Bus Dashboard

Northern Plastics Inc. was approached by a client in the transportation industry to supply them with custom thermoformed dashboards for their line of buses.

With over 35 years of experience in manufacturing custom parts for mass transit providers, our technical team was more than up to the client’s task.

These custom built dashboards were needed to house the vehicle’s instrumentation, gauges and heating/cooling systems. In addition, the final product needed to be manufactured to tight tolerances to ensure a snug fit in the existing vehicle’s chassis.

According to drawings and specifications provided by the client, the dashboard measured 91.18 in x 13.03 in x 5.59 in length, width and depth respectively. Since our vacuum form tools can produce parts with dimensions up to 120 in x 72 in x 36 in, our state-of-the-art equipment was more than capable of producing a dashboard that meets the client’s parameters.

The dashboard was thermoformed from color-matched ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic laminated with UV resistant Korad® acrylic using our 6 ft x 10 ft Single Station Thermoformer. The shape was molded using an aluminum water-cooled vacuum forming tool with a hair cell/smooth finish applied to the surface as requested by the client. After finishing vacuum forming, the units were precisely trimmed with a fully robotic 5-Axis CNC Router and deburred to ensure a smooth and accurate fit in the bus chassis.

Once the final fabrication was complete, each unit was documented and underwent rigorous visual inspections to ensure that each dashboard meets or exceeds various automotive industry standards. Our close adherence to ISO 9001 certified policies minimized non-conformances and guaranteed repeatable quality during a production run which consisted of a total of 2500 units manufactured to tolerances of ±.020″.

Thanks to our qualified technicians and our decades of experience in the mass transit industry, we were able to exceed the client’s expectations by producing the dashboard units on time and within budget.

Do you need unique customized thermoforming services? Let us help with your next thermoforming project! Feel free to contact us. Our qualified experts are eager to assist you.

Request a Quote

Thermoformed Bus Dashboard Highlights

Custom Thermoforming Capabilities

Primary: Thermoforming
Secondary: CNC Trim
Debur
Pack
Equipment Used to Manufacture Part6 x 10 Single Station Thermoformer
5 Axis Dual Table CNC Router
Aluminum Water Cooled Tool
Overall Part Dimensions91.18″ x 13.03″ x 5.59″
Tolerance+/-.020Material UsedColor Matched ABS with Korad (UV Protection)Material FinishHaircell/Smooth
Visual InspectionDimensional InspectionIndustry for UseMass TransitVolumeProduction Run
2500 units
Delivery LocationUSAStandards MetISO 9001
Customer Supplied Prints
OEM Standards
Product NameBus Dashboard