Consumer Goods and Appliances
Sintered, Cast and Machined Parts from One Supplier
Hydroforce molds and sinters MIM and PM parts, die casts aluminium housings, and machines shafts and pins for door locks and security hardware, household appliances, power tools and garden tools, furniture and door hardware, kitchen stand mixers, and home and outdoor lighting.
Why Small Steel Parts and Cast Housings Matter in Consumer Goods
The steel plug of a cylinder lock is twenty to thirty millimetres long and carries the pin chambers, the keyway, a cross-bore for the cam pin and a threaded shank. Cutting it from bar means clamping each piece several times, and lock makers buy these plugs by the hundred thousand, hardened and interchangeable. A MIM mold forms the whole plug in one shot. After debinding and sintering it has 95 to 99% of theoretical density and can be heat treated like wrought steel. We make cylinder plugs, cams, gear sets and back plates for the lock and security-hardware trade on this line.
Gear drives are the next size up. A power-tool gearbox or the gearbox in a stand-mixer head runs small spur and planetary gears for as long as the product lasts. The compaction tool forms the tooth profile, so all gears pressed in it have one geometry. The pores left in a sintered gear also damp vibration, and appliance drives make wide use of this.
Housings are larger again, and we die cast them in aluminium. Mounting bosses, cooling fins and shaft or cable ports come out of the die with the body, so the CNC machine only cuts the bearing seats and threads. The same presses cast the finned heat-sink bodies of LED lamps.
Furniture and door hardware uses both processes. Handles and hinge bodies need shape and a clean finish, which die casting gives. A catch or a locking lever is a small hardened part with pockets and a pivot bore, and the MIM route we run for cam levers in multi-point locks suits it too.
Each part ships with a material certificate and a dimensional report, for a pilot batch and for a full series alike.
By Type of Equipment
Built for Consumer Goods and Appliances
Door locks and security hardware
MIM cylinder plugs with keyway and pin chambers, compound drive gears for motorized and electromechanical locks, disc-detainer rotors, forked cam levers, cylinder cam inserts, PM back plates for the lock case, and 17-4 PH shackle frames for padlocks.
Household appliances: washing machines
the die-cast aluminium drum spider bolted to the back of the drum, with its hub seat, and the machined drum shaft with its bearing seats.
Power tools and garden tools
die-cast gearbox housings with cooling ribs, machined output shafts and chuck spigots, sintered and MIM spur and planetary gears for the drive, and small MIM levers and locking parts for hand and garden tools.
Furniture and door hardware
die-cast handles and hinge bodies, machined hinge pins, and MIM or PM catches, latches and locking levers.
Kitchen stand mixers
die-cast aluminium head and base, sintered gears for the gearbox in the head, machined drive shafts, and MIM parts for the tilt lock.
Home and outdoor lighting
die-cast LED heat-sink housings with cast-in cooling fins for outdoor lanterns and ceiling lights, with machined seats and threads.
What We Make for Consumer Product Makers
Three Technologies for Consumer Goods and Appliance Makers
Powder Metallurgy and MIM
Most of what we make for this trade comes off the MIM and PM line, from lock parts to sintered gears for pumps, appliances and power tools. MIM parts weigh 0.1 to 100 g and press-and-sinter PM parts go up to 250 g, with walls down to 0.3 mm. MIM gears hold ±0.02 mm, and sintered gears reach a final density of up to 97%. We harden to the drawing: through-hardening and tempering, case carburizing, nitriding, or precipitation hardening for 17-4 PH. A pressed part uses up to 30% less material than one cut from bar.
Typical applications
- Cylinder plugs, cam levers, cam inserts and disc-detainer rotors for locks
- Compound drive gears for motorized and electromechanical locks
- Spur and planetary gears for power-tool and stand-mixer gearboxes
- Catches, latches and levers for furniture and door hardware
Aluminium Die Casting
Appliance components and hardware are part of our regular die-casting work. We cast in AlSi10Mg, AlSi12 and AlSi9Cu3 (EN AC-43400, EN AC-44300, EN AC-46000), with component weight from 0.05 to 30 kg, wall thickness from 1.5 mm and as-cast tolerance ±0.1 to ±0.3 mm. Casting pressure is 600 to 1,200 bar, and the cycle time of 30 to 90 seconds grows with part weight. Available finishes are anodising, powder coating, e-coating, chromating, sandblasting and polishing. We cast from a single prototype upward.
Typical applications
- Drum spiders for front-load washing machines
- Gearbox housings for power tools and head and base castings for stand mixers
- Handles and hinge bodies for furniture and door hardware
- Finned LED heat-sink housings for outdoor lanterns and ceiling lights
Machining and Gears
Machining has a supporting role in this trade. We turn drum shafts, gearbox output shafts and hinge pins from bar, and we machine bearing seats, threads and mating faces on die-cast housings to H7/h7 fits. We can also machine a single gear, so a drive can be tested before its sintering tool is built. Haas CNC milling centres with a 1270 x 660 x 635 mm envelope and DMG MORI lathes (Ø500 mm, 1000 mm length) hold IT6-IT7 fits, and geometry is controlled to ISO 2768-fH, ISO 286 and ISO 1101.
Typical parts
- Drum shafts with bearing seats for front-load washing machines
- Output shafts and chuck spigots for power-tool gearboxes
- Hinge pins for furniture and door hinges
- Bearing seats, threads and mating faces machined on die-cast housings
For your production line: Press cylinders, Pumps and motors for line hydraulics, Carbide dies and mould inserts
Cost Logic
Where the Budget Goes, and How We Keep the Price Down
A buyer of lock parts or gear sets usually compares the piece price with the last batch. We put the money into checks that show each part in the series matches the others, and keep everything else about the order standard.
| We invest in | How we keep the price down |
|---|---|
| Hardness and case-depth verification on every lot of sintered and MIM parts, with density checks | One sintering or die-casting tool run across the full series |
| CMM inspection of bearing seats, sealing faces and gear geometry | Near-net shape that removes machining stock |
| X-ray inspection of die-cast housings for porosity at bosses and sealing faces | Standard fastener and hinge-pin sizes where the drawing allows |
| Full documentation: material certificate, CMM report, hardness and density report | Die and tooling cost spread over the volume |
Aftermarket
Repeat Orders and Matching Parts
A lock platform or an appliance range can stay in production for years, and a gear or a cam ordered today has to fit the assembly built with the first batch. For every MIM and PM part we keep the tool drawings and the injection, debinding and sintering settings on file, and a repeat order is checked against the baseline approved at first article. Die-cast housings are recast from the same tool with the stored process settings, and shafts and pins are turned again with the saved CNC program and fixture.
If no drawing is left, a sample or its dimensions will do. We measure the part on the CMM and quote the tool and the piece price.
By drawing
By worn sample
Batches for a series
Dies kept on file
Documentation
Standards and Documentation
Our component documentation refers to these standards.
| Standard | What it covers |
|---|---|
| EN 1706 | Chemical composition and mechanical properties of cast aluminium alloys |
| ISO 5755 / ISO 22068 | Specification for sintered PM and MIM materials |
| EN 10204 3.1 | Material certificate with traceable test results, on request |
| ISO 1328 / DIN 3960 | Gear tooth accuracy classes and gear geometry |
| ISO 2768-fH / ISO 286 / ISO 1101 | General machining tolerances, dimensional fits and geometric form |
Appliance safety, EMC and ingress-protection rules apply to the complete appliance or hardware assembly and are the responsibility of its manufacturer. We supply the component documentation: the material certificate, the CMM report and the hardness and density report.
Our quality system is certified to ISO 9001:2015. More on inspection stages and equipment: Quality.
Quality
Quality Control
Every order goes through three inspection stages. We check incoming material against its certificate and run a spectrochemical analysis of the alloy where the grade matters. During production we measure on a CMM with an error under 3 μm, with checkpoints every 45 machine hours.
Sintered and MIM parts are checked for density by the Archimedes method, for bulk and case hardness, and for dimensions by in-process sampling across the batch. The first article gets a full CMM report against the drawing. Gears are inspected on the Zeiss Contura CMM and with dedicated gear measurement tools. Die-cast housings that have to hold pressure or carry load are X-rayed for porosity, and leak tested when the specification asks for it.
More detail: Quality.
From Hydroforce
From Our Workshop
Metal Injection Molding (MIM) and Powder Metallurgy Parts for Locks
Cylinder plugs, cam levers, cam inserts, compound gears, back plates and shackle frames molded in one shot, then sintered and heat treated, in pilot and series quantities. Catches and levers for furniture and door hardware can follow the same route.
Read more → Powder MetallurgySintered Gears: Powder Metallurgy and MIM Gear Manufacturing
Spur and helical gears, sprockets and pump gears pressed and sintered to a final density of up to 97%, with MIM gears to ±0.02 mm. Typical uses on our line are pumps, appliances and power tools.
Read more → Die CastingAluminum Die-Cast Housings for LED Lighting and Industrial Applications
Heat sinks, enclosures and covers from 0.05 to 30 kg, with fins, bosses and cable ports cast in. We use the same process for appliance, lighting and hardware housings.
Read more →Procurement FAQ
FAQ
What documentation do you supply with lock, gear and housing parts?
MIM and PM parts ship with a material certificate for the powder lot, a first-article CMM report, a density report and a hardness report for bulk and case, plus a surface-treatment record. Die-cast housings ship with an EN 1706 alloy certificate, a CMM report and a coating-thickness record. Safety approval of the finished appliance or lock stays with its manufacturer. Tell us what your product file needs, and we plan the package with the order.
Can you make a replacement for a part that has no drawing?
Yes. Send us a sample or its dimensions and we measure the geometry on the CMM before quoting. Once the mold or the die has been built and approved, later batches are made from it with no redesign.
We build the same product in series for years. Can you hold the part the same from batch to batch?
Yes. We keep the tool and the process settings on file and check every batch against the approved first article, with the same inspection plan and documentation.
What is the minimum order and the lead time?
A single cylinder is fine, with the same certificates and tests as a series batch. For motors, gears and die-cast parts, tell us the quantity and we will quote. MIM, PM and die casting need a mold or a die, so we size the tooling to your volumes. We quote the lead time with the offer: the mold or the die is built and trialled before the first article, and heat treatment and surface finishing add steps before it ships.
Related capabilities:
Get a Quote
Send us a drawing, a 3D model or a sample of the part you need, and tell us what it is for: door locks and security hardware, household appliances, power tools and garden tools, furniture and door hardware, kitchen stand mixers, or home and outdoor lighting. We quote the part together with its tooling, heat treatment and the documentation your product file needs.