Delivered Project · Industrial Seals · United Kingdom
From a STEP File to 200 Counter Stands
This industrial seal display stand order came from a UK seals and O-ring supplier with two stand designs already modelled in CAD. We built 100 of each from its STEP file, photographed pre-production samples a week after the order, and released the run in two lots: 24 stands by air for the first placements and 176 by sea.
- stands, two designs
- 200
- PO to sample photos
- 7 days
- stands by air first
- 24
- stands by sea
- 176
Ordering a similar project
MOQ is 100 pieces per design. Paid samples normally take 3–5 days; sample fees are paid separately and never credited. Standard production takes 15–20 days after drawing, color, packing, and sample approval. Wetop responds to a complete brief within 24 hours.
Price context: the GBP 24–39 band on this page is this project's EXW product price per stand for two designs of this size at 100 per design. A different size, step count, color, print, or quantity changes the number; the custom countertop display stands page covers the constructions and a written quote follows the approved drawing.
Key Takeaways
- A UK industrial seals supplier ordered 200 white acrylic counter display stands in two designs, 100 per design, to present O-rings and seal samples on trade counters.
- Both designs were built from the buyer's STEP model and dimensioned drawing: Design A at 505 × 360 × 255 mm and Design B at 610 × 425 × 330 mm.
- Pre-production samples of both designs were photographed and sent seven days after the purchase order, before the production run.
- The order was split the same way on both designs: 12 per design as an air lot, collected 24 days after the order, and 88 per design by sea, on board about six weeks after the order.
- Current ordering for a new stand design starts at 100 pieces per design with a 3–5-day paid sample, paid separately and never credited, and 15–20-day standard production after approval.
The Challenge
The buyer supplies seals and O-rings to industry from the UK and wanted its range on show where customers buy: on trade counters. Its engineers had already designed two stands. Both are tiered, in white acrylic, with curved side panels, a back panel, and four steps that carry O-rings standing on edge in narrow slots and flat seals lying in round pockets. Design A is the compact one at 505 × 360 × 255 mm. Design B is larger at 610 × 425 × 330 mm.
The designs arrived as a STEP model and a dimensioned drawing from an engineering team, with a general tolerance block written for machined parts. That is a good start for a stand, because nothing has to be guessed, but it also means the supplier has to build what is drawn rather than what is easiest to cut. A slot that is too wide lets an O-ring fall over. A pocket that is too shallow lets a seal slide off.
The second constraint was time. The buyer needed a small quantity of each stand early, ahead of the main batch, and did not want to pay air freight on all of it.
Our Approach
We quoted both designs from the drawing, and the buyer placed two purchase orders on the same specification: an air lot and a sea lot, with the same split on both designs, 12 per design by air and 88 per design by sea. The air lot was quoted at 10 working days of production and the sea lot at 15, both EXW our factory, so the buyer's own forwarders would collect.
Building from the STEP model
We worked from the buyer's STEP file and drawing rather than redrawing the stands, so the slot positions, pocket diameters, step heights and side-panel curve came straight from the buyer's geometry. Seven days after the purchase orders were placed, we photographed pre-production samples of both designs from several angles, including ruler shots against the drawing's key heights, and sent the set to the buyer. Two of its team opened the files the same day, and production followed the approved samples. Our guide to CAD files for custom acrylic parts explains which file formats and drawing notes help a quote like this one, and the sample approval checklist lists what to check on the photos.
Two lots, two forwarders, one specification
Both lots came off the same production line to the same approved samples. Each stand was packed in its own export carton, marked with the purchase order and the design. The air lot was ready first: the buyer's air forwarder collected it from our factory 24 days after the order. The sea lot was ready the following day, went to the forwarder's consolidation warehouse, and was loaded on a vessel to the UK about six weeks after the order.
EXW means the buyer pays the freight from our door, but somebody still has to clear the goods out of China. We prepared the export declaration, commercial invoice and packing list for each lot, and kept the two sets apart so neither forwarder received the other lot's paperwork. Our FOB versus DDP guide compares EXW, FOB and delivered terms for buyers who are choosing between them.
Spec at a glance
The Results
Both designs were built from the buyer's own model, sampled and photographed within a week, and delivered as 200 stands in two lots: 24 by air for the first placements and 176 by sea for the rollout. The order was paid in full.
The split cost nothing in consistency. The air stands and the sea stands came from the same run against the same samples, so the stands that went out first look exactly like the ones that followed. Only about one stand in eight paid the air rate.
Project note: When the buyer sends a STEP model, build from it. Sample both designs, photograph them against the drawing, and then split the run by date, not by specification.
What This Means for Your Project
If you sell technical parts, whether seals, fasteners, fittings, cable glands or connectors, a counter stand puts the parts themselves in front of the buyer. Three points from this order apply to any stand like it.
Send the model your engineers already made. A STEP file plus a drawing means we build your geometry, not our interpretation of a sketch. Mark which dimensions matter to the parts you display, such as slot width and pocket depth, so the sample is checked where it counts.
Split by date, not by design. If a small quantity is needed early, make it an air lot of the same specification. Here one stand in eight flew and the rest went by sea.
Choose the trade term that matches your forwarder. If you already have forwarders in China, EXW keeps freight in your hands; if you do not, a delivered quote may be simpler.
We build custom custom countertop display stands and other acrylic displays for manufacturers and distributors from 100 pieces per design, with a paid pre-production sample before the first run. The trade show display page shows other counter and stand programs, and the partial air shipment case shows the same air-and-sea split on a different product.
Common Questions
Three questions industrial buyers ask most often about a counter stand built from their own CAD.
Can you build an acrylic display stand from a STEP file?
Yes. This buyer's engineering team sent a STEP model and a dimensioned drawing for two stand designs, and we built from that geometry without redrawing the product. Pre-production samples of both designs were photographed and sent seven days after the purchase order, and production followed the approved samples. A STEP or other 3D file with a 2D drawing is the fastest way to get an accurate quote for a stand like this.
How do you split one display stand order between air and sea?
As two purchase orders with their own quantities and lead times. Here 12 stands per design went as an air lot for the buyer's earliest placements and 88 per design as a sea lot, the same split on both designs. The air lot was quoted at 10 working days of production and collected 24 days after the order; the sea lot at 15 working days and loaded on a vessel about six weeks after the order. Each lot had its own packing list and export documents.
What does EXW mean on a display stand order?
The buyer's own forwarder collects the goods at our factory and pays the freight from there. On this order the buyer used one forwarder for the air lot and another for the sea lot. Even under EXW we prepared the export customs documents, commercial invoices and packing lists for each lot so both forwarders could clear the goods out of China.
Have a stand design in CAD already?
Send the STEP file and drawing, the quantity per design, the parts the stand will hold, and when the first units are needed. We will quote a paid pre-production sample, production, and air and sea lots as separate lines.
Paid samples in 3–5 days · Fees paid separately and never credited · Production in 15–20 days after approval · MOQ 100 pieces per design · Response within 24 hours