OKW PLASTIC
ENCLOSURES Award winning designs for today’s electronics!
applications include aerospace/defense, biotech and optics, although demand for low volume, quick turnarounds is across many industries.
Milburn calls it JIT for the low-volume
world. "We'll take a blanket order so they can get volume pricing and take a release at whatever level they want."
This also reduces the risk of having to
make design changes to product sitting on the customer's shelf. "By using our 'rapid manufacturing,' they get the ability to use us as their warehouse," Milburn added.
In addition to the template generator,
Protocase also offers an online design tool called Protocase Designer (
www.protocase.com/design/protocase_ designer.php). This free 3D CAD software is focused solely on designing electronic enclosures. A key advantage of this tool is its real-time quoting functionality.
"With this software you can design an
enclosure in an hour or two even if you have no experience with CAD. Once you're part way along, the tool can analyze the design you've created and sends it to our web servers where you'll instantly get a quote back. This software has eliminated the quoting cycle, which allows for cost optimization in design," saidMilburn.
"The whole transaction is done
electronically, which reduces work and eliminates mistakes from design to purchase order. It all flows very seamlessly from customer to supplier," saidMilburn.
So what's the key difference between
the template generator and Protocase designer? The design process is very much the same, saidMilburn, but with the template generator the customers take the generated CAD file back into its own CAD software.
Protocase Designer is a CAD package,
saidMilburn. "A customer will use the same platform all the way through the process, and it offers the advantages of real-time pricing and seamless electronic ordering instead of waiting for a request for quote."
"If you look at the traditional way of
designing an enclosure, it will take a day or two to get a finished CAD design," saidMilburn. "You also don't want to send the supplier an interim design to quote because there is typically a long quote cycle."
There are also manufacturability
iterations. "It's very typical that a customer will design an enclosure, send it out for quote and more often than not the manufacturer will come back and say that there is a small detail that it can't build,"Milburn said.
In these cases, they typically come
back with a suggested modification but by the time they go through all the iterations and provide a price it may be a couple of weeks,Milburn said. Then there is another two to six weeks to build, he added.
In contrast, Protocase Designer forces
manufacturability constraints so the customer can only design what Protocase can build. The waste of time is eliminated and any delays in quoting are eliminated, saidMilburn.
Customers can have a completely
satisfactory design in a day or two that is ready to go with pricing, saidMilburn. "They can submit that order and we'll build it in two to three days, so in one week the customer could have a fully custom finished enclosure in hand."
"It's absolutely dramatic in terms of
impact on time frame," saidMilburn. The latest updates to Protocase
Designer focuses on streamlining the purchasing process with the design process so engineers can get a firm specification and quote to the purchasing agent with a couple of clicks.
With enclosures they are typically
working up against a deadline, said Milburn. "The ability to integrate the design process in with the purchasing process results in some incredible efficiencies," he added.
www.hammondmfg.com www.okwenclosures.com www.protocase.com
DIN RAIL ENCLOSURES
okwenclosures.com
OKWENCLOSURES, INC. Phone: 800-965-9872
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