Most enclosure buyers have been burned at least once. The prototype is beautiful. The production run is late, the finish blisters, and the drawing you signed comes back with tolerances nobody checked. This case study walks through a recent custom metal enclosure project at our Nanpi plant — the process route, the inspection points, and the numbers that mattered — so you can compare it against your own supply chain.
In short: an OEM in the industrial control sector (anonymised for confidentiality) sent us a housing drawing on a Tuesday. Six weeks later, 200 powder-coated enclosures were packed and staged for shipment, every unit CMM-inspected and documented under ISO 9001:2015.
The Project
The part was a floor-standing electrical enclosure, approximately 1,200 × 600 × 400 mm, fabricated from 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm cold-rolled steel. What made it non-trivial was not the size but the detail:
- Multiple cut-outs on three faces for connectors, ventilation and a display bezel
- Threaded PEM studs in thin sheet — pressed in, not welded, to keep the interior flat
- A two-tone powder coating with a masked logo area
- Flatness and hole-position requirements that ruled out “good enough” assembly
The customer had received quotes from four suppliers. Two were trading companies that would outsource the job. One offered a price that looked too good and could not name its press tonnage or laser power. XCWY was the only supplier that answered with a process route and a tolerance plan instead of a price sheet.
How We Built It
Every enclosure in this project ran through the same five-stage route on our own floor. Nothing was outsourced, which is why one person can answer for the whole build.
Stage 1 — Laser Cutting
The 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm steel was cut on our 12,000 W fibre laser. Profile accuracy holds ±0.05 mm, which matters here because the display bezel cut-out has to accept a drop-in part with no visible gap. Corners were inspected on the first article; the laser programme was locked after the first two blanks passed.
Stage 2 — CNC Bending
Bending ran on a JFY TPR8-100 press brake: 100 tonnes, 3,200 mm bed, ±0.5° on angle. The enclosure body is a single folded blank — one piece, four bends, no corner welds on the main seam. Flat patterns were developed against our own tooling, so the folded part actually fits the first time.
Stage 3 — Welding and Hardware
Where the design needed assembly, we used MIG welding on the frame sub-assemblies and laser welding where distortion was a risk. PEM studs were installed with the correct tooling so the sheet stays flat — a detail that prevents ghost threads and press-fit failures downstream.
Stage 4 — Surface Finishing
The enclosures were degreased, pre-treated and powder coated in a two-tone scheme with a masked logo. Coating thickness was verified before packing, not assumed. For this customer we also supplied the EN 10204 material certificates with the batch. See our surface finishing specifications for the full range.
Stage 5 — Inspection and Packing
Every unit was checked on a coordinate measuring machine for the critical hole positions, then given a final visual pass. Units were wrapped and packed in export cartons with corner protection — the customer drops them straight into their own distribution.
Quality Control — Where Most Suppliers Go Quiet
The enclosure industry runs on documentation. We shipped this order with:
- ISO 9001:2015 quality records, registration 34025Q30296R0S, verifiable at the CNCA registry
- CMM reports for hole positions and flatness on sampled units
- EN 10204 material certificates from the steel mill
- Coating thickness readings taken from each batch
None of this is extra cost — it is how the plant runs every day. If a buyer asks us for it on the first order, they get it.
The Result
- Lead time: 6 weeks from drawing approval to packed goods, including two finish samples
- MOQ: this order was 200 units — but we quoted and built it at MOQ terms from 1 pc, which is how the customer validated the design first
- Tolerances: ±0.05 mm on laser profiles, ±0.5° on bends, flatness verified on the CMM
- Response time: engineering review and quotation returned within 3 business hours of receiving the drawing
The customer has since reordered twice and added a second enclosure size to the programme.
What This Means for Your Enclosure Project
None of the equipment above is exotic — 12 kW lasers and 100-tonne press brakes are common. The difference is that XCWY owns all of it in one building, under one quality system, with one engineer accountable from drawing to packing. When you send us an enclosure drawing, you get a process route and a tolerance plan, not just a number. Read more about our laser cutting, CNC bending and welding assembly capabilities, or compare us with factory vs trading company sourcing.
Send your enclosure drawing to xcwystamping@xcwybj.com or through the quote form — an engineer reviews it and returns pricing plus DFM feedback within 3 business hours. MOQ from 1 pc, NDA signed on request.
FAQ
What materials do you use for custom metal enclosures?
Cold-rolled steel, stainless steel (304 and 316L), aluminium and galvanised steel, in gauges from 0.3 mm to 6.0 mm. Material certificates are available for all stainless and aluminium supply.
Can you match a specific RAL powder coating colour?
Yes — powder coating is applied in-house and matched to RAL or a supplied reference sample. Coating thickness is verified before packing.
Do you make enclosures for outdoor use?
Yes. Outdoor enclosures are built from galvanised or stainless steel with gasket-channel formed details and weather-rated finishing. Tell us the service environment on the drawing.
What is your minimum order for enclosures?
MOQ from 1 pc for validation. Production quantities are quoted per project — we have run both single prototypes and series of several thousand.
How fast can I get a quote?
Engineering review and quotation are returned within 3 business hours of receiving your drawing.
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