We strive to deliver excellent results for our clients that come to Acorn Metal Products. We manufacture a huge range of specific components for a huge range of applications. We have created art installations as well as functional components for many different industries. There is nothing we can’t design and fabricate! Recently, we were tasked to produce some components to be used within the Mining industry for a company called Mining Industrial Electrics.
Prototyping The Protective Case
The team at Mining Industrial Electrics reached out to us to prototype and supply a protective support case to be utilised in underground mines. The support case’s function was to protect their Minenet products down underground where they are frequently exposed to potential damage. During the design phase, we had to account for all the possible causes of damage and implement components to protect against them. We received specifications from Mining Industrial Electrics and designed their protective casing accordingly.
Precision CNC Turret Punching
Once designed, it was time to use our CNC turret punching machine to create accurate and precise holes. The holes being made in the metal sheets were carefully placed so that the final product would fit together perfectly and protect Mining Industrial Electrics Minenet products while they’re underground. Due to the high quality of our CNC machines, we were able to do this at high speeds without compromising on accuracy.
Metal Bending and Fastener Insertion
We also utilised our CNC machines for complex bending to create the exact shapes we needed for the protective case to fit together. Once we had those shapes it was time to utilise fastener insertion to connect the components and create the final product. Our Haeger fastener insertion machine is designed to insert all types and sizes of self-clinching fasteners. This project, and all of our projects, were carried out under strict quality control to ensure consistency and quality in the final product.
Setting Up The Protective Cases
With this particular project, there were limited fixing options to support the protective case so this had to be accounted for when creating it. It was challenging to create a robust and strong protective case that was also well ventilated and aesthetically pleasing. It was also a challenge to fix the protective case to the structures underground in the mine but after some careful prototyping, we were able to solve these problems. The client ended up being very happy with the protective case after requesting one small revision. We implemented the revision as soon as possible and have been continuing to create these protective cases for Mining Industrial Electrics.