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Buckeye Shapeform Uses 3-D CAD Designs to Build Custom Enclosure for International Integrator

Catalog of 3-D CAD designs allows customers to download and modify designs specifically for their products

COLUMBUS, Ohio—When an international integrator was searching for an enclosure manufacturer to create a custom enclosure for an electronic product, it turned to Buckeye Shapeform for help.

Finding Buckeye Shapeform ended months of research for UPM, which had been unable to find a standard design to retrofit the guides and accommodate the size and depth of its electronic card guide technology. Many enclosure manufacturers offered standard cases, but UPM needed customization options. The company reached out to Buckeye Shapeform for help.

Buckeye Shapeform manufactures numerous custom enclosures for the telecommunications industry, said Ken Tumblison, president of Buckeye Shapeform, in a company release. In order to fulfill UMP’s specific requirements at a minimal cost, Buckeye Shapeform created a custom enclosure. The company began manufacturing the custom chassis in January.

UPM used three-dimensional (3-D) CAD drawings to create a prototype of the design on a 3-D printer. Buckeye Shapeform then created the custom enclosure.

“For this contract, we fabricated a custom steel enclosure with custom plastic card guides to mount UPM’s printed circuit board and secure the internal components,” said Tumblison. “We used our CNC router to quickly and precisely mill plastic sheet stock to create a perfect fit for the electronic guides.”

Buckeye Shapeform further customized the enclosure with specific hole punching and machining and painted it white, using its in-house powder coat finish technology.

UPM was “very happy” with the final product and plans to use it domestically and internationally, Tumblison said.

Founded in 1902, Buckeye Shapeform (buckeyeshapeform.com) is known for customizing instrumentation enclosures. The company’s business includes Buckeye Enclosures, Buckeye Novelty Cans, Buckeye Knobs, and Buckeye Deep Drawn Technology. In addition to offering a line of off-the-shelf instrumentation enclosures, Buckeye Shapeform offers services for modifying standard enclosures and creating completely customized versions in metal or plastic material.