This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Protomold fabrica para TVonics las piezas de sus descodificador digital

Protomold, the speedy plastic injection molding specialist

Protomold TVonics manufactures the pieces of your digital receiver

Drafting Protomold28/08/2008

The anticipated 'analogue switch' of TV is underway and TVonics Ltd has been developing and supplying the parts of your digital receiver, manufactured by Protomold, moulding specialist fast plastic injection.

The Government has begun to offer free decoders to the disabled population and partial blindness, as well as to groups least favoured economically and senior citizens. The digital exchange of television began in Cumbria, in October. The Government was faced with the groups opposed to his plans for the switch-off of analogue broadcasting, and alleging that the cost of a digital television receiver is going to be too heavy a burden for that part of the population with less income andin particular, to the elderly and the disabled, dependent on the television. Last December it was announced the aid programme of 600 million pounds (758 million euros), by which the Government supports the total cost of the 'equipment necessary for the change to digital television', for users with disabilities or partial blindness and people over 75 years who are receiving some sort of social aid relative to their income.

Technology that has developed TVonics has provided the first products to the Government for the blackout. Whitehaven, Cumbria, has been the first to experience the digital change and where 20,000 households no longer receive analog signals.

The decoder of TVonics Caracasa.

Switch to the moulding by rapid injection

The machining of traditional steel would have been too slow to meet the strict calendar of delivery issued by the television companies engineering program. It needed to quickly add a range of new features to the product that already existed. Development and machining of Protomold were essential. "Design features were adopted at the meetings that were held with our client, the electrical retailer Dixons", explains Martin Laforges, director of product design of TVonics Ltd

"The Protomold service has been fantastic." "We have been able to make initial volumes of pieces of plastic and delivered the product customer quickly"

The main feature of the new 'descodificadora box' is its simplicity, which is achieved thanks to the incorporation of the latest technology of automatic tuning, simple graphics on screen that they allow users to easily select the television or radio programmes and incorporated guides that help viewers at each step. If the user is not sure of what you have to do, you can click 'Help' for information on the meaning of each option and about which button to press.

Technology that has developed TVonics has provided the first products to the Government for the analog switch. Whitehaven, Cumbria, has been the first to experience the digital change

Parts of the external receiver manufactured by Protomold.

Once the decoder design was completed, Tvonics, almost 18 months before, had engaged the services of Protomold, specialist in the production of plastic molding parts by rapid injection, so make the cartoning of a new digital video recorder.

"We send Protomold the initial design through the virtual system ProtoQuote which highlighted the potential difficulties in manufacturing that we were going to find, such as the need to minimize the notches, correctly use lateral bias and strengthen the fillets and take account of the expulsion of the piece." "The system also offered us the costs of the mold and of the piece, allowing us thus plan and manage the project of the precise form".

ProtoQuote includes a summary of the potential problems of the piece, explained in clear, simple way, without technicalities, incorporating suggestions for modification and if necessary, going back to do the entire design. One of the main advantages of the ProtoQuote system is that it simplifies and demystifies the molding by injection for all those involved in the project of development of the product and clears up many unknowns about the process.

"In nine months, receive from Protomold approximately 30,000 pieces before moving on to the stage of hard cast", says Martin. "In many of our projects it is difficult to familiarize themselves with the volume until the product itself has not been proven". For this reason in the initial phase, it is not possible to commit itself to produce a hard cast, as the costs are prohibitive, not to mention the lengthy delivery time. Many people think that working with a company like Protomold is economical only for small runs, and although it is true that the cost savings varies depending on the number of pieces that may occur, the rapid injection molding also may have advantages economic substantial when thrown thousands of pieces. The Protomold process reduced the term to six weeks, from the moment that budgeted the first piece, when compared with the possibility of choosing the option of hard cast from the beginning.

"The Protomold service has been fantastic - have been able to make initial volumes of pieces of plastic and delivered the product customer quickly", said Mr. Laforges. "The support received throughout the process can be described as also first class." "At times we introduced modifications, but were quickly incorporated and in one hour modified molds were already back in molding machines injection."