Manufacturing Process

Sunday Knight factory floor

From approved drawing to a packed carton

Sunday Knight fabricates custom acrylic displays, boxes, trays, and fixtures in one Dongguan workshop. The path below is the production route buyers actually follow after a sample is signed — not a catalog description of machines.

Sheet is named at quote stage — high-clarity, UV-resistant, or impact-modified PMMA — then cut, formed, finished, printed, assembled, and packed without leaving the building. That is why a change to lid fit, polish, or print does not wait on an outside vendor.

Commercial steps (brief → quote → sample → PO) sit on the How to Order page. What follows is what happens on the floor once the drawing is released.

The production route

1. Drawing lock and CAM

   The approved 2D or 3D file is checked against the sample: outside versus inside dimensions, lid groove, magnet pocket, print-safe zone, and hardware. Toolpaths are written for the actual machine that will cut the job — laser for thin, detailed profiles; CNC for thick blocks, pockets, and load-bearing parts. If a fit is critical, the mating product size is entered into the program before the first sheet is loaded.

2. Sheet intake

   Incoming acrylic is matched to the named grade, color, and thickness on the job ticket. Protective film stays on until the last possible station. SGS documentation for RoHS, REACH, EU POPs, and, where the brief requires it, FDA food-contact papers is pulled from the batch file rather than promised as a generic claim. Off-spec sheet does not enter the nest.

3. Cutting — laser or CNC

   Laser cutting handles clean outlines, letter windows, and tray wells in everyday display thicknesses. CNC routing and milling take over for 2-inch logo blocks, deep pockets, bevels, and parts that must hold ±0.2 mm. Nests are written so grain and film direction stay consistent across a run. First-off pieces are measured before the rest of the stack is released.

4. Forming and heat bending

   Where a riser, sneeze guard, or tray wall needs a radius, the cut blank goes to the heating line. Strip heaters and forming jigs set the angle against the approved sample, not against a guessed “90 degrees.” Cooling time is held so the bend does not spring back after packing. Parts that stay flat skip this station entirely — we do not add heat for show.

5. Edge work — diamond, cloth, or flame

   Retail fixtures are judged on the edge as much as the face. Diamond polishing clears saw and router marks on straight edges at high speed. Cloth-wheel buffing takes the last haze off display faces and thick blocks. Flame polishing is reserved for inside corners, carved profiles, and edges a diamond head cannot reach. The method is chosen per part, not as a single house finish.

6. Print, screen, and engraving

   Decoration happens after the geometry is stable. UV printing lays color on the face or reverse-prints on the back of clear sheet so the graphic sits behind a wear surface. Silkscreen is used when a solid brand color must hold across a long run. Laser engraving and marking cut a permanent mark into blocks, awards, and serial plates. Print proofs follow the approved artwork file — vector for edges, high-resolution raster only when the brief allows it.

7. Bonding and hardware

   Boxes, five-sided cases, and multi-part trays are solvent- or UV-bonded on jigs that hold square while the joint sets. Magnets, hinges, locks, and feet go in against the sample: polarity, pull strength, and lid travel are checked on the bench, not assumed from the drawing. Glue bloom and squeeze-out are cleaned before the part is allowed to sit in a carton.

8. Inspection

   Every production unit is looked at — not a sampling plan. Incoming sheet, in-process checks after cut and polish, and a final outgoing pass cover dimension, edge, print register, hardware, and count. A buyer-appointed inspector can walk the packed cartons before the balance payment. Photographs and short bench videos go out when the project contact asks for progress without a site visit.

9. Pack and dispatch

   Film stays on finished faces. Foam, board, or a fitted inner box is specified on the quote for print-sensitive and heavy pieces. Cartons are labeled to the packing list so a split air/sea shipment still receives cleanly. Tracking or the bill of lading goes to the buyer at handoff. Duty-paid routing, when chosen, is booked on a service that can clear — not on a courier lane that cannot.

What sits in the Dongguan workshop

• CNC routing and milling for thick parts, pockets, and tight fits
• Laser cutting for profiles, windows, and tray components
• Diamond-edge polishing, cloth buffing, and flame polishing
• Thermal heat bending and jig forming
• UV printing, silkscreen, laser engraving, and marking
• Solvent and UV bonding, magnet and hinge fitting
• Incoming, in-process, and outgoing inspection benches

Typical bulk lead time after sample approval is 10–20 working days. Multi-part assemblies, special-color sheet, and peak export weeks can stretch toward 20–30 days; that date is written on the quote before deposit. Tolerances, food-contact limits, and sample rules are spelled out on the FAQ.

How a process is chosen for your part

A 3 mm countertop tray and a 50 mm logo block do not share a path. Thin sheet with a printed face usually runs laser → polish → UV print → bond. A lockable jewelry case adds hinge fitting and a lid-gap check. Outdoor signage may need UV-stable sheet before any ink goes down. We name the route on the quote so you are not discovering a flame-polished edge — or the lack of one — at sample stage.

Material certificates for the sheet used on your order are listed when you ask for them at RFQ. See the current test set on the certificates page.