The job was to produce a tool to which would make the component parts of a kit to house a mobile phone camera lens which was to be assembled elsewhere.

HMT was not making all of the parts in the kit so as well as being very small and intricate, the tool and moulds had to be micron-perfect. The parts had to fit together snugly but be able to move so the zoom lens of the camera could move backwards and forwards.

The smallest component was the mount for the lens which allowed it to zoom. This was a rectangular tube of less than 5mm in length. In order for the lens to stay straight when it moved it was required to fit exactly into the assembly and yet be flexible.

Each of the four sides was joined with a livern hinge with a 0.04mm wall section and a tolerance of 0.01.

The back and front of the casing had to be double shot moulded with a rubber overmould to protect the lens and ceramic coil from any shock (dropped phone etc.).

At Haverhill Mould and Tooling we were able to test the tool to ensure the final product achieved the accuracy needed.

Once the tool was made we were able to manufacture prototypes. These were assembled in a clean room off site. Due to the increasing number of similar jobs we receive we plan to install a clean room on-site over the course of 2008.

The “kit” when put together was measured by x ray and the gaps between the moving parts found to be less than 0.1 mm. Perfect for allowing the tiny amounts of movement for focusing the camera but still small enough to protect the delicate parts.