Prototyping for Fatboy.

January 2010

Unfortunately, most nice examples of protometals’ possibilities can not be shown on this website because they are confidential. This confidentiality sometimes expires when a product has come to market. So is the case for the Buckles from the Dutch company Fatboy. Two years ago Protometals got the order to make some aluminium prototype castings for the buckles.

 

The aluminium prototyping was needed for functional testing and photo shoots for Fatboy’s new bags and backpacks. Engineering was done by Studio Bizq. Not only the feeling, but also the sound of the buckles was very important. The only way to check this was by functional prototyping.

 

This order is a nice example of Protometals’ added value for the designer: to make prototypes of aluminium castings without sky-high mould costs and with a short lead time. Hence the time to market can be shortened.

 

 

 

Prototype of a spotlight

2005/2006

Picture of the finished product

 

This is a good example of the possibilities of ProtoMetals making prototypes for pressure die castings by means of investment casting.

A functional prototype of a new developed spotlight was needed for showing on a exhibition. Al aluminium prototype castings for this project are made by ProtoMetals. The parts are thin walled (locally less then 1mm) and complex shaped. The series will be made in pressure die casting. For the prototypes, this was not interesting because of the enormous costs of dies and the expected long delivery times.  Protometals managed to make the parts within some weeks without expensive dies.

 

 

From the customers’  STL-file we let made a stereolithographed prototype. This was the master for the silicon mould in which we cast the wax models. With our vacuum investment casting process we could cast the thin-walled aluminium parts without any problem. On the pictures you can see the lamp foot and a reflector half.

 

 

 

Thin-walled casting for instumental housing.

2006

When the designers of Uq-Design asked us to make a prototype for a housing with a wall thickness of about 0.5 mm we were immediately very interested. This really was a challenge!

Because of the deadline of the project, there was no time for trial and error, so we decided to go for 0,6 mm wall thickness in order to stay on the safe side.

In cooperation with the designer, we split the model in two parts in order to make them castable in wax. The two wax parts were melted together so that the aluminium casting should be completely internal seamless.

Within the promised time, we delivered our parts

 

 

To get more information about Uq-Design, klick on the above trademark