PRODUCT DESIGN

Calpak USA follows a phased product design process that moves from concept development through detailed design, prototyping, validation, and production release. The process begins with requirements capture and competitive benchmarking, followed by concept generation with sketch models and trade studies evaluating form factor, materials, and manufacturing approach. Calpak USA engineers then develop detailed 3D solid models in SolidWorks with fully dimensioned production drawings per ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards. Design reviews are conducted at conceptual, preliminary, and critical design milestones with your engineering team. Prototype builds validate fit, form, and function before production tooling is committed. Final deliverables include production-released CAD models, drawings with material and finish specifications, assembly procedures, bill of materials, and vendor-ready manufacturing data packages. Every phase at our Hawthorne, California facility is documented under our AS9100 and ISO 9001 quality system with full design history file traceability.

Calpak USA provides rapid prototyping through FDM and SLA 3D printing for early form and fit verification, CNC machining in aluminum, stainless steel, and engineering plastics for functional prototype parts that replicate production material properties, and sheet metal prototyping for enclosure and bracket validation. Our Hawthorne, California facility coordinates prototyping activities to deliver functional assemblies that include mechanical parts, electronics, and firmware for integrated system-level testing. Calpak USA uses 3D-printed prototypes for ergonomic evaluation, stakeholder design reviews, and preliminary environmental fit checks, then transitions to machined prototypes for thermal testing, vibration qualification, and drop testing where material fidelity is critical. We also source prototype injection-molded parts through rapid tooling vendors when production-representative surface finish and snap-fit performance must be validated. Prototype builds are tracked with revision control and inspection reports documenting dimensional conformance to design intent.

Calpak USA engineers evaluate enclosure materials through a structured selection process that weighs mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, weight, cost, environmental resistance, EMI shielding effectiveness, and manufacturing process compatibility. Common material candidates include die-cast and machined aluminum alloys like 6061-T6 and A380 for thermally demanding or ruggedized applications, injection-molded engineering thermoplastics like ABS, polycarbonate, and glass-filled nylon for cost-effective high-volume production, and sheet metal stainless steel for corrosion-resistant or food-grade enclosures. Calpak USA references material property databases and performs application-specific analysis including UV exposure resistance for outdoor products, chemical compatibility for industrial environments, and flammability ratings per UL 94. Our engineers at the Hawthorne, California facility coordinate material selection with your supply chain team to ensure chosen materials are commercially available from multiple sources, reducing single-supplier risk across your product lifecycle.

Calpak USA designs product enclosures to meet IP65, IP66, and IP67 ingress protection ratings per IEC 60529, MIL-STD-810 environmental qualification standards for shock, vibration, humidity, and temperature extremes, and medical device enclosure requirements including IEC 60601-1 electrical safety and biocompatibility considerations. Our engineers specify gasket materials, sealing geometries, and fastener torque requirements to achieve target IP ratings, and validate designs through computational analysis before physical testing. For MIL-STD-810 compliance, Calpak USA performs FEA-based shock and random vibration analysis to verify structural integrity under specified test profiles. Medical device enclosures are designed with cleanability requirements, antimicrobial material options, and cable management provisions that support IEC 62368-1 safety standards. All compliance-driven designs at our Hawthorne, California facility include test plans and traceability matrices linking design features to specific standards clauses under our AS9100 and ISO 9001 quality system.

Calpak USA's product design engineers coordinate with your electronics team through formal interface control documents that define PCB mounting schemes, connector locations, cable routing volumes, thermal interface requirements, and EMI shielding strategies. Our mechanical engineers import your PCBA data via STEP, IDF, or ODB++ formats to build accurate electromechanical assemblies in SolidWorks that verify component clearances, connector accessibility, and cable bend radii. Calpak USA schedules joint design reviews at each project milestone where mechanical packaging constraints and electrical requirements are reconciled, including thermal dissipation paths, grounding contact points, antenna keep-out zones, and user interface element placement. When your product requires Calpak USA to design both the electronics and the enclosure, our co-located engineering teams in Hawthorne, California collaborate daily, enabling real-time tradeoffs between board layout changes and mechanical packaging optimizations that reduce overall design iterations and accelerate time to production.