Plastic Parts Manufacturing for Electrification

Large-Tonnage Injection Molding and Large-Part RIM

AdvancTEK operates injection molding presses up to 3,500 tons – a large-tonnage plastic molding capability that allows the team to mold parts larger than what most plastic component manufacturers can produce. For electrification customers, that opens the door to single-piece molded cabinets, enclosures, and housings that competitors would otherwise need to fabricate, weld, or assemble from multiple components.

For parts that exceed even 3,500-ton injection capacity, reaction injection molding (RIM) provides large-part manufacturing at a lower tooling investment. RIM is well-suited for large enclosures, structural panels, and components where injection tonnage is the limiting factor.

Plastic vs. Metal Fabrication for Electrification Volumes

For infrastructure and building projects, the lead time and cost of metal fabrications can be excessive. A single metal cabinet or enclosure may take several hours to fabricate. With the tooling investment in place, an injection molded equivalent can be produced every one to two minutes.

For high-volume electrification applications – programs that run thousands to tens of thousands of components a year – plastic delivers cycle-time, repeatability, and cost-per-part advantages that metal fabrication cannot match. AdvancTEK’s engineering team works with customers early in the design process to identify the parts most likely to deliver a strong return on the tooling investment.

Fully Loaded Plastic Assemblies for Electrification

A representative AdvancTEK assembly is a plastic control panel loaded with switches, gauges, and displays. AdvancTEK manufactures the injection molded housing, installs the secondary electrical components, and adds B-side attachment features, brackets, wiring, and structural reinforcements – delivering a complete, ready-to-install assembly rather than a bare molded shell.

The result: a certified, tested assembly that arrives ready for installation, saving labor on the customer’s production floor and removing the quality variability introduced by field assembly.

Value-Added Services for Electrification

AdvancTEK’s value-added capabilities allow electrification customers to consolidate sub-assembly work under one supplier – giving them fully assembled, tested, and certified components rather than having to coordinate molding, hardware, wiring, and assembly across multiple vendors.

Value-Added Assembly

AdvancTEK installs hinges, brackets, wiring harnesses, lamps, switches, gauges, speakers, and other secondary components directly into molded plastic assemblies. Bonding, gluing, insulation, foam filling, labeling, and painting and decorating are all completed in-house. The customer receives a finished assembly ready for field installation – certified at AdvancTEK’s facility, not on the customer’s production floor.

Insert Molding

Insert molding places threaded fasteners or other hardware directly into the molded plastic part. For electrification components, that means a screw can be driven straight into the part – eliminating the need for a separate clip, nut and bolt, or secondary retention feature. Insert molding is particularly valuable on parts that require repeated assembly and disassembly in the field.

Additional Value-Added Capabilities

• In-mold decoration – Warning labels, brand labels, and instructional graphics molded directly into the part for permanent, abrasion-resistant marking
• Overmolding (RIM or injection) – Soft-touch armrests, pads, grips, and protective surfaces on electrical cabinets and assemblies
• Heat staking, ultrasonic welding, and vibration welding – For joining plastic sub-components and integrating dissimilar materials
• Testing and validation – Cradle-to-grave continuity testing, plus 100% functional verification of switches, lamps, gauges, and displays prior to shipment
• CNC cutting, waterjetting, sequencing, and kitting – Supporting downstream assembly and logistics requirements

Selecting the Right Manufacturing Process for an Electrification Part

Each application has a unique set of requirements. AdvancTEK’s engineering team evaluates annual volume, part size, structural and performance requirements, and certification needs before recommending a process and material. 

For high-volume electrical components, plastic injection molding for electrification typically delivers the lowest cost per part – but the right process depends on the geometry, performance, and program timing of the specific application.

• Annual volume – At 50,000 to 60,000 units per year and above, injection molding typically delivers the best cost per part. Lower-volume programs may favor thermoforming or RIM, where tooling investment is lower.
• Part size – Components in the six-to-seven-foot range, or large tubs and box-style enclosures that exceed available injection tonnage, are better suited to thermoforming or RIM.
• Performance characteristics – Burn resistance, fire resistance, shock loading (30 to 40 G’s), and structural ribbing requirements all factor into material and process selection.
• Functional features – Snap-fit retention for wiring harnesses, brackets, or circuit boards; integrated doors, latches, or other end-user interface features.
• Certifications – Statutory and regulatory requirements drive material and process choices, and AdvancTEK builds the design verification plan (DVP) and validation plan around them.

Related processes: thermoforming, reaction injection molding (RIM), and overmolding all under one roof.

Plastic Resins for Electrification Applications

For utilitarian, industrial electrification applications, AdvancTEK most often works with reinforced polymers, primarily:

• Glass-filled nylons – Primary choice for severe-duty electrical applications
• Glass-filled polypropylene – Primary choice alongside glass-filled nylons
• ABS – Appropriate in select cases

These materials offer weather resistance, temperature resistance, and, with the right additives, flame retardancy suited to severe-duty electrical applications. AdvancTEK’s processes are aligned with industrial and severe-duty plastic components for electrical applications.

IATF 16949 Compliance and Industry Standards

AdvancTEK is IATF 16949 certified across all manufacturing facilities. The standard is an automotive industry mandate that requires a complete quality management system – covering supplier management, traceability, process controls, document control, and continuous improvement – and is audited annually at every plant.

For electrification customers in industrial, infrastructure, transportation, and energy markets, IATF 16949 delivers the same supplier rigor that automotive OEMs demand from their plastics partners.

Certifications and compliance:

• IATF 16949 – Automotive quality management certification across all facilities
• ISO 9001 – Quality management certification
• RoHS and REACH – Environmental and material-reporting compliance

Project-specific certifications: For projects that require additional certifications – UL 94 and UL 746 flammability ratings, ISO 13485 for medical, or other industry-specific standards – AdvancTEK pursues certification on a project basis when the customer application demands it.

Bespoke Solutions for Electrification Customers

AdvancTEK’s broad process portfolio and in-house engineering allow the team to develop bespoke solutions for electrification customers – not catalog parts pulled off the shelf, and not single-process workarounds dressed up to fit the application.

The bottom line: Many electrification customers approach AdvancTEK with what they believe is the problem, but often the stated problem is a symptom of a deeper design or process issue. AdvancTEK’s engineering team works to identify the root cause and propose a solution that addresses it directly.

With injection molding, thermoforming, RIM, and overmolding all available under one roof, AdvancTEK can offer solutions that a standard injection molder cannot. A part that initially looked like an injection molding project may be better produced through RIM. A metal cabinet that has been fabricated the same way for years may be better executed as a large-format thermoformed enclosure. That cross-process flexibility, paired with in-house design and value-added assembly, is what differentiates AdvancTEK from competitors limited to a single technology.

Partner with AdvancTEK on Your Electrification Project

AdvancTEK works with customers from the earliest stages of design through production and ongoing support – what our team calls a cradle-to-grave engagement model. For electrification customers, that means a single partner for design and engineering, prototyping, tooling, large-tonnage plastic molding, value-added assembly, testing, and quality assurance.

Whether you’re looking for a single large enclosure, a fully loaded control panel assembly, or a high-volume cable tray program, AdvancTEK can scope, manufacture, and certify the solution to meet the technical, regulatory, and cost requirements of the application.