Consumer Electronics Prototyping: Housings
The hardest requirement in consumer electronics is not tolerance — it is that the part looks right.
Discuss your partWhat we build for consumer electronics
Send a drawing and a target quantity. We will come back with material, process and a realistic date, or tell you what we would change first.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Typical parts | Enclosures and housings · Front frames · Heat spreaders · Lens and light-guide brackets |
| Common materials | Al 6061 · Al 7075 · PC · PMMA · ABS |
| Achievable tolerance | ±0.05 mm on mating features, ±0.10 mm on cosmetic walls |
| Typical lead time | 3–7 working days |
| Industry requirements | ISO 9001 quality systems at partner factories · Material certification per lot · Batch colour approval before production · NDA available |
What actually goes wrong in consumer electronics
These are the three problems that decide whether a consumer electronics prototype succeeds or gets scrapped on arrival.
Cosmetic walls under 1.5 mm
A thin cosmetic wall is the hardest thing to machine consistently. It deflects, it can chatter, and it can show the tool path on the surface. It needs a stable setup and a light finishing pass.
Colour consistency across a batch
Two halves of the same enclosure must match. Anodising takes colour from the alloy and the bath, so the two halves have to run in the same bath, and a trial has to be approved first.
A parting line that stays invisible
A visible parting line has to be placed deliberately — moved into a shadow gap or a recessed feature — because the tolerance stack will open a step somewhere.
Our approach on consumer electronics parts
- 01 We move a parting line into a shadow gap where the drawing allows it, so the tolerance stack cannot open a visible step.
- 02 Cosmetic faces are finished in a single setup and inspected against a physical master.
- 03 On anodised parts we run a three-piece trial and match against the approved sample before releasing the rest of the batch.
The numbers that matter
Related pages
Where a prototype stops short
A prototype answers geometry and fit. It does not qualify a product, and we will not pretend otherwise. These are the questions that need a test programme.
- Colour consistency across a future production lot
- Drop, vibration and thermal cycling — those need a test programme
- Assembly ergonomics with the real production hardware