Jiafuh Metal and Plastics is a manufacturer who designs and produces moulds for plastic components out of a range of materials including Aluminum, Mild Steel and hardened "tool" Steel. They also manufacture plastic enclosures for electronic products, amongst other things, via plastic injection moulding.

In this tour, SOE explores the Shenzhen based factory of Jiafuh, led by General Manager Jimmy Hsu. The tour members are surprised by the many different tool making processes, including a processes known as Spark Erosion or EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining), Surface Grinding, Wire-Cut EDM, CNC Milling and more. The group also appreciated that a great deal of hand skills were still employed to measure (metrology), surface finishing and polishing the moulds known as "tools", in readiness for injection moulding manufacturing.

The group then witnessed the tools in use, and watched on as hundreds of plastic enclosures, for brand name clients, were being produced in the injection moulding part of the factory. Jiafuh has many injection moulding machines and can cater for high volume production. They also offer a range of electroplating and vapor deposition surfacing options, to reproduce metallic finishes on plastic components.

For our group, it was really valuable to see why injection moulding tools are so expensive and understand how they can be extremely economical when it comes to manufacturing at scale. Every designer should understand these processes.

NOTE on "comment" policy for all factory tour videos: Please understand that this video neither condones nor comments on reputation, labour practices, and other standards, in particular relating to safety. It is intended for educational purposes only, allowing you the viewer to participate in a factory tour. The company has kindly opened its doors to us and allowed us to come and see what they can do in a free and open manner. State of Electronics respects this and asks that you do to. This video has no sponsorship or other influences from the company highlighted. The comments made by participants are the result of this personal tour of the factory and their personal opinions on what they witnessed and understood. However, State of Electronics does understand that some of its viewers will have concerns about standards. Please do not post comments relating to your opinions on safety or other labour practices to this video as they vary greatly from country to country and subsequently will be deleted. Express your views in your own video, using your own footage, and put your name to it to make it count. Thank you for your understanding.

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For more about Jiafuh, visit www.jiafuh.com
For more about HardworX visit www.hardworx.io
For more about this series visit www.stateofelectronics.com
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For more about Tom Partridge visit www.tectonica.net