Product example
Metal Keyboard Buttons
Button and cover forms with visible exterior surfaces. Separate cosmetic requirements from locating and attachment features.
SINTS / Product category
MIM and PM parts for consumer electronics hardware
Consumer electronics components are the small metal parts in devices people handle every day — buttons and keys, hinges and pivot hardware, watch cases and attachment parts, camera mounts and compact structural fittings. SINTS produces these by metal injection molding (MIM), powder metallurgy (PM) or machining, with the choice driven by feature size, appearance requirements and annual volume.
Product examples
Product example
Communication Device Metal Components
Compact metal parts with bosses, recesses and openings. Identify mounting datums and the surfaces that locate the part in the device.
Product example
Watch Cases and Attachment Hardware
Case and fastening forms from the watch-parts catalog. Review exterior finish, openings and assembly interfaces on the actual drawing.
Product example
Camera Lens Mounting Hardware
Small housing and support forms recorded as lens-related accessories. Clarify which faces locate or connect the component.
Examples from the SINTS product catalog, shown for component identification. These are custom parts, not stock specifications. Dimensions, material, supply scope and acceptance requirements are confirmed from your project drawing.
All 23 product references
Complete Consumer Electronics Catalog
Explore each component in detail, including its interfaces, manufacturing review and drawing requirements.
Hinges, guides & wearable hardware
Buttons & operating parts
Housings, mounts & electronic components
- Camera Lens Mounting Hardware →
- Camera Pivot and Mounting Components →
- Communication Device Metal Components →
- Decorative Metal Fastening Components →
- Electronic Mounting and Locating Components →
- Mechanical Watch Case Components →
- Mobile Phone Frame Inserts →
- Optoelectronic Housing Components →
- Phone Camera Housing Components →
- Phone Device Structural Metal Parts →
- Radio-Frequency Equipment Metal Hardware →
- Watch Cases and Attachment Hardware →
A closer look at the parts
Visible buttons: fit and appearance need separate requirements
The button examples combine thin outlines with exterior faces. A useful drawing identifies the visible side, permitted marks, edge condition and the features that locate the button in the housing. Finish samples help agree appearance before production.
Compact hardware: define the functional surfaces
Communication and camera components can combine holes, slots and bosses in a small envelope. Mark the assembly datums and critical fits before comparing forming and machining. The product photograph is a shape reference; it does not establish the dimensions or material for a new part.
What to define for a similar component
The part drawing and its assembly determine the manufacturing route and the inspection plan.
Assembly fit
Housing interfaces, locating datums, hole positions and clearances.
Appearance
Visible faces, texture, color and acceptable cosmetic limits.
Fine features
Walls, openings, edge condition and inspectable dimensions.
Final condition
Fits after surface finishing and the agreed assembly checks.
Specification Reference
Consumer electronics part specifications, process limits and timing
Three reference tables for electronics hardware parts: the grades used for structure, appearance and thermal parts, where the forming routes stop, and the route from drawing to first article.
Material options for consumer electronics hardware
| Grade | Condition | Yield / UTS (MPa) | Elong. | Hardness | Density (g/cm³) | Why it is used here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 316L | Sintered | 250 / 498 | 40% | 110–160 HV | 7.75 | Visible frames and parts touched daily. Takes a polish or a brushed finish, and resists hand perspiration. |
| 17-4PH | Sintered → aged | 720 / 900 → 1070 / 1160 | 11% → 7% | 20–25 → 35–45 HRC | 7.50 | Hinges, latch cams and structural brackets that need strength in a thin section. |
| 6061 (AlSi10Mg) | Sintered | 100–350 / 900 | 10–15% | 40–60 HB | 2.70 | Weight-driven parts and heat spreaders. One third the density of steel, at the cost of strength and wear resistance. |
| T2 (C11000) | Sintered | 60–100 / 200–250 | 15–25% | 40–50 HRB | 8.60 | Electrical contacts, busbars and thermal parts where conductivity decides and strength does not. |
| 440C | Sintered | 1550 / 1750 | 1% | 58–62 HRC | 7.50 | Wear surfaces inside a mechanism: cam ramps, pivot pins and latch faces. |
| ZAMAK 3 (ZnAl4) | Die cast | 60–180 / 100–300 | 3–10% | 65–85 HB | 6.60 | Decorative shells and bezels at the lowest unit cost, when a plated or painted finish is acceptable. |
Density matters twice in this family: once as mass, and once as thermal mass. A copper heat spreader at 8.60 g/cm³ and an aluminium one at 2.70 g/cm³ solve the same thermal problem with opposite weight consequences, and the choice is usually made on the enclosure, not on the part.
Process limits that decide the route
| Requirement | Powder compaction | MIM | What it means here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic surface | Pressed surfaces show die lines and need polishing or finishing | Moulded surfaces are finer, and a polished mould transfers its finish directly | A visible A-surface is usually a MIM part, or a machined part — compaction struggles to sell a cosmetic face |
| Thin wall in a shell | Set by fill, ejection and green strength; reviewed per part | 1–3 mm works comfortably; below about 0.5 mm cavity fill is at risk | Device shells sit right at the low end, which is where MIM earns its cost |
| General dimension, as sintered | Roughly ±0.3–0.5% of the dimension | Roughly ±0.3–0.5% of the dimension | A 2 mm snap feature cannot be held to a percentage of itself — it needs an absolute minimum agreed |
| Features tighter than about ±0.05 mm | Sizing or machining | Machining after sintering | Mating and datum features are finished; appearance features are formed |
| Ramp-up volume | Tooling-led; reviewed against annual demand | Tooling-led; reviewed against annual demand | Consumer programs ramp fast and end fast — tool life and cycle time matter as much as unit price |
Percentage tolerances follow the published MIM tolerance note. Small consumer parts expose the weakness of percentage tolerances most clearly: at 2 mm, ±0.5% is ten microns, which no forming route holds without a minimum absolute tolerance being agreed separately.
From drawing to first article
| Stage | Typical lead time | What you receive | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drawing review and DFM feedback | Issued with the quotation | Feature-by-feature route proposal, tolerance and finishing notes, and the open points that must be answered before tooling | 2D drawing with tolerances and datums, STEP model, target annual volume, material or the performance requirement |
| Tooling | 25–30 days as quoted on recent programs | Mould or die built and released to trial condition | Approval of the DFM report and confirmation of the alloy |
| T0 samples | 7–10 days after tooling release as quoted on recent programs | Parts plus a dimensional report against the drawing | Agreed inspection plan and datum scheme |
| Sizing, finishing and heat treatment | Runs inside or immediately after the sample stage | Sized and finished parts, hardness and density results where specified | Which features must be held after sintering, and which may be finished |
| First-article report | With the first approved samples | Dimensions, material, hardness and density measured in-house rather than subcontracted | Drawing with the critical characteristics marked |
| Production release | After sample approval | Serial production to the agreed inspection plan | Confirmed annual volume, MOQ and packaging |
Tooling and sample durations above are the lead times quoted on recent programs of comparable size, not a standard promise; the schedule for a specific part is confirmed with its quotation. Every result in the first-article report is measured on the instruments listed on the capabilities page.
Related product categories
Frequently Asked Questions
Consumer electronics components are the small metal parts inside devices — buttons, hinges, wearable hardware and camera mounts. These answers cover process selection, appearance requirements and small-feature limits.
What counts as a consumer electronics metal component?
It is the small metal hardware inside or on a device: keycaps and buttons, hinge and pivot assemblies, watch cases, lugs and attachment links, camera lens-mount parts, sliders and compact structural fittings. These parts are usually small, produced in high volume and judged on appearance and feel as much as on dimension, which makes them a distinct family from structural industrial hardware.
Why is MIM often considered for small electronics hardware?
Because the parts combine small size with genuinely three-dimensional geometry — an integrated boss, a captured pivot, a formed key profile — that would be costly to produce by milling at high volume. Near-net shaping produces that complexity in one tool, and where the part is also visible the surface condition then becomes a specified requirement rather than a by-product of the process.
How should appearance requirements be specified?
Specify appearance as an explicit requirement with a reference: which surfaces are cosmetic, what the acceptable surface condition is, whether a specific finish, texture or colour is required, and how the part will be judged. On a visible button or watch part, an appearance standard is a functional requirement, and leaving it implicit is a common reason a dimensionally correct part is rejected at sample approval.
What are the practical limits on very small features?
Very small features run into tooling, fill and ejection limits rather than a single size threshold. Fine pins, thin walls, sharp internal corners and deep narrow slots each behave differently across MIM, PM and machining, and the practical limit depends on the feature type and its relationship to the part as a whole. The sensible approach is to review the specific feature set on the drawing rather than apply a general minimum.
What is the difference between a button and a structural part in the review?
A button is judged on feel, travel, appearance and wear at the contact surface, while a structural part is judged on load, stiffness and fatigue. They are reviewed against different criteria even when they are the same size and material. Grouping them as one request tends to blur the requirements, so stating each part's function separately makes the review more accurate.
Discuss your component
Start with your drawing
Include the mating housing, critical dimensions, visible surfaces, finish requirements and annual quantity.