Mechanical Design and 3D Modeling for Electronics Enclosures and Components

Virtually every electronic product requires some form of enclosure. In order to support a wide range of customer needs and their unique operational environments, Touchstone Technology turns to our in-house mechanical design and engineering department.

We use Solidworks and create 3D models for all of the products that we manufacture in order to optimize all mechanical design elements. Since our company’s founding in 1982, we have collaborated with some of the nation’s leading industrial design firms to help with the development of quality electronics products which are both aesthetically attractive and highly functional.

Custom Mechanical Design – From Simple Brackets and Hardware to Complex Housings and Enclosures

Our mechanical projects have run the gamut from simple sheet metal mounting brackets to complex injection-molded plastic housings requiring five separate machined stainless steel tools.

Rugged Electronics Enclosures Designed for Harsh Conditions

Our mechanical design team applies decades of combined engineering experience to design enclosures that reliably work in nearly any operational conditions – from hard-use medical facilities to extreme industrial environments. Our integrated mechanical design process includes the use of Solidworks to create 3D models for all of the products we manufacture to validate the aesthetic and functional features prior to production.

Other Mechanical Design Considerations for Electronics Enclosures:

• Optimized Material Selection – Our mechanical design experts carefully choose materials that are appropriate for the environmental conditions in which each custom enclosure will be used. For example, if the enclosure will be used in a harsh industrial manufacturing facility, materials such as stainless steel or specialized impact-resistant plastics are often more suitable than standard plastics and alloys.
• Structural Elements – Each custom enclosure is designed to withstand the loads and stresses it will be subjected to. These factors include vibration, shock, and impact – all of which can be extreme in the case of industrial electronics. Our mechanical design solutions may involve incorporating features like ribbing, gussets, and braces to add additional support and structural strength.
• Cooling and Ventilation Requirements – Based on our expertise in custom electronics design, we ensure each customer enclosure can properly dissipate the heat generated by the contained electronics components. This may involve incorporating features like fans, heat sinks, or ventilation holes.
• Sealing and Weatherproofing – Our engineers carefully consider each device’s operational conditions and design an enclosure appropriately to prevent the ingress of dust, moisture, or other contaminants. Common mechanical design solutions include the incorporation of gaskets, seals, or other protective features.
• Manufacturing Considerations – The enclosure design should take into account the manufacturing processes that will be used to produce the enclosure. For example, Touchstone commonly works with electronics enclosures and components requiring injection molding, sheet metal fabrication, or custom machining. This may involve designing features that can be easily molded, machined, or bent through the process of design for manufacturability (DFM).

Touchstone’s experienced mechanical engineering experts consider all of these aspects and far more when designing even the simplest of electronics components.

The Advantages of 3D Modeling for Custom Electronics Devices

Solidworks is the computer-aided design (CAD) tool of choice at Touchstone. This engineering tool lets us create complex 3D models ranging from simple mechanical components to complex devices and assemblies. These models are extremely useful as a proof of concept, within the prototyping process, as well as in optimizing your products through design for manufacturability. With Solidworks, our engineering team can quickly iterate through multiple different designs and see the changes visualized in your 3D models instantaneously.