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The standards of quality for electronics manufacturing continue to increase, so innovation and precision are equally necessary for manufacturers to stay competitive. Innovative products demand high-quality components, and that’s particularly true of the enclosures that house and protect sensitive electronic equipment. To achieve exacting standards of precision and performance, most manufacturers use computer numerical control machining, or CNC machining, to quickly and reliably modify enclosures to spec.
Polycase is proud to offer complete turnkey electronics enclosure solutions, and we offer customized CNC machining for our plastic and aluminum enclosures. Our customers don’t just need quality enclosures — they need them with the exact cutouts their applications call for, and they need them quickly!
Read on to learn more about why our machining capabilities, turnaround times and accuracy make us an industry leader. First, however, let’s quickly get familiar with how CNC machining works, and why it’s such a useful tool in the manufacturing industry.
NC, or numerically controlled, machining is a technique that’s been used for decades to reduce human error and increase precision in manufacturing. In NC machining, a machine operator inserted a punch card to deliver instructions to machine tools. However, the advent of computer automation vastly increased the accuracy available in machining.
Computer numerical control (CNC) machining is the technique of using computer-controlled machining tools to create and modify parts. The machining process begins with a stock material, called the workpiece, which the machine operator loads into one of the various types of CNC machines, such as a CNC milling machine, CNC router or CNC lathe.
Using a CNC programming language called G-code and any one of various computer programs, a skilled CNC machinist can then send their cutting tools precise instructions for modifying the workpiece. The finished product is cut to spec and produced many times more quickly and cost-effectively than a hand-machined part. It’s today’s gold standard for rigorous, high-performance parts machining for all kinds of applications, from aerospace to automotive and beyond.
If your electronics application demands enclosures with cutouts for cables, wires, controls, vents or just about anything else, our in-house CNC machine shop services can provide the solution. It’s highly cost-effective for producing large numbers of machined parts quickly, but it’s also an efficient way to create small runs for prototyping or DIY projects.
Polycase’s precision machining capabilities employ the latest CNC technology, including computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software to deliver pinpoint accuracy in custom parts machining. Best of all, we offer these services with fast lead times and with no minimum order requirement.
CNC machining is by far the fastest and most effective solution for ensuring a great fit and outstanding performance for your electronics enclosures. Its numerous advantages include:
We accept a wide variety of file formats and drawing types when communicating with our clients on custom CNC machining needs. These include:
We offer custom cutouts for hundreds of our electronics enclosure models, using state-of-the-art CNC machine tools. The capabilities of our CNC machining process include:
Some of these characteristics may be subject to change depending on which enclosure you’ve chosen. If you need help designing any aspects of your custom machining solution, our trained staff will be glad to assist you.
Please note that we do not currently offer custom enclosure designs – only modifications to our stock models.
Since we don’t offer custom molding, a custom-sized enclosure is not an option. But in some instances, we can reduce the height of our boxes, especially within our potting box series, since they are commonly used in applications that do not require the use of a cover. Machining down the height of enclosures with screw-on covers is typically discouraged since the cover will no longer properly fit on the newly machined edge of the base.
Yes, Polycase offers a full line of knockout enclosures. The centers on our knockouts are easy to remove (see our instructions here), and they offer unmatched versatility for onsite equipment installation. Our SK series is an industry-leading knockout box solution perfect for quick installation as junction boxes, control boxes and OEM enclosures. The SK series includes the following features:
There’s no need for guesswork! We offer fast and simple custom CNC machining quotes through our Quick Quote tool. In just 90 seconds, you can have a quote for your custom enclosure machining project.
If you’re not comfortable using the online quoting tool, you can send your engineering drawings or a detailed description of what you want to our team at [email protected]. We return most queries within 48 hours.
If you believe your cuts will be more complex than normal, please reach out to us directly using the above email to confirm manufacturability.
Polycase serves our customers as a single-source manufacturer of nearly 700 different electronics enclosure models. Our roots are in plastic manufacturing, but we’ve rapidly expanded our line to include state-of-the-art aluminum enclosures as well. We know that our customers have a diverse range of needs, so we offer machining for:
These are just a few of the most popular options from our extensive line of hundreds of products. Our enclosures come in many other different materials, and we offer customized CNC machining for many of them.
We pride ourselves on offering no minimum order requirements, which means you can order as little as one customized enclosure from us. We offer this service because it makes our products more accessible to small businesses and hobbyists, who often are unfairly penalized by the business practices of big distributors. If you need a prototype for your product design process or a small order for your hobby project, we’re glad to help.
Our standard lead time is three weeks. But if you need your custom machined parts sooner, you can expedite your order to two weeks or even one for a small fee.
Need parts sooner than one week? We may still be able to help. Contact us for more information.
Yes! We offer high-quality digital printing on our enclosures, with single-color and full-color options available. Forget wasting time with peeling-prone adhesive labels or cracking and bubbling from poor-quality printing. We print directly onto the enclosure with an extensive array of brilliant, attractive color options.
There’s no shortage of competition for electronics enclosures. That’s why we have to make sure we give our customers something our competitors can’t:
We’re committed to providing turnkey electronics enclosure solutions and to making sure our customers don’t have to shop around. Don’t bother with quotes from machining companies that may require long lead times, unreasonable costs or high minimum orders. To get started with a quote from Polycase, just use our easy and effective Quick Quote tool to find out what you can expect to pay.
Remember, all you need to get started is:
Ready to get going on your customized CNC-machined enclosure? Jump on Quick Quote to get started. We’re looking forward to working with you!