Engineering

Part Manufacture

We’re fortunate to have in-house vacuum forming, injection moulding and (prototype) press facilities. In addition to die-cut and 5 axis trimming we can take on component manufacture to provide a full end-to-end service.

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Part Manufacturing

Part Prototyping

We regularly prototype for customers while they are trying to get the design right of a part. This can be produced of very cost-effective tooling. We can work with a large variety of materials including most plastics, light foam, woven and co-polymer materials. We can supply these for customers to trim themselves or trim them ourselves either by hand, die cutting or CNC routering. For more information on our trimming capabilities visit our Jigs & Trim Fixtures page.

Measurement & Inspection

Full Part Production

We have 3 high-spec vacuum formers with heated plattens that are regularly used for materials such as polycarbonate. In addition to that we have 2 injection mould machines – one at 380 tonnes and one at 600 tonnes. This give us a wide range of capacity for full production runs which, combined with CNC 5 axis trimming can give a boost to our customer’s own capacity by being an experienced and reliable offload partner.

Our Services

Markets served

We have a long track record in working in the aerospace, automotive, mass transport, earth moving equipment and medical sectors. Geographically we have a wider customer base in the UK, Ireland mainland Europe and North America.

CAD/CAM

We can import all files and formats and daily work with STP, CATIA, XT and STL files. We run Powershape and Solidworks for technical CAD, and Geomagic Freeform for creative CAD (with haptic arm). We use Powermill for milling and Vectric for flat routing. In essence though we can take models from most formats and turn them into quality tooling, or create components from scratch.

Machining capacity

We have 12 Hurco CNC machines - VMX30 (x2), 30s,
42i (x2), 50t, 50, 50i (x2), DCX 22i, VM10 and 10i; Romi d800; Maxicam M8 5 axis router/mill. We will shortly be commissioning a Roeders RXP501 HSM with 42K RPM spindle speed.

Tool size and materials

We can machine most metals up to 2200mm x 1600mm x 400mm 3 axis. Our 5 axis CNC can machine all model boards and some light aluminium work up to 2400mm x 1200mm x 500mm.

Materials used

The vast proportion of our customers ask for Ureol/model board for prototyping and aluminium or steel dependant on the tooling. We work with a wide variety of model boards dependant on the application. Such is the volume of our purchasing for aluminium and model board we are very confident in our material costs on quotes and only charge a nominal handling charge on top. We do not mark up material costs.

Lead times

Dependant on complexity of the job and capacity but we can go from receiving CAD data to delivery of tools and CNC fixtures in as little as 2 weeks, delivering ourselves where possible.

Quality

We’re accredited to ISO 9001 but see this as a baseline to improve from and set our targets for quality higher than the standard requires.

Who we work with…

Working alongside brands you know and love

We’ve helped the brands below with anything from creating parts for the next supercar, design a new plane seat or creating the next must-have chocolate. There’s never a dull day.

What OUR CUSTOMERS say...

Don’t just take our word for it…

"We have always found the DPS team to be capable and efficient.
Well equipped, well priced, with quick quotes and accurate lead times, they are a pleasure to do business with."

Ramsay Rubber

Richard Hands, Technical Manager

"Our team at Seaborne enjoy working with DPS because we can rely on them to deliver top quality work.
Communication is good, they are easy to work with and are willing to take on tricky projects that others don’t."

Seaborne Plastics LTD, Czechia

John Cooper, Technical Manager

"We’ve been working with DPS for 20 years. They’ve always been flexible and have changed
as our business has changed. They’re great to work with and we trust their delivery."

EnerSys

Paul Herbert, Site Engineer Manager

"DPS Designs are always incredibly professional, nothing is ever too much trouble and there is no one better at the workmanship of their products.
We give DPS 11 out of 10 for their service and highly recommend them above all other plastics manufacturers!"

Eep Company

Patricia Dubresson, Managing Director

"DPS have a wealth of knowledge from so many tooling backgrounds that they bring something new to the table.
From the intricate small tools with super fine detail to the larger end of the scale they all have the same attention to detail.
The finishes have been without a doubt the best we have received from a supplier."

Thermotec Plastics

Gary Hingley, Managing Director

"The quality of the tools is great, and the price is very competitive."

Medical Comfort Specialists, USA

Wojciech Porcek, General Manager

“We faced the challenge of producing a significant number of vacuum forming and CNC tools within a tight timeframe.
DPS proved to be an outstanding partner, delivering the required tooling with exceptional quality, competitive pricing, and timely delivery.
Their team consistently demonstrates friendliness and responsiveness to our needs.”

Cox Wokingham Plastics LTD

Mark Bennett, Project Manager

"Future Plastics have been working closely with DPS for over 10 years.
They are a trusted and reliable partner who never fail to provide excellent service levels in terms of
quality and timely delivery. Dealing with the team is always a pleasure. I would have no
hesitation in recommending DPS for the supply of complex heavy gauge thermoforming
moulding tools and trimming fixtures."

Future Plastics, Ireland

Gary Foley, Managing Director

"We have worked with DPS for a number of years now and they have always offered a very good service.
This includes competitive costs, quick yet realistic lead times, great quality and a huge amount of technical knowledge."

MiMtec Limited

Jamie Waring, Sales Manager