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Core line, represented 25+ years
How do office equipment manufacturers source paper-handling and drive components?
Office equipment manufacturers source drive gears in acetal or powder metal, paper feed rollers in urethane or EPDM, ground shafts, sheet metal chassis, and molded covers. Paper-handling parts are held to tight runout and durometer limits because small errors cause jams. SSG sends one RFQ to principals across molding, powder metal, rubber, and machining.
- Part families
- 12
- Processes
- 8
- Materials
- 10
Parts we source for this industry
- 01Acetal and nylon drive gears
- 02Powder metal gears and cams
- 03Cast urethane and EPDM feed rollers
- 04Ground steel roller shafts
- 05Paper tray and door torsion springs
- 06Shredder cutter blades and spacers
- 07Sheet metal chassis and frames
- 08PC/ABS covers and panels
- 09Sintered bronze bushings
- 10Stamped ground clips and brackets
- 11Overmolded handles and latches
- 12Die cast zinc counterweights
How these parts are made
Injection moldingMolten thermoplastic injected into a steel or aluminum mold. Lowest piece price for plastic parts at 5,000+ a year.
Powdered metalNet-shape gears, bushings, and structural parts pressed from metal powder and sintered, with little or no machining.
Urethane castingProduction-like plastic and rubber parts cast in silicone molds, typically 10–200 parts in one to two weeks.
RubberSeals, gaskets, grommets, and profiles extruded or molded in EPDM, silicone, nitrile, neoprene, FKM, and TPE.
Screw machiningTurned pins, fittings, shafts, and bushings made from bar stock on multi-spindle and Swiss screw machines at volume.
Springs & wire formsCompression, extension, and torsion springs, wire forms, and fourslide clips made from round wire and flat strip.
StampingShort- to medium-run stampings: brackets, clips, shields, and plates cut and formed from sheet or coil in a press.
Sheet metalLaser-cut, punched, bent, and welded sheet metal enclosures, brackets, and chassis with no hard tooling.
Which of these pays off at your quantity?
Parts per order
4 processes are at their best at this quantity, and 3 more can do it.
Drag to your quantity
What suppliers are held to
Product safety
Printers, copiers, and similar equipment are evaluated to UL 62368-1. Covers and internal parts near power sources carry UL 94 ratings set by the product's fire enclosure design.
Paper-path precision
Feed rollers typically hold durometer within ±5 Shore A and tight runout on the shaft, and gears are held to AGMA or ISO accuracy grades. Small variation shows up as skew, double feeds, and jams.
Environmental and energy programs
Products sold into government and corporate fleets often need ENERGY STAR and EPEAT registration, which brings RoHS compliance, recycled content targets, and material declarations from suppliers.
Shredder security levels
Shredder cutting geometry is designed to DIN 66399 security levels P-1 through P-7, which set maximum particle size. Cutter hardness and spacer tolerance hold that particle size over the life of the machine.
Questions
Should printer gears be acetal or powder metal?
Acetal for most drive gears. It molds accurately, runs quietly without lubrication, and costs little at volume. Powder metal handles higher torque and heat, so it is used near fusers and in high-load drives.
What durometer should paper feed rollers be?
Most paper-handling rollers fall between 30 and 60 Shore A, depending on media and required grip. Cast urethane gives long wear life, and EPDM holds steady grip across temperature and humidity.
Can low-volume office equipment parts justify hard tooling?
Often not. Below a few thousand parts a year, machined, cast urethane, or bridge-tooled parts usually cost less overall. Production molds pay back as volume climbs and the design stops changing.
Related industries
Send us the part.
Build it or upload a drawing. A rep routes it to principals already making parts for this industry.