For more than 175 years, Pinet has been delivering the finest products in the field of hinges, handles, supports, caps and other tools. For the company to maintain consistent production quality, it has developed its own know-how. Get to know the whole process – from product design to production.

Product design

Of course, every new product must be designed first. Everything starts at Pinet’s design shop. Engineers and technicians create designs based on customer needs, supplied specifications or prepared designs. Plans are designed with 3D CAD software.

The onset of 3D printers means simplification of our work. Prototypes and models of new products can now be created from resin. However, if testing phases are required, prototypes are manufactured in a workshop and can be tested immediately in an integrated laboratory. For example, the durability of hinges and joints (several tens of thousands of cycles) or tensile strength of the product (up to 5 tons) is tested. With this wide range of tools, engineers can choose the most appropriate solution for each project

Close cooperation of different departments is a must

At this stage, the design shop works closely with the project office. Employees there are in charge of product lifecycle management: from design to production and development. They are aided by product data management software. In addition, the project office is in charge of designing the tools and equipment needed to manufacture the products themselves.

These tools are subsequently manufactured in our tool shop using state-of-the-art machines, such as CNC machining centres and electro-erosion machining equipment.

Production

Pinet has two production sites used for the production of its products.

The larger one is the 8000 m² main production site located in Chaulnes, France. It is equipped with many state-of-the-art machines, including:

• 34 presses (both automatic and manual),
• 4 CNC machining centres,
• 5 machines, specially designed for the production of hinges and joints,
• 2 CNC laser cutters,
• welding tools,
• In-house tool shop

This top facility, along with skilled workers, enables our company to produce high quality hinges and locks for industrial applications.

The second, smaller production hall is located in Sousse, Tunisia. It has only 2000 m² and is used for the production of products that require a lot of manual work during the manufacturing process.

Know-how and quality

In product manufacturing, Pinet oversees that the corporate know-how is observed. This know-how can be divided into three areas.

Quality and expertise

All products are produced with respect to ISO 9001 certificate, which is owned by the company. In addition, it can also guarantee consistent production quality, observance of production timeframes and optimized design of all products.

Tools and machines, acquired over past decades, together with professional experience, enable the automated production of hinges at competitive prices.

Industrial culture

The Chaulnes facility together with the workshop in Tunisia allows the company to produce small and large series of simple but also complex hinges. Pinet uses high-performance tools which provide outputs that meet the needs of all customers. These include:

• CAD workstations enabling design creation by cooperation of different departments,
• In-house tool shop which enables quick respond to changes in production,
• Integrated testing laboratory for product performance certification according to client’s instructions.