Case Study: Value Engineering

Problem:

The customer was utilising a casing for a HDD. The casing structure was primarily made from zinc casting. This represented a significant cost to the customer, as well as limiting design parameters because of excess weight in their systems.

Challenge:

Since its original design several years earlier, a lot of analysis had been completed and none of the engineered plastic materials available on the market were strong enough to support the application, due to the narrow wall sections.

Solution:

While no materials were currently available, the Protech team went about designing a brand new material which would have the mechanical characteristics required to meet the design requirements. We teamed up with a global resin compounder and a brand new material was born. The material was a PC with a glass fibre fill, and with some added carbon for the additional stiffness required.

Result:

The result now delivers:

• Fully plastic product
• 1/4 of the original weight
• 20% cost reduction on the unit price
• 50% reduction in NRE costs
• With the added benefit of delivering on ESD requirements