
Case Study 2
The Brief:
Our client required a display case to hold a new men’s watch. The case needed to have a polished aluminium base and clear acrylic surround.
The Solution:
With no CAD available, it was the responsibility of our design engineers to model the case in our 3D CAD software SolidWorks. As with all of our projects, achieving and trying to surpass our client’s requirements is our main priority; this entails constant communication between our design engineering department and the client. High-quality rendered photos of the 3D model were sent to the client for their approval, as well as helping them more easily visualise the finished product.
During the design process, continual consideration went into designing for ease of manufacture and assembly. The acrylic surround was the first part to be manufactured; this meant the exact size of the surround could be measured using our CMM (Co-ordinate Measuring Machine)and this size could be used to make the slot in the base for the surround to sit in.
With the two parts for the base left to be manufactured, the 3D CAD data and drawings were passed onto our CNC engineer. The two parts were machined from solid aluminium on one of our CNC machining centres. Due to the highly polished finish required, a fine step over on the finishing program was used; this in turn would make the polishing process of the aluminium more efficient due to the smoother finish obtained during machining. Once both parts were polished, the acrylic surround was then glued into place using UV glue and securely packaged in a tailor-made wooden shipping case.