Case study · 2024–2026
Shock-rated heater control panels, built to print
Marine-duty equipment (OEM build-to-print). Scope: UL 508A shop assembly to customer drawings, customer-supplied parts handling, per-unit testing and records, labeling, batch delivery.
The challenge
A company that designs shock-rated control equipment needed a panel shop to build its heater controller panels in quantity. The order covered:
- 440 V and 480 V panels and a 120 V version, each with an integrated temperature controller;
- the 480 V panels in two variants: door-only, and fully enclosed.
The panels had to be built exactly to the customer's drawings, using several customer-supplied and pre-programmed components. Every unit needed documented testing.
What we did
- Built about 190 panels across the 440 V, 480 V and 120 V versions, most of them 480 V in both door-only and fully enclosed variants. They went out in batches of a few dozen at a time.
- Built to print. We followed the customer's schematics and assembly drawings, including its hardware specifications, in Hammond enclosures.
- Handled customer-supplied parts as part of the build:
- temperature controllers, programmed by the customer before installation;
- thermowells and thermocouples;
- controller seals and clamps;
- contactor brackets;
- custom spring-loaded disconnect shafts.
Each shipment was counted in against the customer's receipt of goods and tracked to its order.
- Labeled to the customer's standard:
- schematic and description-of-operation decals inside each door;
- the customer's product label.
Our team checked the door schematics against the as-built panel before they were installed.
- Tested every panel. The routine covers:
- pull and continuity tests;
- label and mounting checks;
- power applied at rated voltage;
- power-available and heater-on indicators;
- hand and auto operation;
- the controller display;
- a final clean-out.
A completed test record for each panel goes to the customer. The customer's team visits for inspection before batches ship.
The result
The panels were delivered in batches from 2024 into 2026. The customer has built with our shop on heater panels in earlier years as well.
What it shows: build-to-print production for an engineering OEM, disciplined handling of customer-supplied and pre-programmed components, per-unit test documentation, and repeat-batch production across nearly 200 panels.