Putting the heat on for portable grills
Rochester Hills, MI—The Coleman Company, a leisure-time products manufacturer, knows that, when preparing to introduce new products, leisure time may be non-existent. Recently, when the company was faced with no samples of its Road Trip Grills for a trade show, it turned to 3-Dimensional Services for assistance.
3-Dimensional Services produced eight different parts, including stampings and deep-draw stampings, plus castings of components in just three weeks. This fast turnaround encompassed stereolithography modeling, five-axis laser trimming and other shop functions and outsourced chrome plating.
The fast turnaround meant the grills were ready for the show on time and that allowed Coleman to shorten the product development time and to expedite production so that it could outdistance competition in the retail market.
Steve Kelly, 3-Dimensional Services' senior sales engineer and project coordinator, said the use of laser prototyped parts—substituted for actual parts—meant the parts, when painted, had to be near perfect in terms of fit and finish. The company's SLA department produced plastic models, which were used by its mold and pattern experts to produce foundry tooling for subsequent production runs.
In just three weeks Coleman had show samples and manufacturing-intent tool designs that helped the company quicken the construction of production tooling and fast production startup.
For details on 3-Dimensional Services' prototyping services, visit www.3dimensional.com.