Machining conversion to die casting

Machining conversion to die casting

If you've seen the breathtaking aerial footage drone cameras are capable of, you know it's possible to get smooth, film-like video from today's go-anywhere cameras. GoPro needed to affordably deliver that same incredible stability to adventure athletes on the ground, underwater or in flight—instead of the bounced-around "shaky cam" look that is inevitable with a handheld device.

Bringing video down to earth

Without stabilisation, the jarring motion of any handheld video is obvious on screen.

It is even worse for adventure athletes: conditions can range from unpredictable to extreme; there is not always a logical place to mount the camera; and "just stand still" is a foreign concept. For these video creators, stabilising equipment is essential.

GoPro already had a stabilisation system for use with a quadcopter-style drone, but customers love to capture close-up footage right in the action.

The company decided to repurpose the drone mounting component into a part that customers could use to attach GoPro cameras to handheld and body-worn stabilisers instead.

Exceptional versatility

"The products we make endure a wide variety of uses," explains Matt Thomas, Mechanical Engineering Manager for GoPro accessories. "Everything from skiing to SCUBA diving to chasing your kids through a park."

That meant the mount had to be strong—and for consumer use, it needed to deliver cost savings across thousands of units and many years. To expedite time to market, GoPro's designers initially specified the mount as an all-machined metal component.

"While that was the quickest way for us to get to market," says Thomas, "it was also more expensive. So in parallel, we investigated a longer-term, more cost-effective option."

To determine the optimal materials and processes to reduce costs for the replacement part GoPro wanted, the team engaged Dynacast.

Casting decisions

"We utilised Dynacast's services in the past on a number of projects, and they have become one of our top-tier suppliers," says Thomas. The two companies had also worked together in sessions that Dynacast held to explore cost reduction and manufacturability improvements. The first thing they agreed on was minimising processing-related costs.

"Extrusion is great for making a two-dimensional part, but when you add other features to it, you have to machine it as a secondary process, and that adds cost," says Bill Heilman of Dynacast. "We told them, you do not have to add machining. We can simply cast it in that shape."

Handle—with care

The GoPro team's overarching goal was to reduce cost, but they also had other requirements for the part. "We needed strength and a lightweight component. Something that would handle a variety of environmental situations," says Thomas.

Since the part is a handle that people would operate with their fingers—often in extreme conditions, and perhaps not with the gentlest touch—the team needed to ensure the feel would be acceptable to the end user.

Because materials offer different surface treatment options, it was important to keep post-processing work to a minimum, including secondary polishing and machining of the components, while achieving the precise anodisation colour. They ultimately cast it in aluminium to match the existing parts on the mount and achieve their cost-reduction goals.

Material selection

"We tell customers, 'Do not assume that because you chose one particular manufacturing process, that is the only way to make the part,'" says Dynacast's Heilman.

Matt Thomas agrees. "When we first started, the cast part represented an approximately 50% saving over the machined part"—making die-cast aluminium a clear choice for both cost reduction and manufacturability goals.

"It is great to see product in the market and being sold," says Thomas. "Dynacast is very responsive, timely in its communication and easy to work with. It is the ease of collaboration in taking the design from concept to tooling."

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