Fabrication

Custom Acrylic Fabrication

At Cottage Corporation, our experienced team members design and manufacture a wide variety of plastic products for clients in a diverse range of industries, from medical and retail offices to food service and consumer goods. Customer specification is one of our core competencies; each product we create is tailor-made to suit your business’ needs. Get a quote today!

From CAD drawings and prototypes to the finished product, we take care of every aspect of your custom plastic project to ensure the highest possible quality and fast turnaround. Methods of plastic fabrication we utilize include heat bending, hand fabrication, mechanical fastening and cold forming. Each of these fabrication methods involves expertise and a unique skill-set that each of our employees is trained in. At Cottage Corporation, we have been helping businesses across the country with their plastic fabrication since we opened for business in 1973. Our award-winning services are second to none, and here, our fabrication team will discuss our various processes.

What Fabrication Methods Do We Specialize In?

At Cottage Corporation, we specialize in a variety of plastic fabrication and customization methods, which allows us to provide each customer with the exact products they requested. Here, we will explain some of our fabrication methods in-depth:

Hand Fabrication

For certain projects, hand fabrication is a necessity, and when that is the case, we enlist our highest-trained, most-experienced workers to complete your project. Hand fabrication requires years of training and attention to detail. We approach hand fabrication just as it is. It is both a science and art form, and we take great pride in our final products.

Cold Forming

Cold forming is one of the various fabrication methods we use during the creation process. The process is exactly how it sounds. Instead of using heat to manipulate the various types of plastic, it is formed without manipulating the temperature. Typically, we fasten the pieces in place using various tools before shaping them. During this process, we usually curve the plastic to the desired mark of the customer.

Mechanical Fastening

Typically we reserve mechanical fastening for instances when we need to join our plastic materials with others but are unable to use traditional methods, like bonding and welding. To do this, we can permanently fasten the materials together with rivets, or we could fasten them together with strong, but not permanent methods, such as screws, magnets, or double-sided tape.

Heat Bending

This type of fabrication is exactly what it sounds like. We manipulate and soften the appropriate plastic pieces using time-controlled heat. We aim to make sure the heat is even across the entire piece of plastic to ensure the whole thing can be manipulated. Once we have achieved the desired temperature throughout the product, we will place the piece of plastic inside of a specific jig, so as the plastic cools, it will mold into the same shape as the jig.

Gluing

Though gluing may sound like it is the simplest fabrication method, that is far from the truth. We don’t simply apply glue to the products and leave them alone. In order for gluing to work, the product itself needs to be exclusively designed for this type of fabrication. Once the design is done, the sample product needs to be tested to ensure it can withstand the rigors that come with gluing. From there, we apply a solvent to the plastic to partially liquefy it before applying extreme pressure to ensure the solvent welds itself to the plastic pieces, which creates a chemical bond that should not break apart. Additionally, we can also use UV gluing to create an extremely durable bond, which is clear. This type of gluing is only finished when it is exposed to UV light.

To learn more about these fabrication methods or others we offer, contact Cottage Corporation today.

Plastic Materials We Handle

We can handle a range of plastics. Materials we work with include:

  • ABS
  • Acrylic (Plexiglass)
  • ​HDPE
  • Nylon
  • Polycarbonate
  • PETG
  • Polyethylene
  • Polypropylene
  • Styrene (Polystyrene)
  • PVC & Expanded PVC

Our precise bending and gluing operations offer precision joints and tight tolerances. For more information about our plastic fabrication services,  connect with us online.