The majority of the custom lapel pins we produce fall into the following types: Custom lapel pins, Canada lapel pins, Canada flag lapel pins, Country Flag pins, School pins, Sports pins, Hockey pins, Curling pins, Soccer pins, Police pins, Legion pins, Church pins, Collector pins, Charity and Fundraising pins.
Custom Lapel Pins are manufactured using the process shown in our video.
It all starts with a sketch of the custom lapel pin design. From that design, a ‘Master’; a negative made of magnesium (a type of metal) is produced. The Master will consist of 2 pieces which will be the front and back of the custom lapel pin. Copies of the Master will be produced and used to create the production mold.
The front and back pieces of the Master must be cut from the magnesium using a coping saw. Using a dispenser about the size of a sewing needle, they glue the two pieces together with epoxy. It takes about 5 minutes to dry. Then they cast enough copies of the master to fill up a rubber molding disc.
After tracing the outlines, a worker uses a surgical knife to meticulously carve out the cavities. The worker softens the rubber with paint thinner to enable precision cuts, then places a copy of the master in each cavity. Another rubber disc goes on top, and then it’s placed into a machine called a Vulcanizer for one hour. The Vulcanizer uses heat and pressure to cure the rubber making it as hard as a car tire. It also melts the rubber around each master copy, embedding the detail of your lapel pin. This will be the actual production mold for producing this custom lapel pin design.
Now using a surgical knife again for precision, they carve out Sprues; channels that during the casting process will direct the flow of molten metal to the cavities. They also make smaller curved channels called Runners to filter out any dirt particles and allow air to be displaced from the mold cavities. It’s crucial to position the sprues and runners correctly because this mold produces an entire line of a particular lapel pin. Mess up and they have to remake the mold from scratch.
Next, they insert a centimeter-long brass tack called a Post into each cavity. It will later fasten to a clasp, attaching the pin to clothing. The post goes in now, rather than later, so that it will fuse to the lapel pin during casting.
To close the mold, they align the buttons on one half with the depressions in the other half. The mold then goes into what’s called the Spin-Casting machine. Using a cast iron ladle that can withstand the fiery temperature, they pour in molten metal – either pewter, zinc or tin alloy. As the machine spins, centrifugal force propels the metal into every nook and cranny of the cavities. After a minute of spinning four hundred rotations, the mold is removed. The metal takes about 5 minutes to cool and harden. Each individual custom lapel pin is separated from the excess casting metal, which is then re-melted and used for the next batch of lapel pins.
Next, a brass clasp called a Clutch goes onto the post. The lapel pins now go for an hour-long wash in soap, water and abrasive stones. The stones are used to smooth out any rough edges.
The pins then go into the electro plating tank for a surface coating of metal. How many coats and the types of metal vary with the design of the lapel pin. An electric current draws the metal particles onto the pins, plating them thoroughly. These pins first get copper plating, then nickel plating, then the final layer of gold plating.
Now it’s time to paint the lapel pins. Workers follow a numerical guide like a paint-by-numbers kit. They paint each pin individually, using minute quantities of epoxy paint applied using a foot-controlled syringe.
Once the paint dries, a machine called a Pad Printer gathers up ink and stamps on the tiny details; the ones too small to paint by hand. When you pierce the post through the fabric and secure it with the clutch, the lapel pin is now ready to wear.
This video demonstrates how we make our Canadian Made Custom Lapel Pins.
We also offer offshore production of many of our Custom Lapel Pins.
Visit https://www.justdirectpromotions.ca today to order your factory direct lapel pins.
Post time: Jun-26-2017