A manufacturer of portable ground to air radios used in aviation requested the Product Development Technology Station (PDTS) to manufacture plastic handles for a radio. The handles were injection moulded.
The station was responsible for the injection mould design after the client provided the CAD model for the handle. The handle consists of two parts that fit over a sheet metal to form the handle.
The client required a low number of handles for market testing purposes. Therefore the PDTS made use of aluminium inserts for the cavities and 3D printed the cores in MS1 tool steel to keep costs as low as possible.
The PDTS produced 100 sets of radio handles in polycarbonate plastic for durability. The mould produced by the station was manufactured at a very low cost when compared to conventional tooling and was the perfect solution for a limited run product.
