Retail display industry production is very different from other product manufacturing industries. First, the main role of the retail display is to display products for sale. It focuses on increasing retail sales, which is doomed to require diversification of retail display products. Different uses, different material choices, and different design styles make this industry a custom industry that needs to be custom.
Customization means more costs. We have been working with factories for many years and are happy to share our knowledge. Here, we make a few suggestions to help designers who are unfamiliar with production and lack factory experience avoid designing costly products.
1. Surface Effect
(1)Using effect adhesive film
There are many subcategories under the retail display category. Some are items that only need to be displayed, and placed in the window, and their surface requirements are colorful and eye-catching, then the effect of the adhesive film can play a big role. Stone-grained, wood-grained, metallic effects and other realistic textures foil are applied to cheaper materials in specific shapes to save costs.
(2) Use other processes to achieve the effect
Some of the retail displays that are not only displayed but also likely to be touched by consumers can easily be exposed using effect adhesive film. But in fact, many of the effects that you want can be done in many other ways.
For example, last year we had a customer’s shelf that needed effect brass with polished. In fact, brass is a slightly more expensive metal material that is difficult to polish and weld. Customers’ original suppliers use brass with the polishing effect sent over and the outcome was unsatisfactory. When the customer came to us, we used stainless steel to weld first, then electroplate the welded stainless steel shelf. The outcome was excellent, and the customer immediately placed the order.
2. Material costs
(1) Reduce materials without affecting the appearance function
Material consumption is one of the important factors in determining costs. There are expensive materials and cheap materials, even in the same kind of materials, the price of different thickness specifications is also very different. For example, the price of acrylic sheets is different for different thickness specifications. Naturally, the thinner the material, the more money is saved without affecting the function.
Some products produced by injection molding machines will shrink when cooled if they are too thick. When there is a possibility of shrinkage, we recommend blow molding or shelling for good results and materials.
If it is a piece of a cube that does not show the inside, you can choose to do a hollow method to reduce the material; even using the above-mentioned electroplate, the effect adhesive film method can effectively save costs.
(2) Material selection
The first thing to do is to choose the right material according to the customer’s design requirements. There are many choices on the material, such as metal, wood, and plastic. There are many small categories under the broad category.
• Plastics: the preferred material is acrylic, with good mechanical properties, diverse specifications, easy processing, elegant appearance, and considerable price.
• Metal: the preferred material is stainless steel, with mature processing technology, good load-bearing performance after welding, and easy surface treatment such as electroplating and polishing.
• Wood: texture and color are the key points to consider. We recommend the inexpensive beech, soft color, beautiful and tough texture.
3. Design and production aspects
Each process has its own characteristics, processed for a specific material, and not all shapes can be produced. When designing a product, there are usually mutual restraint factors, like the number of products, processes, materials, and structural design.
(1) Quantity
Process selection depends on the quantity. When a large number of the same product is required, we generally choose to open the mold, which can generally produce hundreds of thousands of times, but the price of the mold is high. If you want to make small batches of products, you can choose other methods, such as silicone mold, CNC machine processing, simple mold, or manual.
(2) Adjustment design
If the process and materials are determined, sometimes a slight adjustment of the structure can avoid the short-board of the process itself and save a lot of costs.
(3) Select the appropriate process
Different processes have different limitations. The 3d printing should be printed inside support, which should be cut off after printing; the hot bending of acrylic can only be straight, and the complicated shape can only use the mold;
Specific case studies can be discussed with us, and our experienced engineers make better recommendations for your project.
If you need more details about the process, please feel free to contact us.
