Custom IP66 Enclosure Design

Custom IP66 Enclosure Design

EnCata developed a custom IP66-rated enclosure for automotive electronics, tailored to a specific PCB. We handled industrial design, DFM, in-house mold fabrication, pilot production, and assembly, delivering full-cycle development under one roof.

Industry:

Vehicles

Vehicles

TRL:

5 → 9

Project duration:

7 months

Challenge

A fast-growing car-sharing startup company contacted EnCata to design a special enclosure for its custom PCB electronics which would be able to sustain vibrations and sharp temperature changes within the range -40 …+85 deg. C. The device should be mounted inside a car engine compartment.

Our Role

  • Industrial design
  • CAD model and full documentation (drawings)
  • 3D-printed prototypes
  • Design-for-manufacturability
  • Moulds design and manufacturing
  • First product batch with our own injection moulder
  • Tests under IPX6 standard

Technologies Used

SLA 3D printing

SLA 3D printing

Silicon moulding

Silicon moulding

Plastic injection moulding

Plastic injection moulding

IP-66 ingression protection

IP-66 ingression protection

Mini-USB

Mini-USB

48 Pin FCI

48 Pin FCI

For Enterprises

R&D + design + manufacturing under ONE roof
Scale up and down your team
Intergrated hardware + software development
New technologies and research 

For Startups

MVP and POC prototypes
Affordable consultancy rates
All IP is yours
In-house batch production

Approach & Solution

Since the customer had already developed the PCB, we qualified the customer’s technology readiness level as TRL-5. The customer requested to have a distinctive industrial design to portray his advanced hardware + software technology.

Among the offered variants of the industrial design, the customer adhered to a futuristic touch with strong geometrical features and easy access for quick battery interchange. The design had also adopted IP66 protection (vandal, dust and water resistance). The casing also incorporated a 48 Pin FCI Automotive Waterproof ECU interface, as well as mini-USB and U.FL/IPX to RP-SMA interfaces.

In the industrial design phase, a selected shape was modeled in CAD, and a 3D printed prototype produced as part of the concept development. The color, materials, finish (CMF) was also part of the industrial design. To survive the aggressive and harsh environment, a fire-proof plastic was selected.

To incorporate the functionality and test the design (as part of the DVT) a small batch of cases was produced using silicon moulding technology.

The project further required steel moulds design and larger batch production at our semi-automatic plastic injection moulding machine. The moulds were designed and produced at EnCata’s facility; a batch of 100 units was produced and tested to comply with the IPX6  standard.

Incorporating connector and wired interfaces in a waterproof design is challenging in terms of DFM and achieving performance in the PVT phase. In this project, we had to solve challenges associated with small curvature radii at the housing’s corners. So the enclosure required the design and production of custom rubber sealing.

Results and Benefits

In this project, we delivered end-to-end service to our client, starting from an existing PCB and developing a robust, modern enclosure. The industrial design was validated through 3D printing and silicone mold prototyping.

The full cycle took 7 months, covering EVT to PVT, and resulted in complete documentation and a pilot batch of injection-molded enclosures.

Need help developing custom enclosures or protected electronics? Let’s talk → contact us.

2 moulds

designed and manufactured for pilot production

10 prototypes

built and tested during the DVT phase

100 unites

produced in the pilot PVT run

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