Custom plastic cases
Custom Plastic Cases
Handheld, desktop and wall-mount cases built to the exact size of what goes inside, with the finish of a molded part and none of the tooling. Custom plastic cases for electronics from one prototype to 10,000 units.
Case, enclosure, housing
Custom plastic cases sized to the product, not the catalog.
A custom plastic case is a housing made to one product's dimensions, openings and appearance. Toolless builds them from pre-colored plastic sheet: each panel is CNC-machined flat with every port, vent and window in place, V-grooved on a table saw, bent in a computerized thermal bender and solvent-bonded into a rigid box. No mold is cut, so the first case costs what the hundredth costs to set up, and a design change is a program edit.
The cases we ship carry printed logos, engraved labels, acrylic display windows and two-tone panel combinations, and they match injection-molded parts in appearance and drop performance. Plastic case electronics customers include instrument makers, medical device teams and Kickstarter hardware founders.
Form factors
Four kinds of custom electronics cases we build most.
The process is the same for each. What changes is the sheet thickness, the joint layout and the features machined into the panels.
Handheld cases
Light, drop-tested cases for portable instruments and readers, with battery doors and light pipes.
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Desktop cases
Board housings with connector panels, vents and printed graphics for bench and office equipment.
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Wall-mount cases
Flanged and keyholed cases for controllers, sensors and communications gear.
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Display cases
Bezels and shells for tablets, monitors and touch panels with acrylic windows.
Learn moreChoosing a supplier
How plastic case manufacturers differ at short-run quantities.
Most custom plastic case manufacturers offer one of three processes. Injection molding wins at tens of thousands of units. 3D printing wins for a single functional prototype. Between those points, from a few dozen to a few thousand units a year, the sheet process delivers a molded appearance without the mold.
The table summarizes the trade-offs we discuss with customers who arrive with a mold quote in hand.
Full technology matrixFinish and features
What a custom plastic case for electronics can carry.
Because the sheet arrives pre-colored and pre-textured, the base finish needs no paint. On top of that, secondary operations turn a plain box into a branded product. Every one of these is available on a run of one.
- Full-color UV digital printing, including white ink on dark panels and raised TEXTUR3D prints
- Engraved labels and legends comparable to laser etching
- Two-tone and multicolor panel combinations from stock white, black, light grey and dark grey ABS
- Acrylic windows and screens, light pipes for LEDs
- Hinges, latches, magnets and brass inserts for lids and service doors
- EMI/RFI conductive coating and painting
Proof
Five hundred cases in two weeks.
In 2020 Toolless produced 500 ventilator housings in two weeks for Ford's COVID-19 ventilator program, using the same cut-bend-bond process described on this page. The speed came from having no tooling stage: the design was programmed, cut and in assembly the same week. Read how the run was organized.
At the other end of the scale, the FlightBox ADS-B receiver case went from a Kickstarter campaign to a shipped product with a prototype in one week. Both stories are on the case studies and Kickstarter pages.
Related
More case options.
Custom plastic enclosures
The overview of everything we build, from sensors to kiosks.
Learn moreRaspberry Pi cases
Custom cases for every Pi generation and other single-board computers.
Learn moreC Box and U Box
Pre-designed two-piece and four-piece cases resized to your board.
Learn moreBlog: custom plastic cases with no molds
A walk through the no-mold process from the customer's side.
Read articleIs there a minimum order for a custom plastic case?
No. One or two units are possible with a setup charge, and the process is at its most economical between 100 and 10,000 units. Blanket orders cover 10 to 10,000 units with releases three weeks after each PO.
Can I get the case in my brand color?
Yes. Stock ABS comes in white, black, light grey and dark grey, and panels can be mixed for two-tone cases. Custom sheet colors are available with a minimum material purchase of around 2,000 lb. Painting and full-color printing cover smaller runs.
How strong is a bonded plastic case compared with a molded one?
As strong as injection-molded parts made from similar materials. The cases withstand the usual drop tests and have similar mechanical integrity. Where a case must pass a specific test, we increase sheet thickness and add doublers in the corners or reinforcing ribs.
What materials can the case be made from?
General-purpose ABS covers 80 percent of production. Flame-retardant ABS, Boltaron 4335, polycarbonate, PETG and acrylic are stocked, in sheet from 2 mm to about 12 mm. Any thermoformable material can be considered.
Why engineers choose Toolless
Trusted for enclosures since 1998.
Startups, OEMs and medical device makers across the USA, Canada and Australia come back for the next run. Read more testimonials.
- Years without molds
- 25+
- Certified quality system
- ISO 9001
- Units per order
- 1–10,000
- Sq ft in Everett, WA
- 13,000
“We initially considered injection molding, but with our volume the cost of tooling would never be recovered. It took only a week to settle on a design and get a prototype, and we were in production a week later.”
“I spent 9 years as a quality engineer at Rockwell and tend to be a perfectionist. Your professionalism and diligence in helping evolve our cover is greatly appreciated.”
“After a number of orders, Toolless have become our preferred supplier. Even though we are located in Australia, all deliveries have been fast and hassle free.”
Start your enclosure
Send the board. We’ll send the box.
Quotes come from an engineer, not a form robot. Attach CAD, photos or a sketch and we reply within one business day.