that meets your needs, please
contact us so we can determine if tooling already exists.
WORKING WITH PLASTICS ONE:
For customers who may be interested in a tooling
project, we offer assistance to guide you through the entire process.
Our R&D department will assist in project definition. This includes any Type 1
testing using prototype or concept parts to prove out any features
that may be critical to your design! Throughout the entire process,
POI Engineers will work with your engineers, providing any necessary samples
and test data.
Extraction force testing of connector concept. |
SLS prototype of same connector |
In many cases, the only
tooling required is a new component for an existing mold. Our R&D department
will often build a prototype component, such as a wire shutoff (or pinch
off) from soft tooling. This allows you to evaluate real working samples
without the commitment of hard tooling. This also allows small changes to be
made from user feedback before the design is committed.
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Delrin shut-off installed in place of a standard
bend relief. |
NEW PRODUCT PROCEDURE
So you have decided to build a new mold for your next
project! Our sales staff and R&D engineers will guide you through the entire
process. The
following information is intended to give you a brief overview of our
“project management” process:
- Initial Design
Concept: At this stage, the requirement for a new connector (part design) has
been identified. Plastics One engineers will assist your engineering staff
in defining the project, assist with the creation or evaluation of concept
drawings, and perhaps even build and test prototypes. The end result of this
stage is the purchase order for tooling.
- Part Approval:
Once a purchase order is received, our Design Engineering Group will produce a
formal part design for customer review and approval (this step is omitted if
we are provided a detailed part drawing). Once a detailed part design is
approved, mold (tooling) design begins.
- Mold
Design/Build Phase: This particular phase is generally internal. However, a
project due date is given and feedback on the status is provided during the
build. Once completed, the mold is sampled within 2 working days.
Generally, several minor adjustments are made to the tooling before first
article parts are built and sent to the customer. In addition, any required
testing is performed at this time.
- First Article
Approval. Once the mold is working to our expectations, a first article
group is built and sent to the customer (the quantity sent will depend on
specific test requirements). Larger quantities may require a purchase order.
If this group meets with approval, the "Release for Production" is
returned to POI. First article approval formally establishes successful
completion of tooling and releases it for production.
- Initial
Production Run. This is the first production group run after first article
approval. The R&D dept closely monitors this group, assisting in the
transition to full production.
| SHOWCASE |
The products shown here are a sampling of products created per
specific customer requirements and most have associated tooling
that is owned by the customer.They are shown here to demonstrate
our capabilities.
Some parts will be shown in the general catalog. If customer
tooling is involved, it will be clearly identified.
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530 PLUG
This connector was created for a speech processor device. The mating
jack was designed to be a part of the enclosure. The pins used were
selected to create a built-in locking feature with the springs in the
mating jack.
The 530 uses a 2-part molding process - the pins are first embedded in nylon
for strength, then overmolded with an elastomer overmold to create the
body and bend relief. Even though the bend relief was burned directly
into the mold base (most of our designs are modular), it is based on
our highly successful "Flexmaster" bend relief design. The wire
was also custom made by Plastics One for this application. |
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CUSTOM EARHOOK ("BTE T-MIC")
Our customer created this basic "first generation" design to assist
patients with hearing implants to be able to use a telephone normally.
The Plastics One engineering staff provided design input only in areas
that aided manufacture. Three molds were required: the
Earhook itself, the mic boot and an internal insulated pin. The
component molds were built and qualified first and quickly followed by
the earhook overmold.
While the molds were being built, the assembly process and tooling were
devised and refined along with test procedures. Nearly all of this
product's assembly is built under magnification using the Vision
Engineering "Mantis" line of 3D microscopes.
We are now manufacturing the third generation of T-Mic Custom Earphones. |
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