Custom plastic solutions
Custom Plastic Solutions Without Tooling
Enclosure design, sheet fabrication, printing and assembly from one engineer-run shop in Everett, Washington. Whatever the housing or part looks like, it is cut from pre-colored sheet, bent and bonded, so the first unit costs no tooling and the design can change at any point.
One process, many parts
Custom plastic solutions built on a single manufacturing method.
Custom plastic solutions from Toolless all begin as a flat sheet of ABS, polycarbonate, PETG or acrylic that is already colored and textured. A CNC program machines the openings and recesses, a V-groove saw scores the bend lines, a computerized thermal bender folds the panel, and solvent bonding turns the pieces into one rigid assembly. Because the geometry lives in a program rather than in a mold, the same method produces an instrument housing, a display bezel, a mounting bracket and a storage bin with no tooling between them.
That is what we mean by a custom plastic solution: not a catalog part with a hole added, and not a molded part that needs a volume commitment, but a design engineered around your electronics, made in the quantity you need and revised when the product changes. The ten-step sequence is described on the manufacturing process page and the parts we make on the services overview.
What we deliver
Four families of custom plastic solution.
Most projects combine two or three of these in one order, engineered together so they fit on the first try.
Custom enclosures
Electronic, medical, handheld, wall-mount, kiosk and instrument housings sized to the board, with cutouts, bosses, windows and light pipes.
Custom enclosures
Adjustable standard designs
The two-piece C Box and four-piece U Box, resized to your dimensions with your openings, at standard pricing.
Standard enclosures
Custom parts
Bezels, shrouds, brackets, covers, panels, containers and bins, fabricated from the same sheet stock as the enclosure they serve.
Custom parts
Printing and finishing
Full-color digital printing, white ink, raised TEXTUR3D prints, engraving, painting, two-tone panels and EMI coating.
Digital printingHealthcare
Customizable medical plastic solutions since 1994.
Medical device teams were among the first to adopt the process, and the reason has not changed: a device goes through several design iterations, regulatory review and a launch volume that rarely justifies a mold. Toolless has housed equipment for surgery rooms, sleep diagnostics, dry-eye and respiratory devices, breathing simulators and CPAP ventilators. In 2020 the shop produced 500 ventilator housings in two weeks for Ford's COVID-19 ventilator program.
Custom plastic solutions for healthcare draw on the stocked flame-retardant materials, Royalite ABS and Boltaron 4335 at UL94 V-0, on clear polycarbonate for windows, and on joint lines placed deliberately so a housing wipes clean. Every lot is inspected under the ISO 9001:2015 system. See the medical enclosures page for the product range.
- Flame-retardant ABS and Boltaron sheet stocked in black and white
- Joint lines positioned for cleanability and appearance
- Design changes between clinical builds at program cost
- Blanket orders that release production as approvals arrive
Three ways to start
Send CAD, send a board, or size a box yourself.
One engineer acts as project manager for the job from the first drawing to the shipped lot. Files are accepted in STEP, IGES, SAT, SolidWorks, STL and DXF, and models come back in the format you use.
You have a design
Upload the model. An engineer checks it against the shop's machining, bending and assembly rules, adds the joint details and quotes it.
You have a board and a list of needs
We design the housing in SolidWorks around the PCB, display, connectors and mounting, and return a 3D model for approval before cutting. The design belongs to you.
A standard box will do
Enter length, width and height in the TraceParts-hosted Product Designer, download the CAD for a C Box or U Box, and order it with your cutouts.
Proof
Quantities, lead times and the numbers behind them.
The process is at its most economical from 100 to 10,000 units and handles one or two pieces with a setup charge. Prototypes take 3 to 21 working days. Blanket orders run from 10 to 10,000 units with each release shipping three weeks after its purchase order. Customers have written about a first prototype in ten working days and a Kickstarter case delivered in a week; read their words on the testimonials page.
Related
Keep reading.
Flexible changes
Why a revision is a program edit, and what that costs compared with a mold change.
Flexible changesMaterials
Stocked ABS, FR ABS, Boltaron, polycarbonate, PETG and acrylic, with data sheets.
MaterialsCase studies
Finished projects from first drawing to production, with the decisions along the way.
Case studiesQuestions
Custom plastic solutions, answered.
What counts as a custom plastic solution at Toolless?
Any part or assembly we can describe as a flat pattern with bends and bonded joints: enclosures of every kind, bezels, shrouds, brackets, covers, panels, containers and bins, plus the printing, engraving, painting, EMI coating and hardware that finish them. Sheet-metal or wood components can be bonded in where a design needs them.
Is this a prototype service or a production service?
Both, and the value is highest when it is the same. Prototypes are made on the production process, so what you learn about fit and assembly carries straight into the run. Customers commonly build 500 units, revise, build 500 more and revise again before deciding whether tooling is ever needed.
Can you match our product color?
Yes. Stock ABS comes in white, black, light grey and dark grey. Custom colors are sourced to order, with a minimum of around 2,000 pounds of material, which suits volume programs. Two-tone panels and full-color printing cover most branding needs without a custom sheet.
Who owns the design?
You do. The purchase of a prototype includes a complete set of 3D drawings, submitted for approval before the part is made. The design as presented belongs to you and cannot be sold as-is to any other customer.
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.