USB flash memory has become an established marketing tool over the last few years, with ever increasing data storage capacity and literally hundreds of off-the-shelf designs. Against this backdrop of increasing popularity it was only a matter of time before the industry made it more cost effective and easier to facilitate the production of bespoke or custom shaped USB sticks.
Small scale custom moulding of the quality previously only possible on mass market goods is now available to create a genuinely unique USB product even on low volume orders. These bespoke shapes can be made from a variety of recycled and recyclable materials such as PVC, ABS, Silicon and PET. These materials offer not only a cheaper way of producing USB flash drives in custom shapes, but in addition the lighter, more malleable materials offer phenomenal detail when it comes to text and logos. This is because moulds for these materials are made from low density metal alloys that can be cut with finer tooling.
PVC especially offers a great feel as well as fantastic detail and makes production of 2D and 3D custom shaped USB sticks on small and medium sized quantities cost effective. It's ideally suited for the production of these highly desirable marketing tools on a budget.
The process is fairly straightforward; first the object (such as a bottle or shoe) is sent to the manufacturer and from this a 3D or 2D wireframe CAD rendition is created. If the object is too large to send to the facility then 2 or more photographs from different angles can be used instead. Once this CAD representation has been approved a mould is made from soft metal by using a computer controlled lathe. Once the mould is ready the molten PVC is applied, for small orders this is usually with a hand held pneumatic tool. The PVC material solidifies within a few seconds on contact with the metal and is then ejected.
This first production sample is sent to the client for approval or can be photographed if lead times are tight. Once approved the full quantity can be manufactured, usually in about 5 days for lower volume orders (up to one or two thousand units). Larger orders will require multiple moulds to speed up the process.
The housing is then sent to a specialist USB assembly plant where the memory and controller chip are combined with the outer casing to create the final product. Any data required would be uploaded at this stage.
The overall lead time from conception to delivery can take as little as 15 business days, while the same mould can be used to create a large number of branded USB sticks. A mould can also create flash drives in a range of colours by the colouring applied to the molten PVC and hand painted into the moulds prior to being filled with the material.
Despite marketing budgets being continuously squeezed it seems that clients still demand ground breaking ideas. Promotional gift and marketing companies are under pressure to provide more for less. Custom shaped USB sticks in quantities of 250 cost no more than some of the off the shelf models. The lighter PVC and ABS custom moulded USB flash drives offer a cost effective solution to finding that unique, useful marketing give-away to put your brand ahead of the competition.
