Handheld Plastic Enclosures

Techniques Manufacturing Handheld Enclosures

For over 25 years Toolless has been designing handheld enclosures and through the years we have expanded our capabilities and techniques to be able to offer a wide variety of possibilities.

Some of our handheld instrument enclosures are designed to fit comfortably in a pocket, while others are designed with a handle to make carrying and mobility of the product easier. Whatever the size you’re looking for our engineers work with you to design and create a handheld enclosure that works best for you.

Handheld project enclosures are enclosures which can range in size, shape, and color and offer the capacity of not only being hand held but portable. This means considering the weight of the unit as well as the weight of the internal structures. A handheld enclosure shouldn’t weigh you down!


Due to the nature of being a hand held device, these enclosures rely on strength and dependability to keep the circuit board or other electronic components safe in case of drops, falls, and incremental weather.

We offer various methods such as our unique tongue and groove method. This is the bending of mostly abs plastic, to limit the number of parts, and the use of solvent bonding. The bond creates a specific chemical reaction depending on the type of plastic. We then drop test the product for quality assurance.

Please look at our Materials Section for the different types of plastic we offer. If you’re not sure what type of plastic your project needs, feel free to contact us and one of our Sales Representatives will be able to talk to you to help determine what would work best for your project.

Engineered For Your Application

Handheld plastic enclosures can be inclusive in and of themselves or they may offer the possibility of being a remote control for another product.

Does your handheld device need to communicate with another computer or rely information to a server? Are vents needed to help control the temperature of the electrical components? Are there buttons, screens, or a power source to be considered? Does the device run on battery or is it responsible for charging another device?

The possibilities of what a hand held device offers you is endless, and at Toolless Plastic Solutions we have created a range of accessories, functions, and options when it comes to these enclosures. Mounting features are next to unlimited and accessing the inside would be custom to your needs.

Battery Components are available to ensure that the handheld device can be battery operated to improve its mobility so that power cords don’t hold you down. Battery components can be rearranged and changed in size to accommodate different battery sizes as well as make it customer friendly to change out the battery.

Depending of the number of opening per day, some customers either choose a simple battery door and use tape or Velcro to secure the battery or make most advanced battery compartment to make sure the batteries are properly secured in there.

Just because a device is hand held doesn’t mean that it limits the possibilities of what the device can offer. Customers might need a touchpad to operate on site, LCD screens can be mounted in any devices using LCD Mounting holes, standoffs or any custom-made features that allows turnkey options.


Straps can be added to a handheld project enclosure, which can either be screwed on the back of the enclosure or secured with a vesa mount metal plate. In that last case, the best option is to have 4 inserts integrated in the plastic.

Handheld devices sometimes require handles to make carrying easier. Handles can also add to the cosmetic look of a device while still maintaining and ergo-dynamic feel that is comfortable to hold.

Membrane switches can work like an electrical switch for turning a circuit on and off. It is like a keypad without buttons so that an enclosure can stay hand held while still offering a wide range of computer function.  


Multiple ports for handheld computer devices to allow for various inputs and outputs or a single port for a single purpose.

Cut-outs is a feature for whenever you need something cut out of the plastic: vents, ports, LCD screen, etc. These cut-outs can be square, circular, oblong, long, short, thin or wide.  

Digital Printing (Unlike silkscreening)is available on handheld devices for labeling ports or placing logos in crisp, vibrant print.  


We can also design something unique to facilitate your project requirements. Contact our sales team and start working with one of our engineers to create a prototype and move your handheld instrument project into production.

There are a variety of purposes for handheld project enclosures. From measuring heart rate or measuring your sleep pattern to hand held computer devices (such as a raspberry pi). Every purpose starts with a customer need and ends with a handheld plastic enclosure.