The catalogue covers the normal cases. When yours is not normal, the part gets designed: a wider base, a different slot, a material that survives where others give up, an adhesive chosen for your surface and not for the average surface.
We mould in Albignasego, near Padua in Italy, with a quality system certified to ISO 9001:2015. We design the component and produce it, from the sample to the series.
Three different routes, and they are not close
Almost nobody tells the customer this, and it is the first thing to understand, because time and cost change by an order of magnitude between the first route and the third.
| Route | When it is this one | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Same part, different configuration | The catalogue geometry suits you but you need another adhesive, another colour, another polymer, the detectable version or the strip version | No tooling cost. We work with the mould that already exists |
| 2. Modifying existing tooling | You need a different tie slot, an extra hole, a bigger base, but the family is the right one | Work on the tooling, contained and well defined cost |
| 3. New tooling | The part looks nothing like anything we make | It is an investment. It only makes sense if the volumes justify it, and we tell you before, not after |
The first thing we do with your brief is tell you which of the three you are in. If you are in the first one, the problem often gets solved by a part number that already exists: we say so anyway, even when it means selling you less.
The eight things we need
They are the eight that decide whether the part can be made, how, and what it costs. If you cannot answer all of them that is fine: answer what you know and we reconstruct the rest together.
- What the part has to do. Not what shape it should be: what problem it has to solve. What it attaches to, what it has to hold still, which way the load pulls. Half of the design comes from this.
- What surface it goes on. Material, finish, service temperature, exposure. This is what decides the adhesive, and it is the one that is most often missing. On polypropylene or polyethylene, for instance, ordinary tapes do not hold and you need a dedicated solution.
- Maximum space and dimensions you cannot change. The room you actually have, not the room you would like.
- How it has to be fixed. Adhesive, screw, rivet, wall plug, or more than one. It changes the geometry of the part, not just the accessory.
- Material and regulatory requirements. A UL94 class, REACH, food contact, medical, metal detectability. Better to know before drawing than after.
- Annual quantity and first batch. This is the number that decides whether route 3 makes sense. An honest estimate is worth more than an inflated one.
- What you can send us. A drawing, a 3D or STEP file, a physical sample, or just a description in words. All three levels are a valid starting point.
- When you need it. Sample and production are two different dates, and knowing the second one changes how we organise the first.
A real case
A medical equipment manufacturer needed to anchor thick bundles with very wide cable ties, in a situation where drilling was not allowed and the adhesive had to hold for a long time without creeping. No mount in the catalogue had a wide enough slot. The part was born there, with a 50 x 50 mm base and a 21 mm slot, and today it is a catalogue part number anyone can order: the 1150 mount.
Send the brief
Eight questions. If you have a drawing, a STEP file or a photo of the spot where it gets mounted, attach it: it shortens everything.
