Electronics and marine environments on paper don’t mix, but in the digital age, not only do they mix but they get along and work well together. It takes a lot of components and manufacturing methods to ensure marine electronics mounting brackets are service-ready and protecting valuable and sensitive electronics aboard marine vehicles.
These mounting brackets are constantly exposed to corrosion, fitting into tight spaces, and assembly challenges. But there are solutions to all of the above.
Winco Stamping tries solving corrosion, fit, and assembly challenges in marine electronics mounting brackets.
Corrosion Challenges Meets Material Selection
Marine environments are exposed to some of the harshest environments and stamped components can pay the price of that exposure. UV radiation, humidity, moisture, and temperature fluctuations all play a role in impacting the service life of a stamped component and elevating the risk of corrosion in parts.
For metal stamping operations, material selection does a lot of the heavy lifting for resisting corrosion. When marine electronics mounting brackets featuring stainless steel, marine-grade aluminum, or coated carbon steel, these brackets are much more suitable for marine environments – saltwater included.
Enhancing Corrosion Resistance
Material selection plays the largest role in securing corrosion resistant stamped components, but there are additional steps to further enhance corrosion resistance. Value-added services on top of naturally corrosion resistant materials can further strengthen the resistance levels.
Three of the best value-added services for enhancing the corrosion resistance in a stamped component are powder coating, plating, and anodizing. Three different operations all with the same goal: strengthening and enhancing parts.
Powder coating not only enhances the corrosion resistance in parts, but it can also be used as a customizable operation as different colors can be used, giving parts an identity. Anodizing benefits most when it’s done to aluminum-based stamped components because it does more than just increase corrosion resistance, it also increases the surface hardware and wear resistance.
Plating also can improve corrosion resistance while simultaneously improving surface durability.
Fit Through Consistent Manufacturing
Marine electronics mounting brackets don’t have a whole lot of room aboard vessels and when parts don’t fit, it can slow down the manufacturing and assembly process. When that process slows, everything else does, including delivery windows of final vessels to the end customer.
In order to secure proper fit, manufacturing has to be consistent and part variation needs to be limited. Metal stamping supports this notion as the process is highly repeatable which adheres to consistency. However, it’s vital during the pre-production process that manufacturers perform extensive DFM reviews to ensure components not only can be manufactured, but they also will work in the field of service.
Design Easier Assembly
Assembling the brackets at the end of manufacturing can extend lead times and slow down getting components out of the contract manufacturer’s facility. Through design reviews, assembly features can be incorporated into the design of the part and have it be manufactured, saving time and costs.
Simplify Your Marine Electronics Mounting Brackets and Partner with Winco Stamping Today
Winco Stamping, located in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, is one of the United States longest-tenured custom metal stamping manufacturers. We’ve been in business since 1948 and have firsthand seen how metal stamping has evolved over the last 78 years.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that customers want high-quality components that are engineered and manufactured to survive their intended environments. Marine electronics mounting brackets are no exception and Winco Stamping knows our customers deserve the best we can deliver.
Our stamping process starts off with DFM reviews and production volume conversations to gauge what’s needed from us and how we can best serve you. Winco Stamping delivers on quality and our two decades plus of ISO 9001 certification demonstrates our commitment to high level quality management systems.
Streamline the manufacturing of your marine electronics mounting brackets and contact Winco Stamping today.