Chen Xiao Fan wrote:

> Lately I have to deal with more and more mechanical and process issues
> even though I am an electronics engineer. I have some basic mechanical
> knowledge but not much.

Welcome to the club :)

> Are there any good tutorials on plastic mould? It seems to be very
> important but quite a difficult topics. The mould is always not cheap to
> make and hard to modify, not like electronics circuits. ;-(

I'd like to know some good tutorials, too. Here a few thoughts; not much,
as I'm not an expert either.

Start with a good 3D model. Model not only the plastic part, but also
everything that interacts with it (PCB, the LCD display on the PCB, the
buttons etc.) That is already a very helpful tool to make sure you get the
basics right -- everything fits etc. 

Try to have the case design done by someone who does have experience with
the technology you intend to use for production -- I don't think you can
learn everything important from a tutorial, just as you couldn't design a
good amplifier stage just by reading a tutorial. 

There are a number of prototyping stages possible, from quick prototyping
shops that make one-offs of the 3D design in various technologies (not
quite like the final thing, different material and different surface
finish, but at least it's the form) to cheaper versions of injection
molding with aluminum molds or something similar (result is the same as the
final product, but much cheaper molds and therefore not so much lost if
there's a problem).

Gerhard

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