Buyer guides
Short, specific references on specifying cases and verifying the factories that make them. Written so a quotation can be compared against another quotation.
PP, ABS, HDPE or aluminium: choosing case material before you choose a supplier
Material decides which factories can even quote you. A short decision table with the trade-offs that actually cost money.
How to vet a case manufacturer in China before you send a deposit
Ten checks that separate a factory that owns its tooling from a storefront reselling someone else’s catalogue — and what each answer means.
IP ratings on protective cases: what the numbers mean and what a claim needs
IEC 60529 dust and water codes, why "waterproof" on a listing is not a rating, and the design details that decide whether a case keeps water out.
OEM case programmes: tooling, lead times and what changes the schedule
The realistic sequence from a payload drawing to a shipped lot, and the three decisions that set your calendar.
Designing the foam liner: the cheapest place to protect an expensive instrument
Material, density, layering and drawing handoff — the liner decisions that decide whether the payload arrives.
EXW and FOB for case shipments: what each term makes you responsible for
Where the risk transfers, who books what, and the paperwork that gets containers held.
Rotomoulding, injection or blow moulding: which process should your case use
The three case-forming processes have different cost curves, tolerance bands and failure modes. A short decision guide to settle before you request a quotation.
Running a third-party factory audit on a case manufacturer
What to ask an inspection company to look at, what evidence to require, and how to read the result without over-trusting it.
Case hardware: latches, hinges, gaskets and wheels, and what to specify
The small bought-in parts decide whether a good shell becomes a good case. A specification checklist for the components you do not mould yourself.
Who owns the mould: exclusivity, custody and what happens when you stop ordering
The commercial terms around a case mould are usually vaguer than the technical ones. Five questions to settle before paying for tooling.
From approved sample to delivered lot: writing an acceptance standard that holds
The document that decides a dispute is not the sample on your desk but the acceptance standard you signed before production.
Ordering cases in volume: batching, production slots and quality over time
How a large case order should be split so that a problem costs you one pallet, not one container.