Proto Tech Tip: Standard Masking vs Custom Masking

Every week, Team Protocase is bringing you a Proto Tech Tip video, where we’ll give an informative look at a particular aspect of sheet metal fabrication and CNC Machining.

This week, Cody from our Engineering & Design Services breaks down the key differences between standard masking and custom masking.

Watch the full video below – or, if you’d prefer to read his Proto Tech Tip, we’ve got the full transcription below the video.

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Hey everyone, Cody here from Protocase with another Proto Tech Tip.

Today it’s all about the difference between custom masking and standard masking. We offer standardized masking, which is done with pre-sized masking tape or custom masking, in which you can create any kind of masking geometry that you wish by cutting the profile out using one of our vinyl cutters.

These masking profiles can be accurately placed on your part using our standard masking tolerances which can be found on our website.

So what’s the difference between standard masking and custom masking? Standard masking is great for when you want to mask simple geometries such as rectangles or circles these are
commonly used to mask mating surfaces between parts or on a grounding stud to give good conductivity. A custom masking profile would be used whenever your geometry cannot be done using our
standard profiles. So you can see here that this border was done using our standard masking profiles, while this moose here in the middle was done using a custom masking profile. Keep in mind that we do need some edges to locate on this when we apply it to your part. So if you are looking for good conductivity between your parts or looking for a little bit of grounding area inside of your enclosure, let us know and we’ll get you set up.

Feel free to check out our website for more information regarding masking. We put some direct links in the description below. Be sure to also check out our blog which offers other
technical tips or just send us an email at info@protocase.com. Thanks for watching this week’s Proto Tech Tip and be sure to tune in next week for another one.