11th Nov 2007
Helping Our Customer Elevate Your Viewing Experience!
A well-established manufacturer and installer of premium office solutions approached us with an exciting challenge: they wanted to offer their very own custom-designed PC monitor arm as part of their office installation packages. The goal? A product that looked great, performed flawlessly, and could be shipped directly to end users—ready to install and impress.
The Brief
The customer brought their initial design to us, asking for our help with Design for Manufacture (DFM). Our mission was to:
- Refine and develop the monitor arm design
- Minimise tooling costs by using as few bolsters (tool housings) as possible
- Ensure the product could support a 25kg monitor and withstand user interaction
- Maintain a sleek, architectural finish—in powder coat and possibly chrome
- Deliver a complete, boxed product with all assemblies and sub-assemblies included
The Challenges
Tooling on a Budget
Keeping tooling costs low was a top priority. That meant fitting multiple parts into fewer bolsters—no easy feat when those parts vary in size and complexity. This can throw off injection balance, leading to defects. To solve this, we implemented clever ventilation strategies as well as optimum part orientation to avoid complicated split lines leading to difficulty fettling and carefully mapped ejection points to avoid weakening the shared bolster.
Assembly & Strength
Some parts needed steel inserts cast directly into them for added strength, without compromising the design’s clean lines. We also used splined pins to align and reinforce multiple sub-assemblies. To make this work, our team even developed a custom hydraulic press—tailored specifically for this product.
Flawless Finish
The customer requested an architectural-grade powder coat finish, which meant the castings had to be absolutely blemish-free. However, we discovered that subcontracted powder coaters weren’t optimised for aluminium alloy castings. Their “one-size-fits-all” pre-treatment process just didn’t cut it.
So, we took matters into our own hands—literally. We invested in a state-of-the-art automatic powder coating plant, complete with a bespoke 5-stage pre-treatment process. This gave us full control and ensured a flawless finish every time.
The Result
Our team delivered a product that not only met the brief—it exceeded expectations. The monitor arm quickly became one of the customer’s best-selling products, to eventually be installed in such places as:
- A national TV news studio
- Tube station control rooms
- A top Formula 1 team’s HQ (in a stunning chrome finish!)
Final Thoughts
This project was a true collaboration of design, engineering, and innovation. Selling over 250,000 monitor arms. From smart tooling to custom machinery and in-house finishing, we helped turn a great idea into a standout product—ready for the spotlight.