Engineering Design

Five coordinated design and testing centers with experienced packaging and/or mechanical engineers to help support your packaging design needs. We pretty regularly update what follows here so if you have specific needs, please check with your local FFI location for current capabilities information.

File Import/Export Capabilities

• .sat
• .step
• .x_b
• .iges
• .prt
• .pkg
• .sldprt
• .drw
• .dxf
• .dwg
• .stl

Sample Capabilities

• Lansmont Drop Tester
• Lansmont TP 3
• Tri-axial accelerometer

When DeWalt decided to repackage the saw to include a table stand, previously available only as a separate option, it required a new foam endcap design. The company placed the project in the hands of Hartsville, SC-based Sonoco Products Co., a $2.7-billion global manufacturer of industrial and consumer products and a provider of packaging services.

Sonoco’s Protective Packaging Division, responsible for the original package design, enlisted the design aid of our Jefferson, GA, arm of Foam Fabricators, which cut to the chase, using its new CNC (computer numerical control) machine to quickly turn around a complex, uniform prototype.

Foam Fabricators purchased the Techno Model 160 Production CNC router from Techno-Isel. The robust machine, which offers an accuracy 0.003-in./ft, and 0.00005-in. resolution and repeatability, is designed for production routing and drilling of a wide variety of materials, including wood, plastic, MDF, solid surfacing materials and nonferrous metals.

The capabilities included in the Techno CNC system (above) were perfect for Foam Fabricators’ needs. Providing a working area of 59 x 50 inches, the machine allows the company to produce a large number of parts per run. After a piece of foam stock is fastened to the CNC machine, the operator hits the start button, and the sample is carved automatically with a 5-HP Colombo spindle from PDSColombo. The machine does not require any supervision, except to remove the finished piece and attach a new foam block to repeat the process. With this system, a typical order for 20 samples can be completed in as few as two days. And, large sample orders no longer require the production assistance of engineers; the machine is simply kept supplied with stock and runs until the order is finished.

Also enabling flexibility is the machine’s z-axis height of 12-inches and its raised gantry, which allows the company to produce very large parts when necessary. And, while the machine’s top-rated speed of 800 ipm far outstrips the 150-ipm limit imposed by foam, Musgrove (F.F. Engineer) says the capability enables the company to produce parts as fast as the material can be cut.

Another useful feature is the machine’s vacuum holdown table. “Typically, with most machining operations, you take the workpiece and actually clamp it to the table, but you can’t do that with foam very well; it tends to deform, and bend and break,” explains Musgrove. “The vacuum table allows us to maintain a firm hold on the block while it is being machined.”

Satisfied Customers

After viewing the prototype of the proposed packaging for the table saw and stand, DeWalt attests to the accuracy of Foam Fabricators’ new sample-making system.

For Foam Fabricators, having the Techno CNC machine has paid off in a number of ways: faster turnaround of samples, more accurate prototypes, better satisfied customers and the ability to take on more complex jobs. In addition, having a CNC machine helps the company compete against other foam molders. “Making samples on a CNC machine is becoming the norm in our industry,” explains Musgrove. “With the Techno machine, we have found a cost-effective way to meet this requirement.”

We’re ready for the challenge.  Feel free to contact us about your project!